Transcript The Importance of Voting

Nathaniel Rogers
Principles of Communication
August 21, 2012
The Declaration of Independence
The Purpose of Government
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.--That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men,
Every time you vote you are voting to secure or take away you rights to Life, Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness
Why is Voting so Important
The United States is a constitutional republic. Americans
democratically elect politicians, who represent in the legislative,
judicial and executive branches of government.
Some of our leaders also have the power to appoint other leaders to
certain offices.
Our leaders make, enforce and judge laws that impact our health,
religion, money and freedoms. Many of these issues are also voted
on directly during elections.
It is therefore important to vote to have your say about what
happens to you.
The Right to Vote
15TH AMENDMENT (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.
19TH AMENDMENT (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 sex.
23RD AMENDMENT (Section 1.) The District constituting the seat of
Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress
may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the
whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the
District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least
populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but
they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice
President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the
District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of
amendment.
Voting and Registration in the United States:
Presidential Elections
Source: U.S.Census Bureau, Current Population Survey
Voting and Registration by Age in the United
States, Nov 2010
Voting and registration rates tend to increase with age. In the United States in 2010, only
21 percent of 18-to 24-year old citizens voted, compared with 61 percent of those 65 and
older.
Source: U.S.Census Bureau, Current Population Survey
Voting and Registration by Educational
Attainment in the United States, Nov 2010
Voting rates also typically increase with education. In 2010 in the United States, the voting
rate of citizens with at least a bachelor's degree was 61 percent, compared to 25 percent
for those who had not received a high school diploma.
Percent Voting by Labor Force Status
Dred Scott Decision
 The Court ruled that Scott's "sojourn" of two years to Illinois and the Northwest Territory did not make
him free once he returned to Missouri.
 The Court further ruled that as a black man Scott was excluded from United States citizenship and
could not, therefore, bring suit. According to the opinion of the Court, African-Americans had not been
part of the "SOVEREIGN PEOPLE" who made the Constitution.
 The Court also ruled that Congress never had the right to prohibit slavery in any territory. Any ban on
slavery was a violation of the Fifth Amendment, which prohibited denying property rights without due
process of law.
 The Missouri Compromise was therefore unconstitutional.
Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.
Marriage
a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and
contractual relationship recognized by law
(2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional
marriage <same-sex marriage>
b : the mutual relation of married persons : WEDLOCK
c : the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage
In Conclusion
 That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them
shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will
dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more
disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing
the forms to which they are accustomed.
 But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it
is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their
future security
IF WE DON’T VOTE FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL WORK TO KEEP OUR RIGHTS AND
FREEDOMS THEN WE ARE PUTTING PEOPLE IN OFFICE THAT WILL TAKE THEM
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT CHOICE YOU
MAKE…JUST MAKE ONE
Work Cited
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Declartion of Independence. (1776, July 4). Retrieved from National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
Bill of Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Archive:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
Chappell, K. (2008, Nov 10). The battle to win your right to vote: from 1870 to 2008. Retrieved from Expanded
Academic ASAP:
http://lirnproxy.museglobal.com/MuseSessionID=7b69178140b7a5b18f832c65e6886f63/MuseHost=go.galegrou
p.com/MusePath/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA188999112&v=2.1&u=lirn_main&it=r&p=EAIM&passw
ord=ip&sw=w&authCount=1
Dred Scott, He did not die in vain. (n.d.). Retrieved from Penny Liberity:
http://pennylibertygbow.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/dred-scott-he-did-not-die-in-vain/
Firearms. (n.d.). Retrieved from Minuteman Patriot:
http://minutemanpatriot.homestead.com/civil/Firearms.html
Lepore, J. (2012, 6 27). DRED: WAITING FOR THE SUPREME COURT. Retrieved from The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/06/dred-scott-and-the-affordable-care-act.html
marriage. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marriage: http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/marriage
n/a. (n.d.). Voting and Registration. Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/index.html
Persky, A. S. (2010, December). An unsteady finger on gun control laws: despite 2nd Amendment cases, firearms
codes are moving targets. Retrieved from Legal Trac Infotrac:
http://lirnproxy.museglobal.com/MuseSessionID=f4d71d5e5f9f9f64f3f088beb1a1143/MuseHost=go.galegroup.c
om/MusePath/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA244279762&v=2.1&u=lirn_main&it=r&p=LT&password=i
p&sw=w&authCount=1
The Dred Scott Decision. (n.d.). Retrieved from US History Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/32a.asp