Teaching the 26th Amendment With The New York Times

In making his case for the change in his Opinion piece “If the 18-Year-Olds Get the Vote …” (July 7, 1968), Andrew Hacker, a government professor at Cornell University at the time, challenged the media’s portrayal of young Americans as political radicals or countercultural hippies. But he also pointed out how the generation from the ’60s differed from their parents.

Along with reading Mr. Hacker’s article, students can learn more about a movie he discussed, “Wild in the Streets,” which exploited this stereotypical image of youth. Read this review of the 2016 DVD or watch the original trailer, embedded above.

Students might consider the following questions after reading Mr. Hacker’s article:

• According to Mr. Hacker, what were common perceptions and misperceptions of 18- to 21-year-olds in 1968? How are they similar or different from perceptions of young people today?

• What arguments does Mr. Hacker make in favor of lowering the voting age? Do you find them compelling? Why or why not?

With the founding of the Youth Franchise Coalition (Y.F.C.) in 1969, a national organization was set to push for youth voting rights. At their first meeting, members of the Y.F.C. heard from two longtime advocates of the lower voting age: Senator Jennings Randolph, Democrat of West Virginia, and Senator Birch Bayh, Democrat of Indiana. The article “Young Lobby Group Chided on Militancy” (Feb. 6, 1969) summarizes the senators’ message about youth culture, politics and voting. What are they worried about, and what do they want the Y.F.C. members to do about it? What do you think about the senators’ message?

The next year at Senate subcommittee hearings on lowering the voting age, a number of witnesses criticized the stereotyping of young Americans in the media. Do we see this kind of media framing of young people today?

Strategies for lowering the voting age

The Youth Franchise Coalition represented the culmination of a 30-year effort to lower the voting age. Bringing together student and youth organizers with adult allies, the Y.F.C. worked at the federal level to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They also supported state-level campaigns, which worked to achieve state constitutional amendments. The first success was in Georgia in 1943.

The article “Lower Voting Age Sought for State: New Group Asks Franchise for 18-Year-Olds” (Jan. 15, 1967) reports on the campaign in New York, aimed at the state’s 1967 constitutional convention. After reading the article, students can discuss the following questions.

• What was the goal of the Fair Franchise Coalition in New York? What steps did it involve?

• What strategies did they pursue to achieve each of those steps toward their goal?

• You can also consider what arguments John Patrick Conroy, the founder of the coalition, made for lowering the voting age.

States’ rights or federal power?

Looking at the challenges involved in getting each state to pass legislation, including New York, proponents of lowering the voting age pushed Congress to enact a uniform voting age across the nation. But this was controversial. At stake was the relationship between states’ rights and federal power, an issue that originated with the nation’s founding.

Advocates of states’ rights, citing Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, argued they had the right to determine the minimum age for voting in their states, not Congress. Those in favor of congressional action cited Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. They believed that the power to regulate elections belonged to the states in the first instance, but that Congress “may” step in at crucial times, as happened with the 15th and 19th Amendments.