Democratic from the beginning? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Recent Blog Posts

Reader comment on:
In the Hour of Our Pride

Submitted by T.R.C. Hutton, May 21, 2007 14:06

Democratic from the beginning? Do you mean from the beginning of British colonization when a very large segment of the white population showed up as indentured servants? Or do you mean from 1776? It took decades after that for every state to remove property requirements that kept all white males from voting. It wasn't until 1870 that African American males were guaranteed a vote and nearly five decades later women were recognized to have the same right. Native Americans were able to vote shortly afterward but it wasn't until relatively recently that all young men who could be drafted and die in a war could vote for their "leaders." Democratic from the beginning? We're just getting started.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Democratic from the beginning? Do you mean from the beginning of British colonization when a very large segment of the...	T.R.C. Hutton	May 21, 2007 14:06
Yes, democratic from beginning. You forget that 1776 has to be judged not by today standarts, but by standarts as... [MORE]	M.Petkov	May 23, 2007 21:51
No more comments needed! [MORE]	Angelo Muirragui	May 20, 2007 16:55
Now, we're the country that's becoming a third rate power with a first rate military. Our national debt is approaching ten... [MORE]	Mel Schneide	May 19, 2007 23:30
Not a word from Mr. Murphy about the most destructive analogy of all. Rome became soft and vulnerable through its... [MORE]	Clifford Nelson	May 19, 2007 06:28
Of course it is. One would have to be blind not to see it. Exactly alike all the old empires?... [MORE]	Barry Bright	May 20, 2007 10:31
My many readings of Gibbon convinced me that the Fall of Rome (Italy) was caused subconsciously by the gradual conviction... [MORE]	M. Ficino	May 18, 2007 06:05

Reader comment on:In the Hour of Our Pride

Other reader comments on this article

Comment on In the Hour of Our Pride

Reader comment on:
In the Hour of Our Pride