Right to Vote

                The topic of this discussion comes from the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude – Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”  This provision seems to be self-explanatory:  Every qualified voter has the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous slavery.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained, “It is rather amazing that a provision of this kind should have been required in the Constitution of the United States.  Nevertheless, there was wide discrimination among the states against various classes of voters because of race, religion, foreign extraction, or economic status.  Even the Supreme Court had declared that it was within the power of a state to exclude citizens of the United States form voting for those reasons, just as it could on the basis of age, property, or educational requirements.

                “Even after this provision, there were various devices employed to discriminate against qualified voters for over another century.”

See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 728.)

                Earl Maltz of The Heritage Foundation further explained, “Passed by Congress on March 3, 1869, and ratified in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the three Reconstruction Amendments.  Though the language of the Fifteenth Amendment prohibits all race-based discrimination in qualifications for voting, the Framers were primarily concerned with the enfranchisement of African-Americans.  As early as 1866, many of the Republicans were convinced of the need for a constitutional amendment that would require the states to allow African-Americans to vote.  Indeed, at one point the Joint Committee on Reconstruction voted to report a version of the Fourteenth Amendment that explicitly embraced the principle of race-blind suffrage.  However, many Northerners continued to oppose black suffrage in principle, and fears of a political backlash led the committee to abandon the issue before the proposed amendment came to the floor.  By 1869, the situation had changed.  Although the outcome of referenda on black suffrage in the North continued to reflect the opposition of critical swing voters, other factors persuaded mainstream Republicans in Congress of the need for a federal constitutional amendment to deal with the issue.

                “Republicans had a variety of different reasons for supporting such an amendment.  In the Reconstruction Act of 1867, Congress had forced black suffrage on the ex-Confederate states by statute, and Republicans faced the charge that they were hypocritical in not imposing the same requirement on Northern states.  Some also believed that if blacks were enfranchised in the states that had remained in the Union, they would provide critical support for Republican candidates in those states.  Still others argued that, even in the South, black suffrage would be insecure without a constitutional amendment and that the governments of the ex-Confederate states could not be returned to local control until the political power of the freed slaves was guaranteed.

                “By 1869, these considerations, combined with the conviction that allowing blacks to vote was right in itself, convinced virtually all mainstream congressional Republicans that a constitutional amendment was desirable.  Republicans were, nevertheless, deeply divided over the question of what precise language should be adopted….”  (See The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 409.)

                With knowledge that Republicans pushed for freedom to vote for all races but especially for African-Americans, I cannot help but be amazed that these same minorities still consider Democrats to be their friends; they vote in blocks to keep Democrats in office in spite of this fact.  I have come to accept that the only conclusion possible is that the Democrats have brought them into bondage to the government; they have become so dependent on government handouts that they have basically given up their right to vote according to their conscience. 

                There are many members of the minority communities who see clearly what is happening to their people, but when they attempt to tell their family and friends, they are called “Uncle Tom” or worse.  The minority masses seem to enjoy being on the “plantation” of the government and receiving provisions.  This condition is even worse than true slavery because they do not even have the dignity of working for their goods.   The government simply distributes food stamps and other handouts provided by those who do work; it is as though the people are children or invalids or otherwise incapable of taking care of themselves.  This brings a true lack of dignity and self-esteem – which is then blamed on the people who have earned the money to provide the handouts; this is the real problem. 

                Our nation is in trouble today and is moving steadily into deeper trouble.  We will be in real trouble when the government can no longer provide for them.  I plead with you to join me in praying for the survival of our nation!