Why is universal sufrage important?(right to vote)?

Question

please help me with my essay!!!

Answer 1

Here's a great article on universal suffrage and its importance:

http://www.sknlabourparty.org/suffrage.html

Answer 2

If we were a true Republic, there wouldn't be universal sufferage, because only those who owned land would vote. However, as the Democratic-Republic we were founded as,our founding fathers had a different view for America. Not ancient Rome (the famous republic) or ancient Greece (the famous true democracy) but a combination of the best of both of these philosophies, hopefully creating something that works so we don't have to return to feudalism or monarchy, neither of which are just systems of governance.
If everyone has the right to vote, then ideally, all politicians and every part of government is answerable to the people. ("We the People") So, rather than have the governments of Pre-US which everyone from Benjamin Franklin, to Rosseau protested, we have a sy stem that is balanced in a way to promote and allow the growth of every individual, and that stops large governments and large corporations from their tendencies to use human individuals as cattle to promote their own wealth.

Answer 3

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief, intelligence, or economic or social status. Universal suffrage in colloquial speech often indicates nearly universal suffrage; for example, according to the CIA World Factbook, the United States is considered to have universal suffrage despite the fact that roughly 5.3 million of its citizens cannot vote due to felony convictions.
In the first modern democracies only a limited number of people had a say in the running of the government - for example in the United Kingdom only male landowners with relatively large holdings had the right to vote. Suffrage depended on local custom before 1832, so there were exceptions. In all modern democracies the number of people who could vote increased gradually with time. The 19th century featured movements advocating universal male suffrage - the extension to all males regardless of social standing or race. The democratic movement of the late 19th century, unifying Liberals and Social Democrats, particularly in northern Europe, used the slogan Equal and Common Suffrage. The Movement for Universal Suffrage consisted of a social, economic and political movement aimed at extending suffrage to people of all races.