Should We Really Give Children the Vote? :: Exploratory Essays

Should We Really Give Children the Vote? Sixteen year old Vita Wallace is an activist for children’s rights. In her argument, â€Å"Give children the vote,† she attempts to show that an injustice has been made to citizens of the United States. Wallace’s major claim, or thesis (McFadden, 2003), is that citizens under the age of 18 shouldn’t be denied the right to vote on account of age. Rather, she argues, children should be allowed to vote at whatever age suits them individually. By saying individually, she is using a qualifier, words and phrases used to limit and modify the overgeneralization of claims (McFadden). It is important that Wallace uses the term individually, because she recognizes that an age limit would be inappropriate for some children. After this point, most of the essay is dedicated to her opinion on why it is important for children to vote. Wallace’s uses appeal to the reader’s values, also known as warrants (McFadden). The emotional pleas may cause the audi ence to stop and consider her logic, but lack of facts and evidence leaves the argument unconvincing. With her jumpy writing and scattered thoughts the argument is hard to read, and even harder to believe. Therefore, I found the essay to be unsuccessful in persuading my opinion. The logic and evidence used to support her major claim, known as grounds (McFadden) is hard to find. The strongest evidence in the whole essay is statistics of eligible adult voters. With this information, she points out that only 36-40 percent of eligible adults actually vote. However, 25 percent of the population is under the age of 18, leading to Wallace’s statement that â€Å"Although elected representatives are responsible for all of us, they are responsible to only a few of us† (Wallace, 1998, p. 146). This statement would be effective but Wallace loses her credibility at the end of the paragraph when she calls politicians and voters selfish. By doing this she is using a fallacy, statements based on poor logic and mistaken belief (Clark, p. 81). By saying they are selfish she is using an Ad Hominem argument, which is an attack on the person rather than the issue (Clark, 1998, p. 83). Throughout the essay Wallace develops many minor claims, which are secondary statements supporting the major claim (McFadden). Right away she discusses â€Å"Discriminatory laws† which prevent high school drop-outs from getting their driver’s licenses.