Gerrymandering

I do not take political sides. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all have a place in our election system. Everyone should vote for what they think is best for the country, not for party or family biases.

There is a lot of news about gerrymandering in some states. That is not new. In the State of New Jersey in 1797, women could vote. Aghast!

In 1790, New Jersey changed their constitution. It said,:No person shall be entitled to vote in any other township or precinct than that in which he or SHE doth actually reside at the time of the election. But they did have to be property owners, and women could not own property. At marriage, the property went to the husbands. 

Then, in 1797, the wording in the Constitution was changed again. This time, it became that property owners no longer needed "clear estate," or clear ownership of their property.  Women in the state went to the polls and voted!!!

The following year, the women voted to block a Republican candidate. The local newspaper wrote this,

 "Although reinforced by the petticoat band

The Republican valor they could not withstand

And of their disasters in triumph we'll sing

For the petticoat faction's a dangerous thing."

 In 1807, the New Jersey constitution was revised again to limit the vote to white male taxpayers (Sorry to say it was the Republicans).

In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stated that African Americans could vote.

However, it wasn't until 1920 that the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was ratified, and all women could vote throughout the country. 

My take from this snippet of our history is: watch the gerrymandering in your state so you are included.