2.3.4 The First Vote
Illustration shows a queue of African American men. The first, dressed as a laborer, is casting his vote. The second is dressed as a businessman, the third is wearing a Union Army uniform, and the fourth appears to be dressed as a farmer.
Through the individual act of voting, citizens can help choose government leaders. These men are casting their ballots in an election. In 1867, when the magazine published this edition, women did not yet have the right to vote. Have you been to a polling place? What are some of the similarities and some of the differences between polling places in our time and in the past?
Through the individual act of voting, citizens can help choose government leaders. These men are casting their ballots in an election. This image from 1867 was intended to feature newly freed enslaved people as diverse citizens and voters during Reconstruction. You may explain to students that the circumstances behind this particular image of voting were very special and were intended as a celebration of freedom. However, this image can also serve simply as an illustration of voting, in which case the following questions can help guide your classroom discussion about voting long ago and today: Have you been to a polling place? What are some of the similarities and some of the differences between polling places in our time and in the past? Once these people vote, what happens next to their leaders and the government? Be sure to connect this image to the role of ordinary people in electing representatives.
Harper’s Weekly. A Journal of Civilization
Volume XI - No. 568.
Single copies ten cents, $4.00 per year in advance.
New York, Saturday, November 16, 1867.
“The First Vote” — Drawn by A. R. Waud — [See nextge.] pa
