Trace the history of universal adult franchise in the world from the french revolution till the present day
Answers
Universal suffrage
The concept of universal suffrage, also known as general suffrage or common suffrage, consists of the right to vote of all adults, subject only to minor exceptions.[1]Many countries make an exception for small numbers of adults that are considered mentally incapable of voting. Other countries also exclude people convicted of serious crimes or people in jail, but this is considered a violation of a basic human right in an increasing number of countries.[citation needed]In some countries, including the United States, it is very difficult and expensive[vague] for convicted criminals to regain this right even after having served their jail sentence, but U.S voting laws are not national, but subject to federalism so some states have more lenient voting laws. In any case, where universal suffrage exists, the right to vote is not restricted by race, sex, belief, wealth, or social status.
Although it took or is taking a long time in many countries before women got or get the right to run for office even after getting the right to vote, there are still no commonly used clear terms to differentiate between these different rights. It is therefore usually best to avoid the little known and ambivalent terms used to make this distinction and to instead clearly say whether one is referring to only men or also women having only the right to vote or also the right to run for office.
The meaning of universal suffrage has changed over time. Originally it was used for the term universal male suffrage and even today the term is often used to refer to historical or contemporary situations in which women had or have the right to vote but not to run for office. It has also been used for situations where there is a universal right to vote in elections but not run for office.
In the United States, the term "suffrage" is often associated specifically with women's suffrage, as the term became widely known during the American Suffragettes movement, which began in the mid-nineteenth century and ultimately peaked during the first three decades of the twentieth century. This movement eventually culminated in the year 1920, when the United States ruled that women were to be given the same rights to vote and run for office as men by passing the Nineteenth Amendment
In most countries, universal suffrage (the right to vote but not necessarily the right to be a candidate) followed about a generation after universal male suffrage. Notable exceptions in Europe were France, where women could not vote until 1944, Greece (1952), and Switzerland (1971 in federal elections and 1990 in all cantonal elections). It is worth noting that countries that took a long time to adopt women's suffrage had previously often been pioneers in granting universal male suffrage.
In the first modern democracies, governments restricted the vote to those with property and wealth, which almost always meant a minority of the male population. In some jurisdictions, other restrictions existed, such as requiring voters to practice a given religion. In all modern democracies, the number of people who could vote has increased progressively with time. In the 19th century in Europe, Great Britain and North America, there were movements advocating "universal [male] suffrage". The democratic movement of the late 19th century, unifying social democrats, particularly in northern Europe, used the slogan Equal and Common Suffrage.
The concept of universal suffrage requires the right to vote to be granted to all its residents. All countries, however, do not allow certain categories of citizens to vote. All countries currently have a minimum age, usually coinciding with the age of majority, and several countries impose felony disenfranchisement and disfranchisement based on resident status and citizenship. Saudi Arabia was the last major country that did not allow women to vote, but admitted women both to voting and candidacy in the 2015 municipal elections.
Answer:
a.18th and 19th centuries marked the phase of revolutions, the French revolution, the glorious revolution laid the foundation of democracy in the World. These events popularised the ideas of liberty, equality , government based on consent, these events challenged absolute powers of the monarch, they laid the foundation of a society based on merit rather than feudal privileges etc.
b. Though initially right to vote was extended to only men, later with women suffrage movement , right to vote was extended to all.
c In the 20th century we have seen dramatic changes in the expansion of democracy. Many of the older democratic countries by far became more representative and inclusive by extending right to vote to women with New Zealand as the first country to endorse universal adult franchise.
d. Gradually many countries extended right to women, , to minorities like Britain in 1928, US in 1965.
d. Decolonisation accelerated the process of spread of democracy. We may give example of the process of decolonisation of colonies in Asia and Africa with many of them becoming democratic as they were fighting for values of freedom, liberty, justice, equality all embraced by democracy. We may give example of India, which after attaining independence adopted and endorsed the principle of Universal adult franchise.
e. The disintegration of Soviet Union brought about a dramatic change in political scenario, with most of the former republics and east European countries moving towards democracy ad adopting political equality.
f. In the 21st century we witnessed many countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and recently Pakistan making attempts to establish democratic regimes and endorsing democratic principles.
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