Gloria Romero, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
As we approach the annual celebration of our nation’s Declaration of Independence, polls show increased distrust in government – especially for young voters too often depicted as “apathetic.” Undoubtedly, turnout among voters aged 18-29 dropped in 2012, when only 45 percent went to the polls – down 6 percentage points from their impactful turnout in the 2008 presidential election.
Much can be gleaned from a report recently released by the nonprofit Project Vote on enfranchising America’s youth. The group reports that America’s youth vote is more diverse than ever. In 2012, black youth outperformed their white counterparts, with 54 percent of young blacks voting – a rate higher than the overall youth electorate at 45 percent. However, youth voting lagged for Latinos and Asians, the fastest-growing minorities in California.
Non-college-educated youth comprise about 40 percent of young citizens in general, but only 29 percent of young voters. College-educated youth voted in larger numbers than their population percentage, representing 71 percent of young voters.
I became interested in politics at a young age. Voting was emphasized to me, particularly by my World War II-serving father, as both a privilege and a duty. I watched televised national Democratic conventions, not knowing that one day I would go to conventions – and even be a candidate that people were voting for – or against!
Recently, I chanced to read a short Reader’s Digest column about how young many of our founding fathers were. For example, James Madison is hailed as the “father of the Constitution,” being its key champion and author of the Bill of Rights. Later becoming our fourth president, he was the youngest delegate to the Constitutional Congress in 1780 and only 25 when the Declaration was signed in 1776.
James Monroe was even younger – only 18 in 1776. Monroe, who became our fifth President, was a college drop-out. He left to join Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army, becoming Washington’s top lieutenant. At 24 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.
Alexander Hamilton, our first secretary of the treasury and founder of the first American political party, was only 22 in 1776. Orphaned at 11 and denied formal education because his parents were unmarried, he remained undeterred, going on to become then-Gen. Washington’s chief of staff.
Aaron Burr – who years later would fatally wound Hamilton in an infamous duel – was only 20 in 1776. He, too, was an officer in Washington’s Army and went on to become the third U.S. vice president.
The youngest signator to our most cherished American document, the Declaration of Independence, was South Carolina lawyer Edward Rutledge, at only 26 – just four months younger than fellow signator Thomas Lynch Jr., also from South Carolina. When the Continental Convention convened in 1787, four delegates were in their 20s, the youngest being Jonathon Dayton from New Jersey at 26. Only 14 were over age 50.
Youth have played a critical role in the founding and progress of our nation. Indeed, many of our founding “fathers” were the “millennials” of their day, fervently believing in an independent democracy. This holiday, let’s share stories of the role young people have played in shaping our nation and ensure they are inspired by this history and understand that the responsibility of leadership is always passed to a new generation. READ MORE