In a reviewing a recent school test by my daughter, I noticed that she had an essay question where she had to describe three rights guaranteed by the (US) Bill of Rights, and three corresponding responsibilities. Setting aside the need to think in terms of responsibilities along with rights, she listed the right to vote as one of her three. When I read it, I said, "Oops, wrong answer. There's no mention of the right to vote in the Bill of Rights" (even though it is a reasonable guess). However, her answer wasn't marked wrong on her test. She also said her textbook mentioned that Bill of Rights guaranteed a right to vote. Since I doubt that the textbook authors had the Ninth Amendment (The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.) in mind when they made this claim, it looks like we'll have to add textbook authors to the list of people who haven't read the Constitution. :-(
Or, am I missing something, legal scholars?
1 comment:
The textbook is definitely wrong, as there is absolutely nothing in the Bill of Rights (that would be Amendments I through X) regarding the right to vote. Amendments XV, XIX, and XXVI address voting rights (for all races, for women, and for all citizens 18 and older, respectively). Also, Amendment XXIII addresses the District of Columbia's representation in the Electoral College. I think I might write the textbook publisher. Maybe I'd also suggest that the teacher actually read the Constitution. Well, maybe not.
Post a Comment