The enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 was a momentous event in American civil rights history, representing a critical milestone in the protection of voting rights for marginalized communities, particularly African Americans who had long endured systematic voter suppression and discrimination. This landmark legislation played a pivotal role in the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement, serving as a long-awaited response to the persistent demand for change. The passage of the Act was the culmination of generations of arduous efforts, driven by a combination of deep-rooted causation, evolving circumstances, and shifting perspectives. Exploring the underlying factors that led to the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act in the …show more content…
These causes can be traced to the Jim Crow era, beginning around the late 1870s, which imposed severe law restrictions on the rights of African Americans. These laws encompassed a range of discriminatory measures, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses, effectively disenfranchising African American voters. Poll taxes and literacy tests excluded those who couldn't afford the fees or pass the difficult tests, disproportionately affecting economically disadvantaged African Americans. The grandfather clause further disenfranchised African Americans by exempting only those whose grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War. These unjust laws constituted some of the initial barriers encountered by African Americans following the abolition of slavery, thereby exacerbating the persistent problem of voter suppression. This era established a precedent for the systemic injustices faced by African Americans in voting rights. However, the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 challenged this precedent and catalyzed transformative change. Additionally, the aftermath of World War II also played a significant role in advancing the voting rights movement forward. The war effort against the Axis powers, which championed democracy and equality, created a sense of cognitive dissonance within the United States. African American soldiers had fought bravely for their country, yet they returned home to face the same systemic racism and denial of their fundamental rights. The stark contrast between the fight for freedom abroad and the realities of racial discrimination at home sparked a renewed determination among African Americans and their allies to dismantle segregation and secure their voting rights. In addition, the tragic murder of Emmett Till also propels the progress of the Voting Rights Act by addressing the pervasive issue of
With the Voting Rights Act the legislation removed the rigged literacy tests to vote allowing more African Americans to be eligible to vote. (American Journey pg.668) With peaceful protest it appealed to Presidential action and support for African
“The Act allows African-Americans to exercise their right to vote without the fear of being attacked” (Wikipedia, 2018). This was fundamental to the movement as it inspired hope in African-Americans, and showed success as a result of their campaigning against their injustices. The Act redefines the word ‘vote’ as being the entire process of a ballot being registered, cast, and counted. This Act established punishments for individuals who discouraged someone’s endeavour to vote and allowed for federal inspection of voting registrations. By enacting this legislation, Eisenhower set an example for future Presidents to
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting, also in those years, African Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions to deny them the right to vote. They also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote. As a result, very few African Americans were registered voters, and they had very little, if any, political power, either locally or nationally.
Two specific examples of federal laws rulings that were victories in the equality movements were President Johnson Voting Rights Act in 1965 prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. It was aimed to overcome legal barriers preventing African American from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment in 1870. Various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans to exercises their right to vote especially in the South mean African Americans were mistreated violently attacked when trying to vote. The voting act banned the use of literacy testing and made poll taxing illegal. This law gave legal law means to challenge voting restrictions.
President LBJ and congress addressed these issues and signed the Voting Rights Act. The purpose of the voting rights act was to change the legal barriers that were disenfranchising Black Americans and LBJ made it a priority to persuade everyone even though this was a very radical idea for this time. Not only were these barriers a violation of the 15th Amendment, but they were also downright discriminatory and affecting public opinion negatively. By LBJ creating this compromise, he created a bigger platform for more voters' voices to be heard, and for even more compromises to be made in the future in response to public opinion. In addition, considering this being a radical concept during the period of segregation and racism, the ratification of this amendment helped the country begin to make advances in the civil rights movement.
The 15th Amendment (Amendment XV), which gave African-American men the right to vote, was inserted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Although the amendment was passed in the late 1870s, many racist practices were used to oppose African-Americans from voting, especially in the Southern States like Georgia and Alabama. After many years of racism, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to overthrow legal barricades at the state and local levels that deny African-Americans their right to vote. In the
During the civil rights movement Jim Crow laws prohibited African-Americans to vote, which outraged blacks especially
They organized protests, sit-ins, and voter registration drives, and they used the media to bring attention to their cause. They also challenged the social customs of the Democratic Party, which claimed to support civil rights but was willing to ignore the voices of African American voters in Mississippi. Over time, these efforts began to bear fruit. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped to dismantle many of the social customs that had been used to deny African Americans their rights. African Americans gained the right to vote and began to play a more active role in shaping the political landscape of the United States.
The struggle for acceptance among the African American population has been a long and tedious journey. From their enforced enslavement, to “emancipation” in 1863, African Americans have not only fought to gain their rights, but to keep them. Since the end of Reconstruction, African Americans have fought for rights equal to those of their white counterparts. This fight intensified following World War II when black soldiers returned home to the irony of having fought for freedom in Europe, while having few freedoms of their own in the United States. Although there has been extreme progression due in part to the Civil Rights movement, there still remains a strong and persistent disadvantage for African Americans.
But, when these officials were elected to Congress, they passed the “black codes” and thus the relations between the president and legislators became worst (Schriefer, Sivell and Arch R1). These so called “Black Codes” were “a series of laws to deprive blacks of their constitutional rights” that they were enacted mainly by Deep South legislatures. Black Codes differ from a state to another but they were stricter in the Deep South as they were sometimes irrationally austere. (Hazen 30) Furthermore, with the emergence of organizations such as the Red Shirts and the White League with the rise of the Conservative White Democrats’ power, efforts to prevent Black Americans from voting were escalating (Watts 247), even if the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S constitution that gave the Blacks the right to vote had been ratified in 1870.
Introduction Hook: I never knew that one day, one idea could have such a big impact. That one thing could change the history, set up the rest of the country to follow suit with this specific topic, and things that need a change in general. Background: Over 50 years ago, on March 7, 1965, now known as bloody Sunday, segregation was still prevalent. At the time it was not allowed for blacks to vote at the time.
For fifty years, scholars have debated the importance of the political, legal, and social actions that occurred during the 1930s and 1940s. The debate centers on whether these actions contributed to the overall success of the civil rights movement. The dominant narrative presented by scholars asserts the actual significant period of the movement occurred with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Their reasoning for this assertion, the non-violent protest movements of boycotts, sit-ins, and marches occurring from the mid-to-late 50s and early 60s resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The passage of these Acts corrected the wrongs created by the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which ended the influence of Jim Crow Laws and segregation in the South. Since the dominant narrative focuses primarily on the 1960s for the successes achieved by the movement, is there enough historiographical analysis supporting
The Fifteenth Amendment granted African-American males the right to vote in the late 1800s. However, through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, southern states were able to effectively discourage African-Americans. It was not till 1965, almost a century later, that the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson; enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment. But acquiring the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an enduring task for African-American citizens and supporters. A perfect example is “Bloody Sunday”, where a group of activist, in their attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama protesting for the rights of voters, were beaten and left for dead of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
“At the time of the of the march, only 383 of the 15,000black residents in Selma's Dallas County were registered to vote. ”(Berman) A lot of people could not vote because of poll tax and grandfather clause. Most African American could not meet the requirement to vote. "literacy tests" were commonly used intimidation tactics, especially in southern states, designed to keep African-Americans disenfranchised.”
Many people were brutally beaten and there were also some that lost their lives, because of it. Lyndon B Johnson begins his speech his by convincing his listener that he will flight for what is owed to the Negros. That is the equal right to vote regardless of your race. The speech “We Shall Overcome”, speech gets to the core of the problem within the Legislation itself. He wants to see that everyone will abide by the 15th Amendment that gives Negros the right and the privilege to vote without any recourse, without worrying