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The Fight to Vote
“Important and engaging” — The Washington Post
From the president of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice and the author of The Second Amendment , the history of the long struggle to win voting rights for all citizens.
In The Second Amendment , Michael Waldman traced the ongoing argument on gun rights from the Bill of Rights to the current day. Now in The Fight to Vote, Michael Waldman takes a succinct and comprehensive look at a crucial American the drive to define and defend government based on “the consent of the governed.” From the beginning, and at every step along the way, as Americans sought to right to vote, others have fought to stop them. This is the first book to trace the full story from the founders’ debates to today’s a wave of restrictive voting laws, partisan gerrymanders, the flood of campaign money unleashed by Citizens United. Americans are proud of our democracy. But today that system seems to be under siege, and the right to vote has become the fight to vote.
In fact, that fight has always been at the heart of our national story, and raucous debates over how to expand democracy have always been at the center of American politics. At first only a few property owners could vote. Over two centuries, working class white men, former slaves, women, and finally all Americans won the right to vote. The story goes well beyond voting rules to issues of class, race, political parties, and campaign corruption. It's been raw, rowdy, a fierce, and often rollicking struggle for power. Waldman’s The Fight to Vote is a compelling story of our struggle to uphold our most fundamental democratic ideals.
From the president of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice and the author of The Second Amendment , the history of the long struggle to win voting rights for all citizens.
In The Second Amendment , Michael Waldman traced the ongoing argument on gun rights from the Bill of Rights to the current day. Now in The Fight to Vote, Michael Waldman takes a succinct and comprehensive look at a crucial American the drive to define and defend government based on “the consent of the governed.” From the beginning, and at every step along the way, as Americans sought to right to vote, others have fought to stop them. This is the first book to trace the full story from the founders’ debates to today’s a wave of restrictive voting laws, partisan gerrymanders, the flood of campaign money unleashed by Citizens United. Americans are proud of our democracy. But today that system seems to be under siege, and the right to vote has become the fight to vote.
In fact, that fight has always been at the heart of our national story, and raucous debates over how to expand democracy have always been at the center of American politics. At first only a few property owners could vote. Over two centuries, working class white men, former slaves, women, and finally all Americans won the right to vote. The story goes well beyond voting rules to issues of class, race, political parties, and campaign corruption. It's been raw, rowdy, a fierce, and often rollicking struggle for power. Waldman’s The Fight to Vote is a compelling story of our struggle to uphold our most fundamental democratic ideals.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2016
48 people are currently reading
907 people want to read
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January 31, 2020
As the next presidential election in the United States approaches, I was drawn to this book by Michael Waldman, which explores this history and importance of voting. Waldman takes the reader as far back as the Founding Fathers and the constitutional conventions to explore some of the earliest sentiments on voting and elections in the early republic. He tackles some of the sentiments about how the Fathers thought of constructing voting eligibility and how the threshold might make for a stronger country, which obviously disenfranchising large portions of the population. The Fathers did not feel that the federal government should take the lead in setting out a system of voting or elections, feeling that deferring to the states was the appropriate answer. It is essential to note at this early stage, there is nothing enshrined in the US Constitution about the right to vote, which serves as an interesting thread for the rest of this tome. As history progressed, other groups found themselves eager to have their voices heard, including the recently freed slave population, women, and eventually those in poorer parts of the country. It is most interesting to see how Waldman explores the continued expansion of suffrage, while also noting that with the power to set the rules in the states, there were also loopholes to keep groups out that did not defy anything constitutional. The latter portion of the book speaks specifically about these ‘tests’ laid out in the South for black voters, in a blatant attempt to keep their voices silent. To this day, there are state-based blockages that keep large segments of the population from having their voices heard, as Waldman explores in detail. On this point, Waldman spends the last bit of the book examining the US Supreme Court’s interpretation of First Amendment free speech and the removal of monetary limits for election contributions, while coming down hard onanistic group seeking special ‘sway’ to gain the upper hand in being permitted to vote. Fascinating to see how deliberately partisan things have become and how many people’s voices remain muted into 2020. An eye-opening piece if ever there was one on the history of voting and the importance that the fight towards true universal suffrage continue in the United States, particularly up to November 3, when there is a chance to return America (and the world) to greatness after four years of embarrassments!
Many will know that I love all things political, especially when history gets added to the mix. I find that in these uncertain times in the realm of geo-politics, it is essential to have a handle on things taking place in my own proverbial backyard. Waldman does a sensational job of laying out all the nuances of voting and elections in America, taking the reader slowly through the progress of events and how they impacted the Republic as a whole. There is so much to cover and yet Waldman lets the narrative flow smoothly and keeps the reader enthralled throughout the telling. From the foundational aspects of an electoral system to ensure a strong new country through to the means of interpreting the base rules to favour one party over the other, Waldman shows that politics is at the core of elections. With substantial chapters and many key examples, the reader will not feel shortchanged, but can easily use much of what is discussed here as a springboard to learn more, should the interest arise. Going so far as to offer a warning of what is to come in US electoral politics, Waldman makes it clear that voting is not being given to Americans on a silver platter, but it must be earned. Moreover, it will be a fight that should not be squandered or an issue dismissed until a later time. Just think what things might have been like in November 2016 had all eligible voters cast their ballots and not been blocked from doing so to tip the balance in one direction (not including the Russian collusion that we all know was rampant). Get out there, Americans and fight for what is yours. The world is watching and eagerly wants to see what your electoral voices have to say.
Kudos, Mr. Waldman, for this excellent examination of voting. I will be reading another of your books, recommended to me, and I hope it is as riveting.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Many will know that I love all things political, especially when history gets added to the mix. I find that in these uncertain times in the realm of geo-politics, it is essential to have a handle on things taking place in my own proverbial backyard. Waldman does a sensational job of laying out all the nuances of voting and elections in America, taking the reader slowly through the progress of events and how they impacted the Republic as a whole. There is so much to cover and yet Waldman lets the narrative flow smoothly and keeps the reader enthralled throughout the telling. From the foundational aspects of an electoral system to ensure a strong new country through to the means of interpreting the base rules to favour one party over the other, Waldman shows that politics is at the core of elections. With substantial chapters and many key examples, the reader will not feel shortchanged, but can easily use much of what is discussed here as a springboard to learn more, should the interest arise. Going so far as to offer a warning of what is to come in US electoral politics, Waldman makes it clear that voting is not being given to Americans on a silver platter, but it must be earned. Moreover, it will be a fight that should not be squandered or an issue dismissed until a later time. Just think what things might have been like in November 2016 had all eligible voters cast their ballots and not been blocked from doing so to tip the balance in one direction (not including the Russian collusion that we all know was rampant). Get out there, Americans and fight for what is yours. The world is watching and eagerly wants to see what your electoral voices have to say.
Kudos, Mr. Waldman, for this excellent examination of voting. I will be reading another of your books, recommended to me, and I hope it is as riveting.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
August 10, 2016
“[The] right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.” ---Thomas Paine
“Who are to be the electors of the federal representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, more than the humble sons of obscurity and unpropitious fortune. The electors are to be the great body of the people of the United States.” ---James Madison
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, 57.5% of Americans voted in the last presidential election. (http://www.statisticbrain.com/voting-...) Looked at one way, the fact that more than half the country voted is impressive. Looked at another way, however, it’s sad to think that only half the population utilized a right for which many people have fought and died.
I understand some people’s disillusionment with voting, that their vote doesn’t count, that voting is irrelevant. I understand it, but I don’t agree with it at all, precisely because a refusal to vote and claiming that your vote doesn’t count is akin to saying that you won’t take a risk asking people out on dates because nobody will go on dates with you. It’s bad logic.
There are political forces today that don’t want a majority of the electorate to vote. They create laws that restrict voting rights for certain demographics of the population, specifically poor black people. They do this because they know, statistically, that this group of people tend to vote a certain way, overwhelmingly toward a certain political party or political leaning. And they know exactly where to hit these people. Poor black people tend to vote early (many of them can’t afford to get off work on Election Day, which is a Tuesday) and they are less likely to have an alternative form of ID other than a driver’s license, so certain political forces create laws that put an end to early voting and enforce showing “proper” ID.
Many of these forces do this in the name of preventing voter fraud, a crime which has been proven not to exist, or exist in such ridiculously small numbers as to be completely ineffectual in altering election outcomes.
Our right to vote, for many people in this country, is, in reality, a literal fight to vote. It has been this way since the ink was barely dried on the Declaration of Independence, and it has continued on to the present day. It will continue to be a fight until everyone in this country is able to freely vote without impediment.
Michael Waldman’s “The Fight to Vote” is an important and vital history of voting rights in this country, with an eye toward the legal and moral imperatives that voting embodies in a democratic society. It is every bit as fascinating as Ari Berman’s excellent “Give Us the Ballot”, except that whereas Berman’s book focused primarily on the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the subsequent years, Waldman takes an overview of voting rights in this country starting at the beginning, in 1776.
As the group of wealthy white males we have come to know as the Founding Fathers gathered to create a document that would provide a blueprint for the new country of America, the topic of voting was something that came up quite a bit, but, at the same time, was significantly limited.
The vote was severely limited to white, male property owners. Some opened the discussion to the possibility of giving the vote to white males who didn’t own property, but it didn’t take long for some to express serious concerns.
Take, for example, Gouverneur Morris (his real name, by the way), a New York representative who said, “Give the votes to people who have no property, and they will sell them to the rich who will be able to buy them... The time is not distant when this country will abound with mechanics and manufacturers who will receive their bread from their employers. Will such men be the secure and faithful guardians of liberty?”
Herein lies the roots of contemporary Republican fears that giving the vote to just anyone will somehow dilute or taint the electorate. God forbid mechanics should be able to vote!
Thankfully, the historical mood regarding the vote shifted toward more inclusiveness, but it wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t without major hard feelings.
It wasn’t until 1848, after a convention of women in Seneca Falls led by outspoken suffragists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton that the Suffrage Movement officially began.
Meanwhile, after the country had just suffered a major Civil War over slavery, freed blacks were also fighting for the right to vote.
Sadly, it took black people until 1870, after the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution, to be able to legally vote.
For women, the right to vote didn’t come about until 1920, after the Nineteenth Amendment was added.
Unfortunately, none of these constitutional amendments, in reality, guaranteed voting rights.
In 1890, Mississippi became the first of many states to rewrite their constitutions to disenfranchise---through a variety of means, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and voter registrations---black voters. Virginia Senator Carter Glass gleefully bragged that such actions were necessary to prevent blacks from voting.
When asked if he thought the constitution promoted discrimination, Glass responded affirmatively, apparently not realizing (or, more likely, not caring) that discrimination based on race was, besides being unconstitutional, simply not very nice.
“Discrimination!” he said. “Why that is precisely what we propose. That, exactly, is what this Convention was elected for---to discriminate to the very extremity of permissible action under the limitations of the Federal Constitution, with a view to the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of, legally, without materially impairing the numerical strength of the white electorate.” (p.85)
Score one for blatant racism!
It wasn’t until 1965, after President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act, that the Federal government could finally step in and determine whether state constitutions were denying people’s right to vote and put an end to the unconstitutionality.
Of course, in the decades since, critics continued to scream “federal overreach!” and fought persistently to regain the state right to be racist assholes.
But racist state policies were only one of several problems facing the electoral system, as the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush vividly pointed out.
Gore won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College to Bush, the first time this happened since 1888. The subsequent recount in the state of Florida shed light on the woeful inadequacies of that state’s election system.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stop to the recount, essentially giving the presidency to Bush. SCOTUS reasoned “that different counties’ varying standards for conducting recounts and tallying votes violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.” (p. 175)
This begged the (still unanswered) question: If the standards differing between counties were unconstitutional, what about the differences between states?
Then, in 2010, the Citizens United decision happened.
In his State of the Union Address that year, President Obama said, “With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests---including foreign corporations---to spend without limit in our elections... I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.” (p. 221)
Despite assurances by Justice Anthony Kennedy that spending by corporations and foreign bodies couldn’t corrupt because it would require full disclosure and be genuinely independent, the reality is that a large percentage of campaign funding since has been “dark money”, i.e. money from anonymous donors, and largely by independent billionaires.
Essentially, Obama’s predictions were absolutely correct.
Thankfully, people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been fighting the good fight to see Citizens United overturned, and now nominee Hillary Clinton is getting in on the anti-CU action.
There is, however, still many issues and problems facing the election system.
As Waldman writes, “To be clear: the rampant “voter fraud” claimed by the Heritage Foundation fellows and Wall Street Journal editorialists does not exist. The entire conservative push is premised on an easily discredited urban myth.” (p. 248)
He does, however, go on to say that “election integrity” is a serious problem. Problems with election voting machines and absentee balloting are still ripe for potential abuse, despite many states having initiated more proactive steps to prevent them. Much more still needs to be done.
And those political forces will continue to enact laws or create impediments to keep people from going to the voting booth in November.
So, please, do your duty and exercise your one and only democratic right and vote.
“Who are to be the electors of the federal representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, more than the humble sons of obscurity and unpropitious fortune. The electors are to be the great body of the people of the United States.” ---James Madison
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, 57.5% of Americans voted in the last presidential election. (http://www.statisticbrain.com/voting-...) Looked at one way, the fact that more than half the country voted is impressive. Looked at another way, however, it’s sad to think that only half the population utilized a right for which many people have fought and died.
I understand some people’s disillusionment with voting, that their vote doesn’t count, that voting is irrelevant. I understand it, but I don’t agree with it at all, precisely because a refusal to vote and claiming that your vote doesn’t count is akin to saying that you won’t take a risk asking people out on dates because nobody will go on dates with you. It’s bad logic.
There are political forces today that don’t want a majority of the electorate to vote. They create laws that restrict voting rights for certain demographics of the population, specifically poor black people. They do this because they know, statistically, that this group of people tend to vote a certain way, overwhelmingly toward a certain political party or political leaning. And they know exactly where to hit these people. Poor black people tend to vote early (many of them can’t afford to get off work on Election Day, which is a Tuesday) and they are less likely to have an alternative form of ID other than a driver’s license, so certain political forces create laws that put an end to early voting and enforce showing “proper” ID.
Many of these forces do this in the name of preventing voter fraud, a crime which has been proven not to exist, or exist in such ridiculously small numbers as to be completely ineffectual in altering election outcomes.
Our right to vote, for many people in this country, is, in reality, a literal fight to vote. It has been this way since the ink was barely dried on the Declaration of Independence, and it has continued on to the present day. It will continue to be a fight until everyone in this country is able to freely vote without impediment.
Michael Waldman’s “The Fight to Vote” is an important and vital history of voting rights in this country, with an eye toward the legal and moral imperatives that voting embodies in a democratic society. It is every bit as fascinating as Ari Berman’s excellent “Give Us the Ballot”, except that whereas Berman’s book focused primarily on the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the subsequent years, Waldman takes an overview of voting rights in this country starting at the beginning, in 1776.
As the group of wealthy white males we have come to know as the Founding Fathers gathered to create a document that would provide a blueprint for the new country of America, the topic of voting was something that came up quite a bit, but, at the same time, was significantly limited.
The vote was severely limited to white, male property owners. Some opened the discussion to the possibility of giving the vote to white males who didn’t own property, but it didn’t take long for some to express serious concerns.
Take, for example, Gouverneur Morris (his real name, by the way), a New York representative who said, “Give the votes to people who have no property, and they will sell them to the rich who will be able to buy them... The time is not distant when this country will abound with mechanics and manufacturers who will receive their bread from their employers. Will such men be the secure and faithful guardians of liberty?”
Herein lies the roots of contemporary Republican fears that giving the vote to just anyone will somehow dilute or taint the electorate. God forbid mechanics should be able to vote!
Thankfully, the historical mood regarding the vote shifted toward more inclusiveness, but it wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t without major hard feelings.
It wasn’t until 1848, after a convention of women in Seneca Falls led by outspoken suffragists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton that the Suffrage Movement officially began.
Meanwhile, after the country had just suffered a major Civil War over slavery, freed blacks were also fighting for the right to vote.
Sadly, it took black people until 1870, after the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution, to be able to legally vote.
For women, the right to vote didn’t come about until 1920, after the Nineteenth Amendment was added.
Unfortunately, none of these constitutional amendments, in reality, guaranteed voting rights.
In 1890, Mississippi became the first of many states to rewrite their constitutions to disenfranchise---through a variety of means, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and voter registrations---black voters. Virginia Senator Carter Glass gleefully bragged that such actions were necessary to prevent blacks from voting.
When asked if he thought the constitution promoted discrimination, Glass responded affirmatively, apparently not realizing (or, more likely, not caring) that discrimination based on race was, besides being unconstitutional, simply not very nice.
“Discrimination!” he said. “Why that is precisely what we propose. That, exactly, is what this Convention was elected for---to discriminate to the very extremity of permissible action under the limitations of the Federal Constitution, with a view to the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of, legally, without materially impairing the numerical strength of the white electorate.” (p.85)
Score one for blatant racism!
It wasn’t until 1965, after President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act, that the Federal government could finally step in and determine whether state constitutions were denying people’s right to vote and put an end to the unconstitutionality.
Of course, in the decades since, critics continued to scream “federal overreach!” and fought persistently to regain the state right to be racist assholes.
But racist state policies were only one of several problems facing the electoral system, as the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush vividly pointed out.
Gore won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College to Bush, the first time this happened since 1888. The subsequent recount in the state of Florida shed light on the woeful inadequacies of that state’s election system.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stop to the recount, essentially giving the presidency to Bush. SCOTUS reasoned “that different counties’ varying standards for conducting recounts and tallying votes violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.” (p. 175)
This begged the (still unanswered) question: If the standards differing between counties were unconstitutional, what about the differences between states?
Then, in 2010, the Citizens United decision happened.
In his State of the Union Address that year, President Obama said, “With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests---including foreign corporations---to spend without limit in our elections... I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.” (p. 221)
Despite assurances by Justice Anthony Kennedy that spending by corporations and foreign bodies couldn’t corrupt because it would require full disclosure and be genuinely independent, the reality is that a large percentage of campaign funding since has been “dark money”, i.e. money from anonymous donors, and largely by independent billionaires.
Essentially, Obama’s predictions were absolutely correct.
Thankfully, people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been fighting the good fight to see Citizens United overturned, and now nominee Hillary Clinton is getting in on the anti-CU action.
There is, however, still many issues and problems facing the election system.
As Waldman writes, “To be clear: the rampant “voter fraud” claimed by the Heritage Foundation fellows and Wall Street Journal editorialists does not exist. The entire conservative push is premised on an easily discredited urban myth.” (p. 248)
He does, however, go on to say that “election integrity” is a serious problem. Problems with election voting machines and absentee balloting are still ripe for potential abuse, despite many states having initiated more proactive steps to prevent them. Much more still needs to be done.
And those political forces will continue to enact laws or create impediments to keep people from going to the voting booth in November.
So, please, do your duty and exercise your one and only democratic right and vote.
February 7, 2022
Fascinating history of the right to vote in the US from the president of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. Scholarly yet highly readable. Should be required reading.
May 15, 2016
Waldman's 'The Fight To Vote' is an outstanding , well written history on the struggle to ensure America's most basic promise... the right to vote. Starting at the birth of our nation, following the expansion and contraction of voting rights, to our current sad state, it offers solutions as well as insight.
Read this book if you care about American democracy it's as simple as that.
Read this book if you care about American democracy it's as simple as that.
January 14, 2020
While not the easiest book you'll ever read, the detail on voting and voter registration in this country, as well as background on campaign finance is extremely good. We've missed a lot in history classes, much to the nation's detriment.
October 2, 2017
When your whole point of view on any topic/subject is "when this happened back in XX's, humanity did a great thing and *insert minority here* could vote." ...then you've lost me.
That kind of phrasing or thinking is bullshit in my opinion. That's like a mother/father saying "I take care of my children"... YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, you stupid fuck.
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE fucking civilised and fucking good. We're not supposed to be selfish and racist or anything fucking dumb thing.
The right to vote has been fought for since the first days of America's independence and remains a core issue for the country today. Especially today. And pardon me for me and for the rest of the outside of 'Murica world for thinking 'muricans are stupid. Simply for voting for someone like Trump.
And of course I have american friends and such, and Thor know how much they hated their whole country when that happened and all the shit I've heard from them about it and whatnot. But c'mon.
It was one step forward, not 1 step forward 2 steps back.
Anyways... on my main problem here:
When you write "Major *gains* have been made over generations, including granting the vote to African Americans and women" ....I'm just here pissed at your phrasing. I'm not here to judge the way you write of course, because that would mean I'm reading your book which I purchased--OH WAIT!.. Fuck that shit.
That's like saying Lincoln was a hero and whatnot. Whatever. He did what EVERYONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. And for me, being me, meaning I'm fucking suspicious as fuck, that brings us to Lincoln, I didn't know the dude from a can of paint to trust that his motives was pure and honest to stop slavery.
What was in it for him? Maybe he was the best dude ever. Maybe he wasn't. It was GOOD what he did. But that doesn't change the fact that we're all fucked up and in them old days of yore, they were super fucked and super dumb on common sense stuff as "voting" if you will.
Not even gonna go into the whole slavery thing, Lincoln had slaves too. Everyone did back then. Slavery still exists now. And no, I don't mean the mind being slave working 8hrs a day and whatever. SERIOUS SLAVERY. Not that hippie stuff.
Anyway, getting off topic kinda here. Book was ok.
No need to read it, unless you're into politics. Better books to read about the rights to everything out there.
Whatever happened happened back then, it shouldn't happen that way, but it did, cuz humans suck. What happens now is not worse, but humanity still needs lots of shit to get better. Duh. And US for sure needs a lot too. From voter ID laws and the corrupting influence of money in politics (I should know about corrupt politicians, I'm Greek.) present new battles in the war to preserve American democracy and democracy in general.
That kind of phrasing or thinking is bullshit in my opinion. That's like a mother/father saying "I take care of my children"... YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, you stupid fuck.
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE fucking civilised and fucking good. We're not supposed to be selfish and racist or anything fucking dumb thing.
The right to vote has been fought for since the first days of America's independence and remains a core issue for the country today. Especially today. And pardon me for me and for the rest of the outside of 'Murica world for thinking 'muricans are stupid. Simply for voting for someone like Trump.
And of course I have american friends and such, and Thor know how much they hated their whole country when that happened and all the shit I've heard from them about it and whatnot. But c'mon.
It was one step forward, not 1 step forward 2 steps back.
Anyways... on my main problem here:
When you write "Major *gains* have been made over generations, including granting the vote to African Americans and women" ....I'm just here pissed at your phrasing. I'm not here to judge the way you write of course, because that would mean I'm reading your book which I purchased--OH WAIT!.. Fuck that shit.
That's like saying Lincoln was a hero and whatnot. Whatever. He did what EVERYONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. And for me, being me, meaning I'm fucking suspicious as fuck, that brings us to Lincoln, I didn't know the dude from a can of paint to trust that his motives was pure and honest to stop slavery.
What was in it for him? Maybe he was the best dude ever. Maybe he wasn't. It was GOOD what he did. But that doesn't change the fact that we're all fucked up and in them old days of yore, they were super fucked and super dumb on common sense stuff as "voting" if you will.
Not even gonna go into the whole slavery thing, Lincoln had slaves too. Everyone did back then. Slavery still exists now. And no, I don't mean the mind being slave working 8hrs a day and whatever. SERIOUS SLAVERY. Not that hippie stuff.
Anyway, getting off topic kinda here. Book was ok.
No need to read it, unless you're into politics. Better books to read about the rights to everything out there.
Whatever happened happened back then, it shouldn't happen that way, but it did, cuz humans suck. What happens now is not worse, but humanity still needs lots of shit to get better. Duh. And US for sure needs a lot too. From voter ID laws and the corrupting influence of money in politics (I should know about corrupt politicians, I'm Greek.) present new battles in the war to preserve American democracy and democracy in general.
September 16, 2020
I wish I had read this book when it came out during the run-up to the 2016 election—when I bought it. Even though the last chapters seem dated now, considering what the country has been through, the early chapters give an excellent historical account of how this country has ALWAYS been divided into two camps: those who would like to allow everyone to vote and those who would only have so-called elites vote. White (heterosexual, one assumes) male landowners were comprised that group in colonial times:
Slowly, and only through arduous struggles, did other groups gain traction over great spans of time: African-American males, white women, African-American women and other minority groups (including the young). Still, the fight to vote has wavered back and forth, according to the whims of the SCOTUS and voter suppression activities. One group rises up and gains three feet, and another group grabs power and sends progress back two feet. And sadly . . . the struggle still continues. If readers have time, they should consider devouring this informative and at times humorous book. If you’re undecided about voting in 2020, perhaps this book may sway you to get registered and do so now!
“And there were men who worked as hard to restrict the vote as others did to expand it, such as John Randolph of Roanoke, who fought to deny the franchise to men without property, declaring, ‘I am an aristocrat. I love liberty. I hate equality;’” (xi).
Slowly, and only through arduous struggles, did other groups gain traction over great spans of time: African-American males, white women, African-American women and other minority groups (including the young). Still, the fight to vote has wavered back and forth, according to the whims of the SCOTUS and voter suppression activities. One group rises up and gains three feet, and another group grabs power and sends progress back two feet. And sadly . . . the struggle still continues. If readers have time, they should consider devouring this informative and at times humorous book. If you’re undecided about voting in 2020, perhaps this book may sway you to get registered and do so now!
February 4, 2017
Very strong and readable history of our tortured history of voting rights. Don't expect much on actions in the past year or possibilities for the future but look for a clear understanding of how we got to where we are.
May 22, 2019
Overall very engaging and comprehensive in providing an overview of voter access and voting policy through the nation's history. I appreciated the large number of specific references to practices and conflicts that have existed, the forces driving them, and the counterforces which came into play. Of great value is the detailed addendum which provided a wealth of references on specific periods or aspects of elections and voting rights which can enable the interested ready to get as deep as they would like into a specific aspect of the larger picture.
The objectivity of the first 3/4 of the book gave way in the last quarter to a less objective assessment of the last 20 years. I think a more balanced assessment of what worked, strategies that were (successfully) employed to attain the current conditions in state districting and financial conditions with elections, and a more dispassionate assessment of what was missing or not working to enable this to occur. I would have found that sort of approach at the end much more instructive and helpful to define actions to take to move toward more democratic structures for representation.
I highly recommend this book if you're looking for an overview of the history of voting rights in America. This would also be useful if someone was looking for an overview and then wanted to know where they could turn for more specific information.
The objectivity of the first 3/4 of the book gave way in the last quarter to a less objective assessment of the last 20 years. I think a more balanced assessment of what worked, strategies that were (successfully) employed to attain the current conditions in state districting and financial conditions with elections, and a more dispassionate assessment of what was missing or not working to enable this to occur. I would have found that sort of approach at the end much more instructive and helpful to define actions to take to move toward more democratic structures for representation.
I highly recommend this book if you're looking for an overview of the history of voting rights in America. This would also be useful if someone was looking for an overview and then wanted to know where they could turn for more specific information.
November 11, 2017
This is a comprehensive study of the right/fight to vote from 1787 to 2016. It explores the actions of political groups, the courts, political parties and the people in the ongoing fight to either enlarge or shrink the electorate. It provides significant detail throughout the decades, considering effects on both outcomes and rights. The basic question of weather economic power should prevail in the determination of elections, or should the "one person, one vote" apply not just to the vote but to the "atmosphere" surrounding elections. Whose voice should be heard the loudest? Readers who enjoy history, the constitution, or the political questions of today will enjoy this book. The author is factual, but also brings a touch of ironic humor to the pages. Well written.
January 22, 2020
I found this book very challenging. I am very familiar with voting rights, national movements to gain the right to vote, and voter suppression as I have studied the topic very thoroughly over the last five months or so, but "The Fight to Vote" still brought topics to light that I had never known about before. Waldman cites legislation, Amendments, historical occurrences, and Supreme Court cases in an overall guide to the history of voting in the United States. This is a very comprehensive book, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a deep knowledge and understanding of the denial of the vote and the fight to win it. While these problems are rooted in history, they are still completely relevant today.
March 9, 2020
This book was published back in 2016, right before the elections, and man oh man, there are depressingly prescient moments where you swing wildly between wanting to laugh and sob hysterically and throw this book against a wall. Most of this book is a thorough, honest history of opting in America, including the fact that the founders wouldn’t have wanted most of the people who vote today to do so, and also that the suffragettes were pretty racist. It also covers extremely depressing recent developments like Citizens United and the rollback of the Voting Rights Act. It tries to end positively, but all you can do is laugh. Like, great, thorough read, but also yikes
August 4, 2024
Great read if anyone is interested in the great American history. A country we laud as the premiere example of democracy has its fair share of stains across the board. The book is backed up by other historical pieces and the author's arguments are cross-validated by studies he felt were needed here. However, while the somewhat conclusion that the Republicans are stripping the underprivileged population of the rights to vote may not be totally unfound, I'm willing to believe that the democrats are on the exact same boat.
September 15, 2019
I had difficulty understanding some of Waldman's points. I believe that this is partially due to my woeful lack of background in the subject matter; however, the gaps in my knowledge could have been filled almost effortlessly had the book's language been more precise and had less been assumed. That said, I appreciate the engaging style and the bringing together of a great deal of information, particularly with regard to pre-21st-century history.
November 3, 2020
The right to vote has been long fought since the first days of America’s independence and it still remains a core issue for the country today. For the author, major gains have been made over generations, including letting African-American and women to vote. However, new battles have present itself like voter ID laws and the corrupting influence of money in politics. Therefore, American society should seek to fight and preserve for their fair democracy.
December 31, 2023
This is a very good history of the uneven course of voting in the United States. It points out areas where we could face threats to democracy. An important point: this book completes BEFORE the 2016 election AND BEFORE Trump appointed 3 judges to the Supreme Court. These events and resulting impacts can not be ignored. It should be read to understand what resulted. Further, we can see how truly at risk our democracy is and how we are only worse off than when this was completed.
March 12, 2018
This was a fascinating read on the history of voters’ rights in the US up through 2016. You can tell he author most likely leans left, but mostly takes a very unbiased approach to the issues of voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and campaign finance, laying blame on all parties seeking power. Anyone who wants to better understand voting rights issues should start here.
April 22, 2019
Overall, a very good book by a good writer who makes the best of an otherwise esoteric topic. However, like a lot of esoteric topic, just because it is understood by few obscures how important it is. Here, the issue is voting rights and the continuous back and forth between those trying to expand the right to vote (making it easier for people to register and vote) and those trying to take it away (voter suppression).
If you are looking for a good introduction book to the topic of the history of the ballot in America, this is the book for you.
If you are looking for a good introduction book to the topic of the history of the ballot in America, this is the book for you.
May 20, 2019
Thorough but concise and clear history of voting rights in the United States, up to the cusp of the 2016 election. Argues for voting systems and policies that encourage the participation of any many people has possible, and identifies those who have worked, and continue to work, to insure government by the rich and powerful through voter suppression in many forms.
November 3, 2020
The Fight to Vote (2016) is about the struggle for democracy in the United States, from the American Revolutionary War right up to the present day. These blinks detail the battle that has been waged over generations to guarantee the right to vote, and explain how this right continues to be undermined.
March 11, 2017
This will make you VERY aware of what Congress and the Supreme Court may or may not do to protect our hard won right to vote. Never take it ,or any right you have for that matter, for granted. It can all go away while you're watching Jerry Springer!
Read
February 14, 2018The originalist view of elections was unenlightened. The Constitution gave the Electoral College authority to choose the president. and state lawmakers voted for Senator. Eventually white male landowners won the ballot. Former Clinton speechwriter Michael Waldman, now running the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, tracks how we got to (kind of) universal suffrage, and recounts recent efforts at voter suppression. Fun fact: In the original days of fake news, Abe Lincoln funded a German-language newspaper to get out the immigrant vote. Eventually and profoundly, one man one vote became more than a slogan.
July 15, 2018
Written with Waldman's usual articulate grasp of his subject matter. I was fascinated by the Founding Fathers chapters but felt impatient through the rest of it. I've set it aside to try and re-read at a later point.
January 7, 2020
The history of fighting for vote in America is tough for people except White rich men.Read in Blinkist.
Want to read
June 28, 2021Library books are due, and I just wasn’t interested enough to finish it in time. I’ll pick up this book again at some point in the future.
Read
June 2, 2024Packed with information. The organizing (and upsetting topic) made this hard to get through. I almost think a chronological approach would’ve made The Fight to Vote more digestible.
December 31, 2024
Basically a history of voting in the USA. Even with this system we don't make everybody happy. Written in 2016.
Read
July 27, 2021Audiobook
More a broad history of U.S. elections than the fight for voting rights specifically.
More a broad history of U.S. elections than the fight for voting rights specifically.
March 7, 2017
The Fight to Vote, is a good brief, 268 pages for the entire history of the United States, reference on the history of voting in a democracy/representative republic. The spoiler is that we have never been without voter suppression in American, since our inception. Michael Waldman does his best to stay in the middle of the road, pinning partisan voter suppression mostly on Democrats prior to the Civil Rights Act, and Republicans post, and more recently on the Roberts lead Supreme Court. Even the danger of direct voting on legislation is brought up, example California’s Prop 13. Cases, Acts, Amendments and proposed legislation are all cited here, and this book makes a good jumping off point for further research. Overall a good book for anyone interested on the subject.
February 20, 2017
A comprehensive history of voting in the United States that highlights IMPORTANT issues up to the 2016 election and considers those beyond including Citizens United ("dark money" and the billions donated to political parties), gerrymandering and poor voter registration (60% of eligible population votes in presidential elections and 40% in midterm elections). A passage I think is important:
"Some perspective: recall the scandal that first led to the first federal campaign finance law, that electric moment when J.P Morgan's man confessed to the campaign contribution from New York Life. That gift was $48,702. How much would that be worth today? In terms of purchasing power, that contribution would be about $1.3 million in 2012. That year Sheldon Adelson spent at least $93 million on behalf of the Republican presidential candidates. At a January 2015 meeting in Palm Springs, California, Charles and David Koch, the libertarian oil billionaires announced that the groups they back hope to spend nearly $900 million in the run-up to the 2016 election on behalf of conservative candidates and causes. This pledge roughly equals the amount spent in 2012 by each of the two major political parties in the United States." (243)
Worth noting, Waldman also investigates Bloomberg and Sierra Club & Greenpeace. But their donations are no where near these figures.
"Some perspective: recall the scandal that first led to the first federal campaign finance law, that electric moment when J.P Morgan's man confessed to the campaign contribution from New York Life. That gift was $48,702. How much would that be worth today? In terms of purchasing power, that contribution would be about $1.3 million in 2012. That year Sheldon Adelson spent at least $93 million on behalf of the Republican presidential candidates. At a January 2015 meeting in Palm Springs, California, Charles and David Koch, the libertarian oil billionaires announced that the groups they back hope to spend nearly $900 million in the run-up to the 2016 election on behalf of conservative candidates and causes. This pledge roughly equals the amount spent in 2012 by each of the two major political parties in the United States." (243)
Worth noting, Waldman also investigates Bloomberg and Sierra Club & Greenpeace. But their donations are no where near these figures.
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