This section is from the book "Constitutional Law In The United States", by Emlin McClain. Also available from Amazon: Constitutional Law in the United States.
The right to participate in the affairs of government and the conditions under which such right may be exercised are primarily within the control of the respective states; but in the territory of the United States outside of state limits they are subject to the control of Congress (see above, § 193). While the general theory of our constitutional system involves a large and full participation by the people in the affairs of government, such participation has never been recognized as the natural right of an individual nor as a right necessarily incident to citizenship (Minor v. Happersett). The right of suffrage, the right to hold office, the right to serve on juries, and other like so-called rights are in reality duties and privileges imposed and granted for the public good and not for individual benefit. The states have from the beginning had the power to impose these duties and accord these privileges as they should see fit, and the constitution and laws of the state have been and continue to be the source of political privileges in the states, save as certain forms of discrimination are prohibited by the Fifteenth Amendment. Therefore, a person who has enjoyed the privilege of voting or holding office in one state does not necessarily have the like privilege in another state. As a matter of fact the proportion of citizens who have political privileges in many of the states does not now include more than about one-fifth of the whole number, for in all states children, and in most states women, although they become citizens by birth or naturalization as fully and completely as adult males, are excluded from participating in elections, the holding of office, and service on juries.
 
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