Who was allowed to vote in the US in 1800?

by snipazer

Were all white males allowed to vote in the US in 1800? What about those living in territories that weren't states quite yet?

Irishfafnir

No, not all White Males could vote in 1800. Nine of sixteen states still had property requirements and four of the six states that didn't have property requirements limited voting to tax payers. The Northwest territory had property requirements to vote as well. 1800 marks a radical shift in voting eligibility as Republicans swept into power at the national level and in many states, opening the suffrage to all white males in Maryland in 1801, renters in New York in 1804, and all tax payers in New Jersey in 1807. The republican controlled congress also swiftly eliminated the property requirement for US territories setting up very broad suffrage requirements such as militia service, a term of residency, paying taxes or less. Furthermore no territories that entered the Union underneath the Jeffersonians would have property requirements. The most important thing to understand of this era is that voting requirements could and did vary dramatically from state to state, and one should not fall into the trap of "Only white males who owned property could vote in the Early Republic".

For more info The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States has an awesome appendix on state suffrage laws.