Two centuries ago in the United States, most people still did not enjoy full rights of political participation. In the early nineteenth century, voting rights were limited mostly to adult white males with at least modest property or wealth. These economic requirements allowed a majority of white men to vote but almost entirely excluded women, African Americans (millions of whom were held in chattel slavery), and Native Americans.[191] Historians disagree on precisely what percentage of the population was eligible to vote, but it’s most commonly considered to have been between 10 and 25
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