The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States ; [with a New Afterword]

Alexander Keyssar

Basic Books, 2000 - Political Science - 479 pages

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 age—the 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.

What people are saying

Review: The Right To Vote The Contested History Of Democracy In The United States

User Review  - Lily - Goodreads

Such an interesting book on a really interesting topic. My favorite of the books we've read so far for American Political History.

Review: The Right To Vote The Contested History Of Democracy In The United States

User Review  - Thomas Stevenson - Goodreads

In 2012 the right to vote is being contested again. Republican state legislatures have passed laws requiring prospective voters have IDs. The aim is to prevent voter fraud, a crime even some ...

About the author

Alexander Keyssar is Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. He is the author of Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts (A New York Times Notable Book for 1986) and has written essays and reviews for The Nation, Times Literary Supplement, the New York Times, The New Republic, and a host of other popular and academic publications.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States ; [with a New Afterword]
• Author: Alexander Keyssar
• Edition: reprint, revised
• Publisher: Basic Books, 2000
• ISBN: 0465029698, 9780465029693
• Length: 479 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / General; Political Science / Civil Rights