United States Constitution - Essay Example

Differences The United s Constitution was written by white males for the exclusive domain of white males and the exclusive protection of "their rights". It was not until 1865 that the United States constitution begin take on any form of diversity. This document maintained its pale existence for more than eighty nine years before white men were finally compelled to become inclusive. Prior to this the inclusion of Africans and women were non-existent. Even though the United States Constitution had taken on some color, it remained for an additional sixty three years to be a document of exclusion, it was still a document by men, for the exclusive domain of men.

The United States constitution remained to be single gender ( for another 55 years it did not inclusively mention women.), in effect women had only de-facto citizenship, they did not constitutionally exist; they did not have the legal right to own property, and only in some local jurisdictions, they were not afforded the right of sufferage, except to participate in local school board elections etc.,. and since this privilege was extended by local authorities, without any federal guarantees, it was often revoked in many places, at the whim and caprice of local authorities.

Africans on the other hand were sanctioned by a constitutional amendment to exercise their citizenship right, however, they were parties to intimidation, grandfather clauses, poll taxes and outright recalcitrance, to deny them the right of sufferage. The United States Constitution did not inclusively mention the female gender, or women did not become inclusive into the American body politic until 1920., When the nineteenth amendment was fully ratified. When approaching the question of what is the difference between the two In this instance there are two problems; one is racism and the other is sexism, However, there are also additional commonalities, the practice which both of them lay suspect too is perpetrated by the dominant white male status quo, who pander discrimination, and insensitivity, based on the inherent differences of gender and race.

While African Americans achieved and received primary mention in major civil rights legislation, i.e., the civil rights act of 1964, this legislation also brought with it, some major attachments which were also earmarked to assist women in their quest for equality. The Equal Rights Amendment works in favor of both genders in an effort to curb and eradicate discrimination based on race and gender. While in spite of legislation to discourage discrimination in hiring, establishment of fair and equitable pay scales, and promotions, both the African-American and the female, until now are still plagued by inequitable treatment.

So when approaching the question of who has benefited the most One must call upon the history of gender in this great republic, and remember that African-Americans and women have always been allies, as it has been with constitutional amendments and civil rights legislation (the social norm has been, as go the blacks, so go the women) and to weigh the advancement of one over the other, would be creating a wedge, one which is not needed at this juncture in the struggle. This alliance goes back much further than 1928, however, this was the first time that women ( 1928 election was heralded as the "year of the woman voter") and African Americans were able to exhibit their collective strength in a national election.

" There showing was so formidable, until in the 1932 election, we witnessed the first time a national party(since reconstruction) actually jockeyed for the African American vote"(McCormack 1928,22; Smith 1929,126; Barnard 1928,555). Works Cited Barnard, Eunice Fuller, "Madame Arrives in Politics" 226 North American Review, November 1928, pp 551-6 McCormick, Anne O'Hare,"Enter Women, the New Boss of Politics", The New York Times Magazine, October 21, 1928 pp 3, 23 Smith Helena Huntington, "Weighing the Women's Vote", 151 Outlook and Independent, January 23, 1929 pp 126-8