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. This was the first of three planned marches.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 would not be effective if it weren’t for section four and section five. After the Civil War, ended slavery and discrimination were outlawed. Even though laws were in place to
…show more content…
With congress’ decision to repeal section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is, in my opinion, one step backwards for the country of the United States. Stated by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in Remarks on the Signing of the Voting Rights Act (August 6, 1965), “Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because of their color. This law will ensure them the right to vote.” The repelling of section 4 from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is completely against President Lyndon Baines Johnson beliefs of equality among citizen. As stated previously, the repelling of section (4) of The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was not a wise decision. Section four of The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided the country with strict regulations to keep the right to register and vote fairly split among
Recently, state-issued photo ID has been required in order vote since the law passed in the Texas legislature. This law has caused controversy as it brings up the question over the state’s power in the regulation of elections. “While pending review within the judicial system, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively ended all pending litigation. As a result, voters are now required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas Elections” (votetexas.gov). The U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Shelby County v. Holder case.
This act, passed by the 89th Congress, is considered one of the most important Civil Rights acts ever passed. This bill allowed anyone, no matter what race, to vote freely, without worrying about being accosted of claims of illiteracy, insufficient education, etc… This contributed to the controversy in Texas, because the way voting districts were drawn at the time, using Stacked Vote gerrymandering, meant that districts were often times drawn based on race. Before the act was passed; this led to the white population in the districts—Remember this was during the Civil Rights Era—often times preventing the, “Colored Population”, from voting, citing reasons such as; Lack of Knowledge, and Illiteracy. This acts passing stopped all of that. The acts passing created another problem.
On March 7th, 1965, a day now known as “Bloody Sunday”, displayed the tragedy of civil rights activists being brutally assaulted. This horrific example of blatant racism and hatred towards African Americans demanded a reaction from our government. The current President, Lyndon B. Johnson was tasked with uniting a country that seemed on the brink of conflict within itself. There were talks of him sending a bill that would declare the right of voting for all citizens. Lyndon B. Johnson had received criticism for how long it took him to send a voting bill to Congress.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in order to move forward towards equality in voting in the United States. The Amendments passed in 1982 included providing aid and instruction for any voters that needed extra assistance, for example someone disabled or illiterate. It also required there to be bilingual ballots and other voting materials in jurisdictions where there were large amounts of minority populations. This allowed many Spanish-speaking citizens to vote. The Amendment also “allowed jurisdictions that could provide evidence of maintaining a clean voting rights record for at least 10 years, to avoid preclearance coverage” to change any voting laws in that state, (“Constitutional Amendments”).
The voting act of 1965 is linked to the 19th amendment that allows women to vote. Women 's suffrage was a long struggle that eventually ended in the 19th amendment that gave them the power to vote. It is also related to the desegregation of schools (Civil Rights Act) in that it allows everyone to be equal in no matter what. The Civil Rights Act made everyone equal no matter the race or sex. Voting improved economics because
Washington and many other cities celebrated while more than 100,000 blacks paraded through Baltimore, but the victory did not last. While Republicans obtained African American voters in the North, the South was an entirely different situation; Ku Klux Klan and other violent racist groups intimidated black men into voting and those who did vote had their homes burned down, as well as churches and schools (“African Americans,” 2016). A few years later, Southern states required the blacks to pay voting taxes, pass literacy tests and undergo many other unfair restrictions. After 75 years, African American voting rights were once again enforced in the
Americans all around the nation were stunned by the executing of social liberties laborers and the ruthlessness they saw on their TVs. Freedom summer raised the cognizance of a large number of individuals to the predicament of African-Americans and the requirement for change. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed Congress to some extent in light of the fact that administrators ' constituents had been instructed about these issues amid Freedom
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
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.
To accomplish social equality and justice has been a long controversial issue in U.S. history. Voting Rights Act of 1965 should be understood as a tremendous accomplishment today because it not only represent a symbol of the triumph of fighting social injustice, but also open the first gate for African American and minority to strive for more political power in order to create a “great society.”
In this paper, I will focus on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I will provide the history, the important people involved in the establishment of the Civil Rights Act, the events that led to the act, and the reactions from the people, mostly Southerners, after the act was established. In the year of 1963, Blacks were experiencing high racial injustice and widespread violence was inflicted upon them. The outcry of the harsh treatments inflicted upon them caused Kennedy to propose the Civil Rights Act.
After a fifty mile fight, Selma to Montgomery, African Americans finally reached the finish line, and voting was achievable for all. It was not easy though. After 250 years of slavery the civil war made everyone free. The reconstruction followed, in efforts to make things equal for everyone, but Plessy v. Ferguson was a setback. It started the “separate but equal” concept, and life was segregated for 60 years.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is hailed by many as one of the most important legislations in the American history. The act was passed into law 52 years ago under a lot of pressure and resistance from white senators and African American activists. The act, which was largely known as the “Bill of the century” was aimed at bringing equality for blacks and whites and end racial prejudice. The act was targeted to revolutionize America where blacks and whites would eat together in the same hotels and enjoy similar rights in public places without any discrimination.
Even though the government adopted the Voting Rights Act in 1965, African Americans’ suffrages were still restricted because of southern states’ obstructions. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was important for blacks to participate in political elections, but before this act was passed, there were several events led to its proposal. The government gave African Americans’ the right to vote by passing the 15th Amendment, but in the Southern States, blacks’ suffrages were limited by grandfather clauses, “poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions” (ourdocuments.gov). As times went on, most African Americans couldn’t register their votes.
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