Political Participation in the United States - Free Essay Example

Introduction / Road Map In the United States, political participation is a right and a responsibility of the American people.Americans rights and responsibilities have been expanding greatly over the last 200 years.Until about one hundred years ago, women were not able vote and not until 1965 were African Americans able to vote (History.com Staff. 2009).Rights of those living in America expand more every year and it is important that Americans continue to grow with country.The United States is a democracy; therefore, it is important for everyone to participate so the government benefits all those living in it.For organizational purposes, the paper is set out in the following form.Discussed first will be just a few of the many rights and responsibilities that the American people have, including one of the most important aspects of political participation, voting.Then, interest-based organizations will be discussed, including the National Rifle Association and the National Association for the Advancement of C olored People.Lastly, the Civil Rights Movement will be discussed, including the Womens Suffrage Movement and African American rights.Rights and ResponsibilitiesCitizenship is what connects the American people.Some rights that Americans have is the freedom to express yourself, as well as the right to life, liberty, and happiness, and other rights set out in the Constitution.Citizens share the American ideals of freedom, liberty, equality, but with those things comes responsibility (The Department of Homeland Security).One way for citizens to connect to their government is through voting.Within the rights given to Americans, there are many responsibilities.It is important to support and obey the Constitution.One of the easiest ways to politically participate is through suffrage.Voting is important because the people need to participate in the democratic process of the country so the countrys decisions reflect the wants and needs of the American people.Otherwise, the government will n ot accurately provide for the country it is serving.Americans need to stay up to date on current events and issues so they can be involved and participate in decision-making.Interest-based OrganizationsService organizations are a way for the American people to be involved.People within an interest-based organization have a common cause for being a part of the group, usually to seek to influence public policy (Business Dictionary).These groups usually focus on one particular issue.Today, one very controversial organization is the National Rifle Association (NRA).. According to the National Rifle Associations official website, the goal of the association is to promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis (National Rifle Association).The association has created things like training and education for hunters and even law enforcement training.Over one million gun owners are trained by NRA instructors each year.This service organization claims that they are the primary defender for the Second Amendment and that they are the main education organization in the world when it comes to guns.The National Rifle Association is a widely popular organization and has ties to tons of companies across the country.The NRA works with the following businesses: Hertz, American Airlines, FedEx, Amazon, and Apple (Tuttle, 2018).Being involved in an organization like the NRA is an example of people fighting for the Americans right to the Second Amendment.The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) purpose isto ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race (NAACP Organization).It is the oldest, largest, and most well known civil rights based organization (NAACP Organization II).Some of the objectives of the NAACP include: to achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States, to remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes, to seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights (NAACP Organization).People involved in the NAACP are involved because they want equality for all, and they are well known because of the differences they have made in the United States.The organizations goal was to ensure that the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were upheld.Civil Rights MovementsExpanding RightsThe Civil Rights Movement consists of many different movements, but the ones discussed in this paper will be the Womens Suffrage movement and Africa n American rights.The Womens Suffrage Movement fought for the womens right to vote.People joined this movement to help change the laws because they believed that it should be a right for everyone to be able to vote.After the Fourteenth Amendment was created, advocates for the Womens Suffrage Movement took it as the perfect opportunity to influence the choice of lawmakers. After decades of fighting, the Nineteenth Amendment was created in 1920, allowing women the right to vote.Over eight million women got to vote for the first time in their lives that year (History.com Staff, 2009).This is a prime example of what political participation is important in the United States.Today, people are still fighting for womens rights and to be treated equally in places like a workplace.The Civil Rights Movement was a movement for African Americans to gain equal rights.After the Civil War, slavery was abolished but discrimination remained.Jim Crow laws existed, keeping African Americans from using the same facilities as whites.Aside from Jim Crow laws, African Americans still experienced discrimination and voting laws were still limited.Plessy v. Fergusononly made matters more difficult when it was decided that facilities for whites and African Americans were separate, but were still equal.Another very important case that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement was theBrown v. Board of Education, which actually ruled that racial segregation of children is unconstitutional in public schools and that the separate-but-equal doctrine was not equal (History.com Staff, 2009).In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed, no longer allowing the obstacles that made voting for African Americans more difficult, including literacy tests and poll taxes.Although many things have changed for African Americans, there is still discrimination today.They are still fighting for equal treatment today through movements like the Black Lives Matter. The Womens Suffrage Movement and the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans played on political participation, representation, and inclusiveness in our country because people became politically involved.These citizens represented what they wanted in the country and made it happen by standing up for what they believe in.These movements created inclusiveness because it allowed rights for a greater amount of people, including voting for women and African Americans and overall more rights for African American people.These movements have changed the country in massive ways.ConclusionRights and responsibilities of citizens have evolved since our countrys founding in numerous ways.Large groups of people are now allowed to vote in the United States, including women and African Americans.Not only is it a right to vote, but also it is a responsibility to participate in decisions for the country.Interest-based organizations have been around since the founding of the United States and continue to remain relevant in influencing public polic y.The Civil Rights Movement has affected the United States in tremendous ways.Citizens continue to grow as the country does.It is expected that the rights and responsibilities of the American people will continue to expand as well in the future.