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Voting Rights Act Pros And Cons

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The Voting Rights Act was one of the most revolutionary bills ever passed by the congressional legislation in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law on August 6th, 1965, not only as part of politics but also, a depiction of morals. Since 1965, it has protected minority voters at the polls, but it has been fifty years since the Voting Rights Act has been passed and it is still a controversial topic that is constantly debated on today. The voting rights of all minorities throughout the country are once again under attack which impacts one’s ability to exercise his or her constitutional right as a citizen. Preceding the Civil War, people of color, especially African Americans were practically disenfranchised everywhere throughout all fifty states of the United States. The ratification of the fifteenth amendment in the Constitution gave all men, regardless of race, color, or previous state of servitude the right to vote. Even with the enactment of the fifteenth amendment, many states used numerous techniques to prevent people of color from voting. The obstacles that prevented Africans Americans from casting a ballot ranged from literacy tests, poll taxes, the grandfather clause, intimidation, threats, and even violence. …show more content…

Johnson was forced to legislate a comprehensive voting rights draft that would protect the rights of all minorities throughout the entire nation. Johnson feared that the bill would not successfully pass so shortly after he had alienated fellow Southern Democrats with his urge for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The president was aware that most states, specifically, the Southern states, wouldn’t openly accept the passing of the Voting Rights Act. Hence, president Johnson along with Congress in a conference, outlined the effort of the act and addressed that the law clearly limited the cunning ways election officials used to deny African American citizens to

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