The Fort Clatsop Vote: A Precedent of Suffrage in the Pacific Northwest
In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition held a democratic vote at the mouth of the Columbia River to determine their winter quarters. This event in the United States' early…
The Dorr Rebellion: Rhode Island’s Constitutional Crisis of 1842
The Dorr Rebellion of 1842 was a constitutional crisis in Rhode Island sparked by the state's restrictive colonial-era voting laws. It resulted in the establishment of rival governments and a…
The Pennsylvania Reform Convention of 1838 and the Contraction of the Franchise
The Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1838 overhauled the state's 1790 charter to reflect Jacksonian democratic ideals. While it successfully limited executive power and shortened judicial terms in the United States,…
The Democratization of the Empire State: New York’s 1821 Constitutional Convention
In 1821, New York held a landmark constitutional convention that fundamentally reshaped the state's democratic framework. This event in the United States led to the near-universal suffrage of white men…