[weikel]

The 19th amendment was a horrible mistake as was all extension of the franchise beyond upper class men of property.

[inquest]

I'd agree with what you say about the 19th amendment, but not so much about the extension of suffrage to all classes. The working class, in many ways, tends to be more conservative than the landed class. The biggest mistake of all, of course, was the 17th amendment (which I doubt you need convincing of). Every society needs a stable, independent "Council of Elders" of some sort, that exists apart from the rest.