Introduction:

• Plutocracy Defined: Introduce the concept of plutocracy – rule by the wealthy – and how it contrasts with the notion of democracy.
• Democratic Smokescreen: Argue that American democracy is a facade designed to pacify the populace during election cycles.

1. Historical Voting Rights:
   • Early Restrictions: Explain that for the first 100 years of American democracy, only white male property owners could vote.
   • Gradual Expansion: Describe how voting rights gradually expanded to include all white males, then theoretically black males, and finally women and Native Americans.
2. Reality of Voting Rights:
   • Limited Practice: Discuss how, despite theoretical voting rights, practical barriers often prevented black males and other marginalized groups from voting.
   • Native Americans’ Late Inclusion: Highlight the irony that Native Americans, the indigenous people of the land, were among the last to receive voting rights.
3. Power Dynamics:
   • Shift of Real Power: Analyze how the expansion of voting rights coincided with the real power moving further away from the democratic process.
   • Wealthy Elite Control: Explain how the wealthy elite maintained control by keeping substantial power out of the hands of the general populace.
4. Illusion of Participation:
   • Dangled Right to Vote: Argue that the right to vote is dangled in front of the public to create an illusion of participation in governance.
   • Contracting Relevance: Discuss how, as more people gained the right to vote, the actual relevance and impact of that vote diminished.
5. Conclusion:
   • True Power Structure: Reiterate that true power has never been intended to reside with the people and has always been in the hands of the wealthy elite.
   • Critical Reflection: Encourage readers to critically reflect on the structure of American democracy and recognize the ongoing influence of plutocracy.

By understanding the historical and ongoing reality of voting rights and power dynamics, we can better comprehend the true nature of American democracy and the influence of the wealthy elite.