About this Episode: During the 1600s in colonial America, Massachusetts required property ownership in order to vote. A potential voter also had to prove that he was “sober and peaceable” and “orthodox in the fundamentals of religion.” Connecticut required church membership. Rhode Island permitted only professing Christians. Landholders could vote in New York, but Pennsylvania required voters to believe in Jesus Christ and own property. Free white men who owned their homes could vote in Virginia. Quakers could not vote in Massachusetts, and Baptists were barred in several colonies. Roman Catholics and Jews were disfranchised in many others. Blacks and women could not vote at all. Nearly every American citizen has the right to vote today and should take the opportunity to exercise this freedom given to us by the framers of our Constitution.

© 2009 The American Vision, Inc.