NYC Manhole Cover Doormat
Bring the splendor of urban living to your loved one’s doorstep! A clever recreation of the City's ever-present manhole covers, this doormat is a great gift for homesick ex-New Yorkers and all city-lovers.
Cavallini Calendar New York 2006
The world is chock full of calendars, but this vibrant collection of vintage New York posters and postcards is a gem. A colorful gift that is genuinely both fun and functional.
Ellis Island Collection
Billed as a "museum in a box", this handsome collection lives up to its fanciful billing with 25 meticulously reproduced artifacts that tell the story of immigration to America.
This is New York
This beloved classic captures the essence of New York in a way that delights both children and parents, many of whom who will remember the book from their childhood.
It was not until 1804 that New York required residents to be citizens in order to vote.
New York State’s original constitution of 1777 conferred suffrage rights on “every male inhabitant of full age” who met property qualifications. Between 1700 and 1804, debates over suffrage centered on contentious issues of property and race, not citizenship. The principles embodied by Revolution-era mottos like “no taxation without representation” made non-citizen voting a democratic practice tied to notions of residency. From 1776 to 1920, non-citizens voted in local, state, and even national elections in 22 states and federal territories, and held public offices, such as alderman, coroner, and school board member.
Why did non-citizens lose the right to vote?
Many citizens came to believe that property-less non-citizens would vote irresponsibly, electing substandard governments that destabilized property rights. The massive influx of immigrants at the turn of the 20th century triggered a wave of nativist sentiment that bolstered the movement to strip non-citizens of voting rights. New York and other States gradually passed laws that required citizenship as a prerequisite for voting.
Today, some immigrant community groups are attempting to obtain the right to vote in local elections for non-citizen residents of New York City. These groups argue that, although they are not citizens, immigrants pay taxes, send their children to public schools and contribute to society in many other ways. Should non-citizens be granted the right to vote or should citizenship remain a requirement for voting? Tell us what you think.
