text assets/images/thmbs/intro.gif Expanding Democracy

The history of democracy in America is the history of increasing the power available to an ever growing number people. Popular sovereignty, or the idea that the power of government ultimately rests in the people it governs, was not an American innovation; its modern form was established in English political theory during the 1600s. But "We the People" wasn't just the beginning of the U.S. Constitution; it was the beginning of a political experiment that was unprecedented in scope.

As the country grew, so did the strength of popular sovereignty. The U.S. Constitution is difficult to amend by design, but six of its 27 amendments directly expand

]]> voting rights: the 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th.

Expanding the Media

The history of American media is essentially the same story. Early newspapers had a narrow, more academic focus that soon broadened to accommodate a colonial American society with 70-90% literacy rates. As the government came closer to the people, so did the media. The expansion of newspapers in the 1820s and 1830s mirrored the extension of suffrage to non-landowning males. Illustrated periodicals, which brought news and political opinions to the illiterate, debuted just before minority suffrage was granted by the 15th Amendment. Radio broadcasting began within

]]> a year of women's suffrage and television spread alongside the civil rights movement. By the time all adult American citizens could vote, all adults had access to the media regardless of their ability to read and write.

In the past, the media often decided which issues would receive significant coverage. However, with the modern advent of the Internet, the public has begun playing a larger role in not only determining which political issues are important, but also in deciding how much attention those issues receive.

The media is important for ensuring that power remains with the people, but it isn't the only part of that equation. The rest, as it always has been, is up to us.

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