The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.[7][8] It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the Civil Rights Movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections.[7] Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act secured voting rights for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Act is considered to be the most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country.[9]
The Act contains numerous
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were two symbolic laws passed by Congress in response to the nonviolent protests, boycotts, demonstrations, and sit-ins. The people were expressing their first amendments rights of freedom of speech and right to peacefully assemble. As a result, the movement managed to end separation by law in American society; however, separation among some citizens remained.
Based on the book Give Us the Ballot by Ari Berman, the book focuses on the voting rights for African Americans and the struggle they had to go through to obtaining the right to vote in the United States. Berman also describes the difficulties African Americans faced even after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The voting Rights Act wanted to eliminate many obstacles that occurred when it came to voting, which included literacy tests, poll taxes or any racial discrimination that prevented African Americans or other minorities from voting. The voting Rights Act operated and increased democracy participation in the south after the 1960’s.
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.
In summary, the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in order to give U.S. citizens the right to vote. This means that a U.S. citizen who is eighteen years of age or older shall be allowed to vote and not discriminated against because of their race, color, or history of servitude. The Fifteenth Amendment also gives Congress the right to create laws in order to enforce the amendment. Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act in 1965 in response to the Jim Crow laws. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act says that local governments and certain states must obtain permission from the federal government before they can make any changes to their voting laws or practices.
XV, § 2. The VRA is the exercise of that power. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1965 to affirm the fundamental rights of each citizen to participate in elections. The current version of Section 2 of the VRA provides:
The Act itself “sought to bar racial discrimination when it came to hiring, firing, or promoting workers,” (Civil Rights Act of 1964). The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 achieved equal treatment of individuals in public places, houses, and jobs, which promotes America’s core value of equality. In addition, the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 also promotes America’s core value of equality. Prior to
In conclusion, both the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 were successful in their mission. The VRA not only opened doors for African Americans but also other minorities such as Latinos, Asian/Native Americans. By giving more power into the hands of federal government, ensured that states act in a manner that followed laws and regulations. Similarly, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 increased minority population in the US. This meant now there were more minority representatives in the office who would then vote in their interests and also minimize chances of passing laws that would harm minority groups.
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
During 1950s and 1960s, black activist in the South of America, were subject to some mistreatment and violence when peaceful participants around the country were attacked by white people and troopers with nightstick, tear gas and whips after they refused to turn back their protests. The Voting Rights Act was an important law in American history when African American people could vote under the 15th Amendment. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this law to reduce racial discrimination and regulate secured voting for racial minorities because of the repercussion in the society. Until that moment, African Americans were suffering all kind of contempt and they had some social barriers because of the white people. They also should have less importance
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
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.”
The voting act was an act that supported that african americans have the right to vote like any white man. Another tactic used was the idea of Black Nationalism. African Americans united together was under Malcolm X and islam. Malcolm X gave African Americans a idea of black nationalism and that they are good and better than white people. Also SNCC, which used to have white members purged them all so that the African Americans can do things themselves without the help of any white men.
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.
Although technically people of color had the right, white people were making it very difficult to register. When African Americans went to register they would be tested continuously, something white people never had to deal with. Only two percent of African Americans in the south could vote. Before the march from Selma to Montgomery there were many protests to try to gain fair voting rights. One man, Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed at a peaceful protest by a state trooper.
The Civil Right Acts ended segregation for many things and voting was also a part of that, the discrimination that happened was based on citizens’ race, religion, gender or the origin from which they came from. Norm Ornstein in the article “The U.S. Should Require All Citizens to Vote” said “Americans rebel viscerally against the idea of taking away the freedom not to vote,” the one who rule against mandatory voting are stepping on our history. (Par 6). Many had lost their lives fighting over equal rights; as an American citizen, it is our duty is to be grateful for the opportunity and luxury that have been provided for us. Ornstein’s statement should help American citizens’ realize that there is no such thing as ‘freedom not to vote’, and how would they feel if the freedom to vote is taken away from