=The Nineteenth Amendment.=—It is now more than fifty years since women first began to claim, in this country, the right to equal political privileges with men. Those who supported this claim argued that women were quite competent to assume an active share in government and that in some branches of public administration (such as the management of schools and the enforcement of the laws regulating child labor) women have an even greater interest than men. Women were required to pay taxes and it was urged that on this account they were entitled to representation. On the other hand the extension of the suffrage to women was opposed on the ground that it would tend to weaken the interest of women in the home, thus impairing the strength of the family as a social unit, and also that women would not use the ballot wisely. They would be influenced by their sympathies and emotions rather than by their judgment, it was predicted, and would bring an element of instability into public policy. Another objection commonly raised was that with twice as many voters the cost of holding elections would be doubled. But despite these objections the movement for woman suffrage made gradual headway in one state after another and finally, in 1920, it was made compulsory upon the entire country by the provisions of the Nineteenth Amendment.[35] [Sidenote: Citizenship, age, and residence.] =Present Qualifications for Voting.=—Each state decides who shall not vote. Each state has entire freedom to do as it thinks best in this matter subject only to the provisions of the national constitution, which stipulate that the privilege of voting shall not be denied to any citizen by reason of sex, or because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. There is no reason, therefore, why the qualifications for voting should be the same in all parts of the country, and as a matter of fact they differ a little from state to state. At present the restrictions relate mainly to age, citizenship, and residence, but sometimes also to literacy and taxpaying. In every state the privilege of voting is restricted to persons who are twenty-one years of age or over. As for the residence requirement it varies considerably in different states, running usually from six months to a year. It is imposed in order to make sure that those who vote in any community shall be somewhat acquainted with its affairs. In most of the states none but citizens are permitted to vote, but in two or three states the privilege is extended to those aliens who have declared their intention of becoming citizens.