In 1888, a bill to amend the Constitution was introduced in Congress by Senator Henry Blair of New Hampshire to grant the District of Columbia voting rights in presidential elections, but it did not proceed."D.C.: Chasing Full Voting Rights Since 1801," Auerbach, Stuart. Washington Post, August 23, 1978Vose, p. 114–115. Theodore W. Noyes, a writer of the Washington Evening Star, published several stories in support of D.C. voting rights. Noyes also helped found the Citizens' Joint Committee on National Representation for the District of Columbia, a group which lobbied Congress to pass an amendment expanding D.C. voting rights. Noyes died in 1946, but the Citizens' Joint Committee continued onward, and the issue of district voting rights began to be seen as similar to the civil rights movement. A split developed between advocates for greater power for the district after World War II. The Evening Star, continuing in the Noyes mold, supported D.C. representation in Congress and the electoral college but opposed "home rule" (locally elected mayors and councils with actual power rather than direct rule by Congress). The Washington Post, however, supported "home rule" and civil rights but opposed full-fledged representation for the district. Additionally, while many of the people leading the push were liberal Democrats, the District of Columbia in the 1950s was fairly balanced in its potential voting impact; Democrats had only a slight edge over Republicans, although district Republicans in the 1950s were liberal by national standards. Thus, an amendment to grant the district increased voting powers could gain bipartisan support in a way that would have been more difficult later. Only 28% of the district was African-American according to the 1940 census, and the black population was young compared to other residents, making the voting electorate even smaller due to the voting age of 21. This grew to 54% in the 1960 census, but according to political scientist Clement E. Vose, "various factors—inexperience in voting, educational handicaps, residency requirements, welfare laws, and social ostracism before the Voting Rights Act of 1965—minimized black registration and voting".Vose, p. 116.
In 1888, a bill to amend the Constitution was introduced in Congress by Senator Henry Blair of New Hampshire to grant the District of Columbia voting rights in presidential elections, but it did not proceed."D.C.: Chasing Full Voting Rights Since 1801," Auerbach, Stuart. Washington Post, August 23, 1978Vose, p. 114–115. Theodore W. Noyes, a writer of the Washington Evening Star, published several stories in support of D.C. voting rights. Noyes also helped found the Citizens' Joint Committee on National Representation for the District of Columbia, a group which lobbied Congress to pass an amendment expanding D.C. voting rights. Noyes died in 1946, but the Citizens' Joint Committee continued onward, and the issue of district voting rights began to be seen as similar to the civil rights movement. A split developed between advocates for greater power for the district after World War II. The Evening Star, continuing in the Noyes mold, supported D.C. representation in Congress and the electoral college but opposed "home rule" (locally elected mayors and councils with actual power rather than direct rule by Congress). The Washington Post, however, supported "home rule" and civil rights but opposed full-fledged representation for the district. Additionally, while many of the people leading the push were liberal Democrats, the District of Columbia in the 1950s was fairly balanced in its potential voting impact; Democrats had only a slight edge over Republicans, although district Republicans in the 1950s were liberal by national standards. Thus, an amendment to grant the district increased voting powers could gain bipartisan support in a way that would have been more difficult later. Only 28% of the district was African-American according to the 1940 census, and the black population was young compared to other residents, making the voting electorate even smaller due to the voting age of 21. This grew to 54% in the 1960 census, but according to political scientist Clement E. Vose, "various factors—inexperience in voting, educational handicaps, residency requirements, welfare laws, and social ostracism before the Voting Rights Act of 1965—minimized black registration and voting".Vose, p. 116.