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Civil rights in the USA
Outline of a paper regarding the voting rights act of 1965
Civil rights in the USA
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In 1965 congress had passed Civil Rights law for all citizens to be able to vote. Before, African American and white women did not have the same equal rights to vote as white men did. The white males allowed a small number of free African Americans to go register and vote. For a African American to vote they were required to be a free citizen and not a runaway slave. In 1867 congress made it possible for African Americans to vote. The new constitutions guarantee black suffrage and congress tried to protect the African Americans right to vote by putting the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment. When congress passed the Civil Rights law African American still suffered from voting because congress made it unaffordable for poor people to vote. A …show more content…
All citizens share the equal right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of the federal legislation in the United States, it prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The act was officially signed and passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement. Congress had to secure the voting rights all over the countries for racial minorities. They also provided a law that prohibits every state and local government from striking any voting law that has to do with racial or language minorities. Voting rights has changed the whole world by letting citizen over the age 18 to vote for their qualified candidate every four years. Congress kept a nationwide police that protected the act of voting rights because of the race, and language minorities. Jurisdictions requirements contains significant language to provide ballots and other election materials. In June of 2013 democrats had a huge blow out, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the coverage of the used for Section five. They wanted to make a new voting producers to get federal government approval from the Department of Justice. The decision did not get to strike down the Section five because they did not have any prejudicial distinction of the purpose or effect. Congress is working on developing a whole new formula for the VRA to protect minority voters at the polls. Eligible for voting at a shareholder; corporate record names of all owners that go to the meeting on the day and if the shareholder is not listed on that date they can and may not be able to vote. Shareholders have one vote per share, but overall shareholders have no voting rights at all. Citizen that are voting can go up in person to vote or they can send their votes through the
A step in the right direction came through the passing of the thirteenth amendment in 1865 which abolished and prohibited slavery, the passing of the fourteenth amendment in 1868 which said that all people born in the U.S. were citizens, and the ratification of the fifteenth amendment in 1870 which said that no one can be kept from voting due to their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Through the passing of these three amendments, recently emancipated slaves were supposed to be ensured equality, however, voting rights in the south for African-Americans didn’t last once reconstruction ended.
Should America have compulsory voting? In my opinion, compulsory voting is a good way to increase the voting turnout. People currently don't like to vote because they don't have the time, or are just too lazy. If the government gives them an incentive then they will be happy to take time off to vote. Also, a reason to fear not to vote should be installed, like an annoying fine. When only a few people vote, the voter satisfaction is low. But when everyone puts their idea in, the satisfaction rises because the actual majority will win.
This led to the passing of the civil rights act and the voting act in the 1964 and 1965. This allowed for the African Americans to have the right to vote.
African Americans had an active participation during the Reconstruction era and worked hard to achieve rights that they deserved. African Americans acquired different roles, both as individuals and in groups to achieve their goals. One very important role of the African Americans was participation in voting during elections. After the 15Th amendment was passed in 1870 voting was not restricted by race. With this newfound voting power African Americans could control the future of their country. Thanks to this, other rights could now be gained through democratic election. Another role was the African American leaders that represented
Although the 15th Amendment was a law, many states denied African Americans the right to vote. Eventually the African Americans were guaranteed a right to vote due to the 24th Amendment, the Civil Rights laws made this
The amendment stated “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” (15th amendment, Section I). Shortly after white's came up with a law that you couldn't vote unless you were literate, but they would cheat and say whites could read or understand even if they couldn't. Russell Brooker stated that in the early 1900s “White officials usually claimed that whites could understand what was read. They said blacks could not understand it, even if they could” (Russell Brooker). This quote shows how whites were trying to stop freedmen from voting anyway possible. During this time period since black got the right to vote some joined congress but freedmen stopped voting because they were threatened by whites and didn’t want to be harmed or get their families. Russell Brooker also said “Blacks who tried to vote were threatened, beaten, and killed. Their families were also harmed. Sometimes their homes were burned down. Often, they lost their jobs or were thrown off their farms” (Russell Brooker). this quote also shows how hateful whites could be to keep freedmen oppressed like they were during
After the Civil War, many amendments were passed in order to better represent blacks in America. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments all changed blacks’ lives drastically and positively. The 13th amendment ended slavery and the 14th declared blacks as citizens. The fifteenth amendment stated that anyone can vote, regardless of color or race. However, the South devised poll taxes and literacy tests in a successful attempt at preventing blacks from voting. But in 1964, after a sufficient number of states ratified an amendment proposed by Congress, the tables turned for blacks. The 24th amendment banned poll taxes. The voting act of 1965 banned the use of literacy tests related to voting. Voting gave blacks a say in government and helped rise the moral of blacks in America.
the laws and male African Americans at a certain age, were now given the ballot.
First came the poll taxes, which required all voting citizens to pay a fee when they entered their ballot. Of course, most of the newly freed slaves had no money to spare and therefore, were not able to submit their ballot at the poll booths. Then there was the literacy test that filtered out the voters who could not read, which made it illegal for them to vote. Most African Americans at the time did not have enough education to pass the literacy test since they only knew labor their whole lives and were often beaten if they attempted to learn. With the literacy test in place, only a few, educated freedmen could pass the test and enter the voting booth. With the literacy test set in place, some whites could not vote so the grandfather clause was passed. This allowed the illiterate whites to enter the poll booth without being questioned. The clause stated that if an American, male citizen had a grandfather who could vote, that citizen could also vote without even looking at the literacy test. In 1870, this was the first generation of African Americans who could vote, so none of their ancestors voted before, and therefore, this clause was not applied to
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments averted the prejudice and discrimination that states had previously implemented against people of color, but it did not solve all issues, for all races, equally. For different races, it took different lengths of time and different measures to reach the same equality when it came to voting. And even today, there are still issues with minority representation in politics.
It’s a good thing we’re not property, or else we wouldn’t have a voice. Voting is a privilege in a world that isn’t universally setup that way. Some nations do not even allow their people to vote. The US gives its citizens that opportunity. However, it was not always that way. People, such as me, were considered property in the US from 1619 till 1869 - a very long time, so I would argue voting today as an African American is more of a privilege.
After the end of the Civil War, Congress was comprised of mostly Radical Republicans who wanted to help African Americans in the South. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which allowed black freedmen the same rights as white men, such as being able to sue and be on jury. In order to make sure that these rights would remain, the 14th and 15th amendments were ratified. The 14th Amendment guaranteed black people citizenship, and the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote. Similar to what Congress was trying to do, President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement managed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which basically contained many laws that outlawed discrimination and segregation based on race, religion, nationality, and gender.
According to former U.S. President, Lyndon B. Johnson, “ The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men." During The Civil Rights Movement, black Americans fought to end racial segregation and to secure their rights as citizens including the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act was an important part in securing their rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most significant and influential piece of federal legislation that was enacted during the events of the Civil Rights Movement. The act radically altered the political status of racial minorities in The United States and prohibited discriminatory
It had finally led to an end of the illegal barriers under the 15th Amendment and allowed African Americans to vote without any knowledge or character test. Johnson stated, “For years and years they had been tried and tried and tried and they had failed and failed and failed. And the time for failure is gone” (Johnson). The statistics showed a large increase of African Americans in each state in the South in 1966. By 1970, over a million African Americans had registered to vote by (Quoted in “Victory for Voters”). The Voting Rights Act not only allowed African Americans to vote, but it also opened up many new opportunities for them. After all, Lyndon Johnson had successfully achieved his main goal to get many supporters from the south and it changed the nation towards a positive direction after the
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. Although the Voting Rights Act passed, state and local enforcement of the law was weak. It often was ignored outright, mainly in the South and in areas where the proportion of blacks in the population was high and their vote threatened the political status quo. Still, the Voting Rights Act gave African-American voters the legal means to challenge voting restrictions and vastly improved voter turnout. Since its passage, the Voting Rights Act has been amended to include such features as the protection of voting rights for non-English speaking American citizens