The Marbury v. Madison of 1803 was important because it was the first Supreme Court case to apply the principle of judicial review, the power of federal courts to void acts of congress that were in conflict with the constitution.
Correct answer:
<h2>D. the 26th Amendment to the Constitution</h2>
The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Context/details:
There were strong protest movements going on in America during the 1960s, leading up to 1971 when the 26th Amendment was passed by Congress and ratified by the states. Protests against the Vietnam War were active on college campuses across the country, with communication between students and media reports being a big part of the story. Part of those protests were the demands of young people chanting, "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote." Since 18 was old enough to be drafted to fight in the war, young people argued for their right to vote as full citizens.
The 26th Amendment was passed by Congress on March 23, 1971. It was ratified by the states faster than any other amendment, achieving ratification by July 1, 1971.
The 26th Amendment is worded as follows:
- <em>Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.</em>
- <em>Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.</em>
In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense. This small pamphlet had a big effect on colonists and moved many Americans to support independence from Great Britain. Colonists were persuaded by the
<span>logic of Paine's arguments, which included that the Atlantic Ocean was too wide to allow Britain to rule America as well as an American government could, that it was foolish to think an island could rule a continent, and that the idea of Britain being America's "mother country" made Britain's actions all the worse because no mother would treat her children so badly.</span>
