Essay 8-C: Universal Male Suffrage and Founding Documents
The Declaration of Independence notably expresses as a “self-evident” truth “that all men are created equal” and that governments derive “their just powers from consent of the governed.” In the decades that followed the founding of the United States, there would be much thought and debate dedicated to figuring out what exactly “created equal” and “consent of the governed” mean. There was certainly some notion that these commitments to equality and consent should allow for broad participation in political decision-making.
To see how striking this devotion was, remember the world of 1776. Almost nowhere did ordinary people vote. Even Great Britain—often considered one of the freest nations of the time—restricted suffrage so tightly that only about five percent of adults could vote and only around fifteen percent of adult males. Property qualifications for voting ensured that most Britons had no political voice. Yet Britain was still among the most democratic places on earth.
