Old Enough To Fight, Old Enough To Vote (1971)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 1 July 2021
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s July 1st. This day 1971, North Carolina voted to ratify the 26th amendment, which lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long fight to lower the voting age, and how it was often tied to an argument about the age at which Americans were sent to war. Plus: should the age be 17 or 16 or even lower?
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. |
| 0:07.0 | My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:10.0 | Now remember a couple episodes ago when the voting age kind of randomly came up and we said |
| 0:14.8 | you know we should find a time to do an episode on the voting age well that time is now it |
| 0:18.7 | happened really fast we are doing that episode because on this day July 1st, 1971, North Carolina became the 38th |
| 0:26.6 | state to ratify the adoption of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the national voting age to 18 from 75, believe it or not, no, from 21, |
| 0:36.2 | 21 to 18. |
| 0:38.2 | But a big change, just a few years, but a big change affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans kind of redefining when you get to call yourself an adult who can do adult things like vote. |
| 0:49.0 | And it changed in many ways American democracy. And was also we will note one of the |
| 0:54.7 | last times our Constitution was amended something we don't really do much anymore |
| 0:58.8 | as we will discuss and here to discuss are as always |
| 1:02.0 | Necholheimer of Columbia and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. |
| 1:05.2 | Hello there. |
| 1:06.2 | Hello Jody. |
| 1:07.2 | Hey there. |
| 1:08.2 | So I will just say in general you know this is one of those instances of how a norm can can change you know you |
| 1:16.0 | you grew up just half a generation later you don't really realize like all |
| 1:19.3 | your parents and certainly your grandparents grew up with this notion that when you're 18 you don't vote |
| 1:23.5 | I mean it's just sort of an interesting reminder this is not that long ago that there was |
| 1:26.7 | this big fight to change the voting age but Kelly what is you know take us to that |
| 1:30.9 | fight how did this come about and why did it come about culminating |
| 1:34.5 | in 1971 yeah sure so this is sort of a long ongoing if you will process if you think |
... |
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