In a discussion about the merits of a strong central government vs. a decentralized government, I brought up the fact that voting rights for women was something that started at the state level (Wyoming) and spread to the point that prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment, women could vote in most of the US (the East Coast and the South being the exceptions).
Hendryk responded with "sucks to be a woman in one of the other states."
My response--which I can't remember if I posted it or not--was that Hendryk was making the perfect the enemy of the good and half a loaf was better than none. A more centralized voting system could deny women the frachise everywhere.
So, how might the voting system in the US look if the Feds controlled eligibility from the beginning or soon afterward instead of the states?
1. My knowledge of the property-requirement period is rather patchy, so I don't know if property qualifications would fade as they did in OTL or not under a more centralized system.
2. I think the disenfranchisement of blacks in the South would not happen, if the Feds controlled elections.
3. Women probably would NOT get the vote until much later. When Wyoming petitioned for statehood, women could vote, but the Feds wanted that abolished. Wyoming said they'd rather stay out of the Union 100 years than come in without the ladies.
At this point, the centralized government probably would prevent women from voting. IIRC Susan B. Anthony tried to use the 14th Amendment to vote and lost her Supreme Court case.
Hendryk responded with "sucks to be a woman in one of the other states."
My response--which I can't remember if I posted it or not--was that Hendryk was making the perfect the enemy of the good and half a loaf was better than none. A more centralized voting system could deny women the frachise everywhere.
So, how might the voting system in the US look if the Feds controlled eligibility from the beginning or soon afterward instead of the states?
1. My knowledge of the property-requirement period is rather patchy, so I don't know if property qualifications would fade as they did in OTL or not under a more centralized system.
2. I think the disenfranchisement of blacks in the South would not happen, if the Feds controlled elections.
3. Women probably would NOT get the vote until much later. When Wyoming petitioned for statehood, women could vote, but the Feds wanted that abolished. Wyoming said they'd rather stay out of the Union 100 years than come in without the ladies.
At this point, the centralized government probably would prevent women from voting. IIRC Susan B. Anthony tried to use the 14th Amendment to vote and lost her Supreme Court case.