Whho could vote when the constitution was first ratified?
Check this site.
http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html
If you are asking about the U.S. Constitution, then only white men who owned property had suffrage back in the late 1700's.
When the United States Constitution was first ratified, the right to vote was not granted to all individuals. The eligibility to vote varied among states, and they had their own set of criteria for determining who could participate in elections. Here are the general guidelines for voting eligibility at the time:
1. Gender: Only male citizens were allowed to vote. Women were excluded from voting until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, which granted women the right to vote.
2. Age: The minimum voting age varied among states. Some states set the minimum age at 21, while others had it as low as 18 or even 16.
3. Property ownership: In many states, owning a certain amount of property was a requirement to be eligible to vote. The idea behind this was that property owners had a stake in society and were more likely to have a vested interest in voting responsibly.
4. Race and ethnicity: Sadly, African Americans and Native Americans, whether they were free or enslaved, were generally excluded from voting. It wasn't until several amendments were added and the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s that voting rights became more inclusive.
It's important to note that voting eligibility was not uniform across the country, and different states had their own rules and regulations. The early years of American democracy saw a gradual expansion of the right to vote through various amendments and legislation, eventually leading to a more inclusive electoral system.