Had every man voted who
was qualified to do so, the electorate would not have exceeded 200,000
and probably not more than 150,000.[A]
[Footnote A: Suffrage in the Colonies. New York Chapter. McKinley.]
The next extensions of the vote to men were made to certain tribes
of Indians by act of Congress; and to the Negro by amendment to the
Federal Constitution.
At least three-fourths of the present electors secured their votes
through direct naturalization or that of their forefathers. Congress
determines conditions of citizenship and state constitutions fix
qualifications of voters. In no instance has the foreign immigrant
been forced to plead with a vast electorate for his vote. The suffrage
has been "thrust upon him" without effort or even request on his
part. National and State constitutions not only close to women the
comparatively easy processes by which the vote was extended to men and
women of other countries but also those processes by which the vote
was secured to men of our own land.
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