The Right to Vote
The Contested History of Democracy in the United States
Alexander Keyssar(Author)
Basic Books (Publisher)
Published on 22. August 2000
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-465-02968-6 (ISBN)
Description
An esteemed historian offers a compelling re-thinking of the path America has taken toward its goal of universal suffrage.. Most Americans take for granted their right to vote, whether they choose to exercise it or not. But the history of suffrage in the U.S. is, in fact,the story of a struggle to achieve this right by our society's marginalized groups. In The Right to Vote, Duke historian Alexander Keyssar explores the evolution of suffrage over the course of the nation's history. Examining the many features of the history of the right to vote in the U.S.class, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, and agethe book explores the conditions under which American democracy has expanded and contracted over the years.Keyssar presents convincing evidence that the history of the right to vote has not been one of a steady history of expansion and increasing inclusion, noting that voting rights contracted substantially in the U. S. between 1850 and 1920. Keyssar also presents a controversial thesis: that the primary factor promoting the expansion of the suffrage has been war and the primary factors promoting contraction or delaying expansion have been class tension and class conflict.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-465-02968-6 (9780465029686)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2009
Basic Books
€9.99
Available for download