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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Life’s a Roller Coaster … Enjoy the Ride!
2
Host a Movie Night Under the Stars
2
Drive Smart, Arrive Safe: Avoid Holiday Crashes
3
How a Pet Husky Prevented Disaster
3
Apply for the Finney Injury Law Scholarship
4
The 26th Amendment: Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote
YOUNG VOICES, EQUAL CHOICES HOW 18-YEAR-OLDS WON THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Fifty-three years ago this month, Missouri became the 33rd state to ratify the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. The amendment passed with surprising speed after several years of mounting public protest over the alarming death toll in the Vietnam conflict. Many soldiers in that war were drafted into service as soon as they turned 18, and 58,220 Americans died in Vietnam. Protesters objected that the same citizens who were required to fight and die for the country had no voice at the polls. Youth activists rallied behind the slogan, “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote,” a motto Sen. Ted Kennedy, among others, found compelling.
Efforts to lower the voting age weren’t new. The first push in that direction came during World War II. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Congress passed legislation requiring men ages 18 and up to register for the draft. Men 18 and up also were required to serve during the Korean War. By the 1960s, tens of thousands of young men each month were being drafted into the armed forces to serve in Vietnam. Amid mounting public protests, the drive to lower the voting age gained momentum. When the courts struck down a congressional effort to lower the voting age by amending the Voting Rights Act of 1965, lawmakers quickly proposed and passed the 26th Amendment in
March 1971. By July, the measure was ratified by the minimum 38 states required to amend the Constitution. For Missouri, ratifying the 26th Amendment was a historic step by a state known as the site of many 19th century voting rights rallies and the birthplace of such noted suffrage advocates as Phoebe Couzins. Some observers, including then-President Richard Nixon, asserted that Ohio was the 38th state to ratify the amendment, while others say South Carolina and Alabama beat Ohio to the punch. Whatever the case, the 26th Amendment was soon ratified by five more states, bringing the total number to 43 — a fitting response to the groundswell of appreciation for the sacrifices young draftees had made.
Practicing in Missouri and Illinois
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