"Let us vote!" : youth voting rights and the 26th amendment
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

""Let Us Vote" tells the story of the multifaceted endeavor to achieve youth voting rights in the United States. Over a thirty-year period from World War II to the early 1970s, Americans, old and young, Democrat and Republican, in politics and culture built a movement and momentum for the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution. This amendment gave the right to vote to 18, 19, and 20-year olds in 1971, and it was the last time that the United States significantly expanded voting rights. The 26th Amendment means a major expansion of American democracy came right end of "the sixties." Progress toward achieving youth suffrage built on the decade's many developments, most importantly the movement and legislation for African-American civil and voting rights. This story illuminates the process of achieving political change, with the convergence of "top-down" initiative and "bottom-up" mobilization, coalition-building, multiple arguments, and strategic flexibility leading to success. Supporters came from a broad, bipartisan group of Americans and achieved a constitutional amendment that benefited every constituency in the nation. With the 50th anniversary of this important constitutional amendment this year [2021], and as calls for lowering the voting age to sixteen multiply today within the context of climate crisis, gun violence, and police brutality-all of which affect young people disproportionately-the 26th Amendment deserves our attention, application, and appreciation"-- Provided by publisher.