Final answer:
Extending the franchise in the United States means expanding voting rights to a larger group of people, including marginalized groups. It promotes inclusivity and democracy by allowing more individuals to participate in the political process.
Step-by-step explanation:
Extending the franchise in the United States refers to the expansion of voting rights to a larger group of people. This typically involved granting the right to vote to previously marginalized groups, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals without property ownership. The extension of the franchise aimed to promote inclusivity and democracy by allowing more individuals to participate in the political process.
One example of extending the franchise in the United States was the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, which granted African-American men the right to vote. This amendment addressed a major weakness of the Fourteenth Amendment by explicitly prohibiting states from denying or abridging the right to vote based on race or previous condition of servitude. However, it did not address other methods of voter disenfranchisement like literacy tests and poll taxes.