property qualification

(noun)

When the country was founded, in most states, only white men with property were permitted to vote (freed African Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of color were denied the franchise.

Examples of property qualification in the following topics:

  • From Property to Democracy

    • At the time of ratification of the Constitution, most states used property qualifications to restrict franchise.
    • At the time of ratification of the Constitution, most states used property qualifications to restrict franchise.
    • At the same time, convention delegates relaxed religious and property qualifications for whites.
    • This extremely sharp rise was caused by the removal of property qualifications from the right to vote.
    • This extremely sharp rise was caused by the removal of property qualifications from the right to vote.

  • Enfranchisement and Its Limits

    • At the time of ratification of the Constitution, most states used property qualifications to restrict franchise.
    • New states adopted constitutions that did not contain property qualifications for voting, a move designed to stimulate migration across their borders.
    • Alabama, admitted to the Union in 1819, eliminated property qualifications for voting in its state constitution.
    • Indeed, race replaced property qualifications as the criterion for voting rights.
    • At the same time, convention delegates relaxed religious and property qualifications for whites.

  • State Constitutions

    • Substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications)
    • Universal white male suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property-owning widows, a step it retracted 25 years later)
    • The new constitution substantially reduced universal white-male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added to the unicameral legislature an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications.

  • The Stamp Act

    • Thomas Whately enunciated this theory in a pamphlet that readily acknowledged that there could be no taxation without consent, but the facts were that at least 75% of British adult males were not represented in Parliament because of property qualifications or other factors.

  • The Right to Vote

    • Property gave a man "a stake in society, made him responsible, worthy of a voice. " Enough taxable property and the right religion made him further eligible for office holding.
    • Relative to other societies of the time, many could vote because most property was held as family farms.
    • States also counted slaves as property for purposes of voter qualification.
    • Three states already favored abolishing property requirements.
    • To allow all states their own rules of suffrage, the Constitution was written with no property requirements for voting.

  • The Soul of a Republic

    • Republicanism idealized those who owned enough property to be both independently wealthy and staunchly committed to liberty and property rights.
    • Property gave the adult white male "a stake in society, made him responsible, worthy of a voice."
    • Enough taxable property and the right religion made him further eligible to hold office.
    • States also counted slaves as property for voter-qualification purposes.
    • Three states already favored abolishing property requirements.

  • The Legal Ramifications for Slavery

    • Property gave a man "a stake in society, made him responsible, worthy of a voice".
    • With enough taxable property and the right religion, most men could be eligible for office holding.
    • Relative to other societies of the time, many people could vote, because most property was held as family farms.
    • States also counted slaves as property for voter qualifications.
    • However, three states were already in favor of abolishing property requirements.

  • Jackson's Democratic Agenda

    • By 1820, universal white male suffrage was the norm, and by 1850, nearly all voting requirements to own property or pay taxes had been dropped.
    • However, it often lead to the hiring of incompetent and sometimes corrupt officials due to the emphasis on party loyalty above any other qualification.

  • Women in the Republic

    • She could not conduct business or buy and sell property.
    • Her husband controlled any property she brought to the marriage, though he could not sell it without her agreement.
    • The only directly elected body created by the original Constitution was the House of Representatives, for which voter qualifications were explicitly delegated to the individual states.
    • The New Jersey constitution of 1776 enfranchised all adult inhabitants who owned a specified amount of property.

  • The Democratization of the Political Arena

    • By 1820, universal white male suffrage was the norm, and by 1850 nearly all requirements to own property or pay taxes had been dropped.
    • However, it often led to the hiring of incompetent and sometimes corrupt officials due to the emphasis on party loyalty above any other qualifications.
    • Those older states that had property requirements all dropped them; new states never had them.