Final answer:
Universal suffrage improved voting rights but still excluded African Americans and women, who faced disenfranchisement through various means such as literacy tests and property requirements. Over time, constitutional amendments and social change extended suffrage to these groups despite systemic voter suppression efforts, leading to a more inclusive suffrage.
Step-by-step explanation:
Even though universal suffrage was a step in the right direction for the United States, it did not initially apply equally to all members of society. The expansion of the right to vote through universal white manhood suffrage still excluded many groups, most notably African Americans and women.
African Americans faced new restrictions on voting post-1819, with only a few states allowing them to vote without significant restrictions by 1855. New Jersey, which had previously allowed women property holders to vote, revoked this right.
Additionally, various states implemented barriers such as property ownership requirements, literacy tests, poll taxes, and prolonged residence requirements, effectively disenfranchising many. Despite amendments meant to expand voting rights, such as the 15th Amendment and the 19th Amendment, voter suppression tactics continued to marginalize specific groups.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, various societal movements worked towards securing suffrage for more people. Poor whites, black males, and women slowly gained voting rights through constitutional amendments and social change influenced by factors like the Industrial Revolution.
The 15th Amendment guaranteed voting rights irrespective of race, and the 19th Amendment did so for gender, yet enforcement was often lacking, and efforts to suppress votes persisted into the Jim Crow era. During this time, institutional racism through Jim Crow laws further limited African American political participation.
It was not until the civil rights movement and subsequent legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that a more inclusive suffrage became a reality.