The Fight to Vote

Informationen zum Autor Michael Waldman is president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving the systems of democracy and justice. He was director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999 and is the author of The Second Amendment: A Biography and other books. Waldman is a graduate of Columbia College and NYU School of Law. He comments widely in the media on law and policy. Klappentext Praised by the late John Lewis, this is the seminal book about the long and ongoing struggle to win voting rights for all citizens by the president of The Brennan Center, the leading organization on voter rights and election security, now newly revised to describe today's intense fights over voting. As Rep. Lewis said, and recent events in state legislatures across the country demonstrate, the struggle for the right to vote is not over. In this "important and powerful" (Linda Greenhouse, former New York Times Supreme Court correspondent) book Michael Waldman describes the long struggle to extend the right to vote to all Americans. From the writing of the Constitution, and at every step along the way, as disenfranchised Americans sought this right, others have fought to stop them. Waldman traces this history from the Founders' debates to today's many restrictions: gerrymandering; voter ID laws; the flood of dark money released by conservative organizations; and the concerted effort in many state legislatures after the 2020 election to enact new limitations on voting. Despite the pandemic, the 2020 election had the highest turnout since 1900. In this updated edition, Waldman describes the nationwide effort that made this possible. He offers new insights into how Donald Trump's false claims of fraud—"the Big Lie"—led to the January 6 insurrection and the fights over voting laws that followed one of the most dramatic chapters in the story of American democracy. As Waldman shows, this fight, sometimes vicious, has always been at the center of American politics because it determines the outcome of the struggle for power. The Fight to Vote is "an engaging, concise history…offering many useful reforms that advocates on both sides of the aisle should consider" (The Wall Street Journal).The Fight to Vote 1 “The Consent of the Governed” AT THE start of America’s drive toward democracy, many thought about representation and how to give power to the people. Surprisingly few thought about the vote. On June 11, 1776, Philadelphia pulsed with revolution. In quick succession the Continental Congress appointed three committees to prepare for the expected final break with Great Britain. One panel would explore foreign alliances; another would set terms for a confederation of the newly independent states; and the Committee of Five would write the Declaration of Independence. As that document grew in importance over the years, its authors described how it was drafted. The story got better with each retelling. John Adams claimed he had chosen the thirty-three-year-old Thomas Jefferson, just as he had tapped George Washington to lead the Continental Army. “You should do it,” he remembered insisting. “Oh! no,” Jefferson replied. “Why will you not? You ought do it.” “I will not.” “Why?” “Reasons enough.” “What can be your reasons?” “Reason first—You are a Virginian, and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second—I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular.—You are much otherwise. Reason third—You can write ten times better than I can.” Years later Jefferson would serenely deny such a conversation, claiming it was clear all along that he wou...

Product details

• Authors: Michael Waldman
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 31.05.2017, delayed
• EAN: 9781501116490
• ISBN: 978-1-5011-1649-0
• No. of pages: 384
• Subject: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous