Independence from Great Britain provided the former British American colonists the opportunity to create a new, more democratic government than they had lived under before the American Revolution.
What did this new American government look like? Who could participate in this new American democracy? And what was it like to participate in this new democracy?
Scholars Terrance Rucker, a Historical Publications Specialist in the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Marcela Miccuci, a curator at the Museum of the American Revolution, join us to investigate the first federal elections in the United States and who could vote in early U.S. elections.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.
Episode Summary
Terrance Rucker, a Historical Publications Specialist in the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Marcela Miccuci, a curator at the Museum of the American Revolution, join us to investigate the first federal elections in the United States and who could vote in early U.S. elections.
During our conversation, Terrance and Marcela reveal details about the first federal election in the United States; Who could participate in the first state and federal elections; And why the Constitution of 1787 leaves it to the states to determine voter eligibility requirements.
What You’ll Discover
- Voting and representation under the Articles of Confederation
- Running for office under the Articles of Confederation
- Operations of the Confederation Congress
- Why Americans developed a new constitution in 1787
- The Constitution of 1787 and voting
- State constitutions and voting requirements
- Election Ordinance of September 1788
- The first federal election of 1788/89
- Interest in the first election to the U.S. House of Representatives
- Campaigning for a seat in the first House of Representatives
- Voting in the first federal election
- Hiccups in the first federal election
- Who could participate in the first state and federal elections
- Why the Constitution leaves voting requirements to the states
- Voting requirements in early republic New Jersey
- Why New Jersey provided women with the right to vote
- Voting in Pennsylvania
- Why New Jersey provided African Americans with the right to vote
- Details about women and African American voters in early New Jersey
- Poll lists as historical sources & the information they contain
- How early Americans voted at their polling place
- Election ballots & viva voce voting
- Whether women & African American voters in New Jersey ran for office
- Voting in local New Jersey elections
- New Jersey’s 1807 Voting Bill
- Claims of voter fraud in early New Jersey
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Office of the Historian of the United States House of Representatives
- Joanne Freeman, Affairs of Honor
- The Museum of the American Revolution
- When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807
- Jeannette Rankin
- Rosemarie Zaggari, Revolutionary Backlash
- Victoria Woodhall (1872 Presidential Candidate)
- Mary Wollstoncraft, Vindication for the Rights of Women
- Judith Sargent Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- Susan B. Anthony
- Portia Gage
- Lucy Stone
- Transcript
Sponsor Links
- Omohundro Institute
- OI Reader: Open WMQ
- Election Series Bibliography
- October 28, 2020 at 8pm eastern: Join Holly, Joe, and Liz LIVE in the Ben Franklin’s World
Support Ben Franklin's World
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 107: Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand
- Episode 151: Defining the American Revolution
- Episode 179: George Van Cleve, Governance During the Critical Period
- Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Congress
- Episode 203: Joanne Freeman, Alexander Hamilton
- Episode 260: Creating the First Ten Amendments
- Episode 277: Whose Fourth of July
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
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Get in Touch! Send me an e-mail, tweet, or leave a comment.
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