Review

General Books

Alexander Keyssar describes this book as originating in his struggle to write an overview of suffrage for a larger project on voter participation. Finding few broad studies from colonial times to the present, he undertook his own investigation into the history of voting qualifications. One result is his seventy-five-page table of state laws, appended to the text. The bulk of his book analyzes the pattern of change in these and other—federal and municipal—laws and policies, identifying a four-part chronology of expansion (1780s-1850s), retrenchment (1850s-1910s), stasis (1920s-1960s) and, again, expansion (1960s-present). This pattern reveals an extended, hard-fought, and perennially vulnerable struggle for suffrage. In part, Keyssar tells a familiar history, yet his sweep transcends the topic's often episodic and/or thematic treatment. His emphasis on class tensions and his wide focus offer fresh insights, particularly into the persistence of economic barriers and the parallel nature of late-nineteenth century regional trends. Regarding the former, colonial requirements that voters have a measurable economic "stake" in the community eased significantly in the first part of the nineteenth century. However, Keyssar notes this was before industrialization, when skilled artisans were to be the beneficiaries. Later, "reforms" disguised class tensions by raising new, implicit barriers.	1
Further marking the limits of the earlier change, race, gender, and citizenship barriers became more clearly drawn. After the Civil War, as the North experienced industrialization, urbanization, and immigration, Western settlement increased friction with Indians, and Southern whites pursued "redemption," all three regions restricted suffrage. The fifteenth amendment proved only a temporary exception to this narrowing. Residency and naturalization requirements, literacy tests, poll taxes, and other measures effectively disqualified the poor, transient and/or immigrant workers, reservation Indians, and African-American men. Yet, not all restrictions went unchallenged. Discussing the fifteenth amendment's narrow wording and Republic efforts at its enforcement, which did not end until defeat of the 1890 Federal Elections Bill, Keyssar highlights the contingent nature of its limited success. In turn, the women's suffrage movement, from 1848 through its own contingent success during World War I, underscores the organizational struggles and inter-group competition that were a part of contesting restrictions. As African-American suffrage showed, defeat could follow victory. In the 1930s, it was resistance to retrenchment that marked success, when relief recipients were not disenfranchised and many states repealed the poll tax. The relative quiet began to give way in such telling successes as the 1944 Supreme Court decision against all-white primaries. This marked an early event in the "federal takeover of state voting law" that characterized the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Congressional oversight was extended to other racial and ethnic groups and barriers continued to fall in the 1970s in the areas of age, English language proficiency, and residency requirements. Once the United States essentially had universal suffrage (felons remaining the conspicuous exception), the government concentrated on such issues as districting and voter registration.	2
Two points of interpretation deserve mention. Keyssar argues for the primacy of class-based restrictions. He offers strong evidence of their persistence and recognized their entwinement with other barriers. Yet, without more direct attention to their relative strength, he is not persuasive that class, and not race, was the most obstinate barrier. Furthermore, puzzling characterizations reflect the limited support he gives his claim that wars stimulated suffrage's expansion. "Narrowing the Portal" is used to describe the 1850s through 1910s, during which time two major wars produced two key amendments. And, while suffrage laws might have changed little in the 1920s and 1930s, attitudes towards race evolved, ideological concern with democracy heightened, and government activism grew, all of which help explain subsequent changes. Nevertheless, these decades, like World War II, when racial barriers eased, are labeled "The Quiet Years." However, Keyssar is fully persuasive in arguing that democracy is best understood as an ongoing project. The 2000 election highlighted the distinction between the legal right and the actual act of voting. This book represents Keyssar's detour from a study of working-class voting. When complete, that study promises to be a welcome addition to this valuable overview of the suffrage.	3
The Right to Vote addresses an essential topic for any teacher of U.S. history, particularly those discussing the survey's broad themes. Moreover, as Keyssar notes, Americans' struggle for universal suffrage invites comparison with those of other peoples. The appendix offers a valuable quick reference. Regarding racial barriers, the book is strongest on African-American and Indian suffrage. Clearly written and attendant to the dynamics of change, its detailed treatment would best suit upper-division or graduate students.	4
Santa Monica College Suzanne C. Borghei

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