While the history of universal suffrage is a hodge-podge of reform movements and civil protests and editorial diatribes, the most visible (and noisy) were women’s efforts in the United States and Great Britain to get to vote. But, largely, voting was still a white, middle-class, male privilege. Throughout the early 1800s idealists fought to extend the franchise to women, the un-wealthy, immigrants, and various minorities with some concessions won (such as the 1870 15th Amendment in the United States). Thus, the majority of people who could vote were both wealthy and male. In general, both in the Americas and in Europe, the right to vote depended on how much one earned and the value of his property. Before the first of a series of reforms in 1832 AD in the United Kingdom, only 3% of the adult male population was “qualified” to vote.

Suffrage – the odd notion that everyone in a democracy deserves to vote.

It replaces them with modern ones - not only Economic, but also Diplomatic and Military - which are in all cases very powerful. And the modern democracy is born.īesides unlocking the government itself, this civic renders many Economic policies (primarily related to commerce) obsolete. This means that the old excuse - 'You don't know what you're voting about' - becomes void. In modern days instantaneous communications and the mass media allow people from all corners of an empire to be current on political events. But during the Middle Ages such governments became extinct in most great empires, for various reasons. This is by no means a new notion, of course there are many examples of primitive republics where many citizens had the right to vote, and thus decide their own country's future. The idea of extending the right to vote to more people than just the wealthy males is the basis of the first type of modern ideology, represented by its respective government: Democracy. Suffrage is a Modern Era civic in Civilization VI.

– Victoria Woodhull 'Men, their rights, and nothing more women, their rights, and nothing less.' 'Why is a woman to be treated differently? Woman suffrage will succeed, despite this miserable guerrilla opposition.'

1755 old frontier mod