BoldFinger
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2026
- Posts
- 140
Our Founding Fathers declared in 1776 that “all men are created equal”—or so they wrote. But the Declaration of Independence did not establish voting rights or a system of “one man, one vote.” Voting qualifications were largely determined by the states. Women were generally excluded, although some women and free Black men who met property requirements could vote in New Jersey before that state restricted voting to white men in 1807. Equality was a grand declaration, but hardly a universal practice.
The notorious population-counting bargain came later, in the Constitution of 1787—not the Declaration. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, three-fifths of the enslaved population counted toward a state’s representation in the House and its share of direct taxation. It was not a concession that Black people were human, nor did it give enslaved people any fraction of a vote. It increased slaveholding states’ political power without giving the people being counted a political voice. Free Black people were counted fully, though their voting rights varied by state.
That compromise reminds me of Republicans' current gerrymandering attempts to gain new seats. It backfired, biggly while the California gerrymandering by Democrats held up.
Along America’s path, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, except as punishment for a crime after conviction. It did not abolish bigotry. The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870, prohibited denying voting rights because of race, color, or previous enslavement, protecting Black men’s right to vote nationwide. Note: Women are still not mentioned.
Women, meanwhile, could bear sons who would grow up eligible to vote while remaining ineligible themselves. Imagine that. After decades of organizing, petitioning, and marching, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified—144 years after the Declaration. It prohibited denying voting rights on account of sex. Some women already could vote under state laws, while many Black women continued to face racial barriers after 1920.
Black soldiers also served in segregated Army units. During the Civil War, those units were overwhelmingly led by white commissioned officers—but not exclusively. President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 established a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in the armed forces on July 26, 1948; integration took years to implement. 1948, imagine that, and where are we today in our armed forces?
More recently, Pete Hegseth intervened to block promotions of Black and female officers, but the Pentagon disputes the reporting. Pete says it is because… for reasons… not specified. We may not have to worry about this dispute for much longer. If I read the political winds correctly, the mid-term election mandates will blow Pete out of the War Department in short order. Maybe ‘promote him’ to another service position by the CIC? It would be nice to see those individuals terminated get reinstated upon his departure. Hopefully, if they choose to return.
The notorious population-counting bargain came later, in the Constitution of 1787—not the Declaration. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, three-fifths of the enslaved population counted toward a state’s representation in the House and its share of direct taxation. It was not a concession that Black people were human, nor did it give enslaved people any fraction of a vote. It increased slaveholding states’ political power without giving the people being counted a political voice. Free Black people were counted fully, though their voting rights varied by state.
That compromise reminds me of Republicans' current gerrymandering attempts to gain new seats. It backfired, biggly while the California gerrymandering by Democrats held up.
Along America’s path, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, except as punishment for a crime after conviction. It did not abolish bigotry. The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870, prohibited denying voting rights because of race, color, or previous enslavement, protecting Black men’s right to vote nationwide. Note: Women are still not mentioned.
Women, meanwhile, could bear sons who would grow up eligible to vote while remaining ineligible themselves. Imagine that. After decades of organizing, petitioning, and marching, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified—144 years after the Declaration. It prohibited denying voting rights on account of sex. Some women already could vote under state laws, while many Black women continued to face racial barriers after 1920.
Black soldiers also served in segregated Army units. During the Civil War, those units were overwhelmingly led by white commissioned officers—but not exclusively. President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 established a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in the armed forces on July 26, 1948; integration took years to implement. 1948, imagine that, and where are we today in our armed forces?
More recently, Pete Hegseth intervened to block promotions of Black and female officers, but the Pentagon disputes the reporting. Pete says it is because… for reasons… not specified. We may not have to worry about this dispute for much longer. If I read the political winds correctly, the mid-term election mandates will blow Pete out of the War Department in short order. Maybe ‘promote him’ to another service position by the CIC? It would be nice to see those individuals terminated get reinstated upon his departure. Hopefully, if they choose to return.
