Who was eligible to vote when the Constitution was ratified in 1788?

• A. All adult males
• B. White property-owning males
• C. Determination was left to the states
• D. All citizens over 21 years old

Answer: (C)

At the time the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the framers established that the right to vote was not fully defined at the federal level. Instead, they left the specific qualifications for voting to each individual state. This meant that each state had the authority to determine who was eligible to vote, resulting in a variety of voting rules across the country. While many states had restrictions that often included property ownership or race, there was no uniform standard established by the Constitution itself at the time of its ratification. This decentralized approach allowed states to set their own laws regarding voter eligibility, which varied significantly across the nation.