What does the mass of men serve the state thus not as men mainly but as machines with their bodies mean?
“The mass of men serve the State, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies.” By saying “the mass of men,” Henry David Thoreau implies that most citizens serve the government in one way or another. The word serve suggests a lack of freedom, and the word machines suggests a lack of control and consciousness.
What does Thoreau claim is the difference between a wise man and one who votes?
Thoreau claims that a “wise man,” unlike a man who votes, does not leave what is morally right “to the mercy of chance” by voting, nor does he care about whether or not the majority is on his side (part 1, par. 11).
When could all white males vote?
The 1828 presidential election was the first in which non-property-holding white males could vote in the vast majority of states. By the end of the 1820s, attitudes and state laws had shifted in favor of universal white male suffrage.
What year could Blacks vote?
Most black men in the United States did not gain the right to vote until after the American Civil War. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified to prohibit states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on “race, color or previous condition of servitude.”
Is voting a guaranteed right?
Several constitutional amendments (the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-sixth specifically) require that voting rights of U.S. citizens cannot be abridged on account of race, color, previous condition of servitude, sex, or age (18 and older); the constitution as originally written did not establish any such rights …
What does the original Constitution say about voting rights?
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Does the Constitution say only citizens can vote?
You must be a U.S. citizen to vote in federal, state, or local elections.
Does Congress certify the presidential election?
In January, Congress sits in joint session to certify the election of the President and Vice President. In the year after the election, electoral documents are held at the OFR for public viewing, and then transferred to the Archives of the United States for permanent retention and access.
Who decides the presidential election?
Instead, presidential elections use the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes. In the event no candidate receives a majority, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.
How many times has Congress chosen the president?
Only two Presidential elections (1800 and 1824) have been decided in the House.
What did Andrew Jackson call his deal with Henry Clay?
corrupt bargain