Analytical Essay #1
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.
The Voting Rights Act was designed to prohibit racial discrimination when voting. Before the Act, people of color were discouraged from voting often with violence and impossible standards that they had to meet. They were subject to bias literacy tests, character/personality
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tests, etc. While these tests were given to all races most of the time, they weren’t taken as seriously when given to whites. African Americans were asked complex questions that even highly educated people would probably struggle to answer. The passing of the VRA reinforced the 15th amendment, made it illegal to deny people of color the right to vote due to their race, identified areas where tests were being used and where less than 50% of the area were registered to vote, and the need to obtain “preclearance” before changing voting laws (Shaw et. Al. 2015: 216). With the passing of this Act, the number of African American voters increased exponentially. But this Act focus mostly on African American voters and didn’t include other minorities. Five years later, the VRA was up for reconsideration. It was extended for another five years (specifically Section 4 and 5) and added on the following: only have to be a resident for 30 days, suspension of literacy tests, and the voting age was lowered to 18. The extension in 1970 did not address the issue of making voting easier for other minorities. Finally, in 1975, this issue was handled. The 1975 extension allowed for the protection of “language minorities” by requiring voting materials, notices, etc. to be in multiple languages spoken by Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. In 2013, the case, Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, called into question the constitutionality of Section 5 of the VRA. It was deemed unconstitutional and was removed from the VRA after the ruling. The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 abolished the national-origins quota.
The quota limited the number of Europeans who came to the US but allowed a lot more citizens from Mexico and the Caribbean to migrate (Lecture 4). It established a new policy that focused on reuniting families who were separated by this quota, lessened national biases, and it also attracted skilled workers to migrate to the United States in order to fill labor needs. This wave of immigrants is what caused the need for protection of language minorities and is a large reason for the 1975 extension of the VRA.
The Voting Rights Act was explicitly created for African Americans to help them overcome the oppression they faced when registering to vote/going to vote. It has greatly increased the involvement of African Americans in not only voting but in the electing of people of color into office. The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 did not have a large impact on the African American
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community. Before the VRA, Native Americans were denied the right to vote in many states. In the year 1938, there were still a fraction of states that would not let Natives go to their local voting place, but those same Natives were later being drafted to fight in World War Two (Shaw et. Al. 2015: 202). Native Americans also faced many legal elements to prevent them from going to polls. Things such as tribal status, taxation status, and literacy were used to challenge Natives. With the passing of the Voting Rights Act, voting was and still is an obstacle. Voting is not a guarantee. Some believe that since they do not have similar interests, Native Americans should not be allowed to vote in United States elections. This struggle still continues today. The INA did not have an effect on the Native American community, except it did help push for extensions that allowed for voting materials to be created in their language. When Mexican Americans in the new territories gained citizenship, Whites made sure to exclude and discourage them from voting.
Even though many voted, their votes were tampered with to diminish any impact they might have had in an election. The original VRA did not address issues such as this, as it focused more on African Americans. In 1972, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund was created and went on to sue for the right to have bilingual ballots in New York elections. As we know, later on the 1975 extension of the VRA made this possible at all elections. Today, there is more resentment against immigrants and non-English speakers and it is being expressed through constraints such as voter ID laws, reduction of bilingual ballots, and flexible voting hours (Shaw et. Al. 2015: 204). The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments allowed for more Latinos to come to the United States and find job opportunities and also reunite with family that had previously
migrated. Asian Americans were mostly condensed into Western states and only made up a small percentage of the United States population elsewhere. In the states where the Asian American population was dense, voting wasn’t a huge issue. The main issue faced by Asians was the lack of voting materials in their languages. This was resolved by the extension of the Voting Rights Act in 1975. Ballots and other voting materials were being translated into their languages and allowed them to voice their opinion. Due to their high education and occupation levels, they were rarely denied access to voting unlike other minorities before the VRA (Shaw et Al. 2015: 205). The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 greatly impacted the Asian American community. In the late 19th century, Asians who were trying to obtain citizenship were often denied. The INA helped allow those who were denied, gain citizenship and jobs. I would say that overall, both of these laws were eventually successful. The original Voting Rights Act of
Groups of people soon received new rights. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. It gave black Americans full citizenship and guaranteed them equal treatment. Also, it passed the Fourteenth Amendment to make sure that the Supreme Court couldn’t declare the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional. The amendment made blacks citizens of the United States and the states in which they lived. Also, states were forbidden to deprive blacks of life, liberty, or property without due process. Additionally, blacks could not be discriminated by the law. If a state would deprive blacks of their rights as citizens, it’s number of congressional representatives would be reduced. The Civil Rights Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment affected both the North and the South.
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.
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.
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
As the hostility toward immigrants had begun to relax, the residency period was reduced to two years by 1824. More reforms were made over several decades, and by 1870 new legislation gave persons of African descent, Asians and other non-white groups access to citizenship. As the country matured and became more multiracial, additional legislation would be passed to prevent “protected groups” from discrimination and exclusion. Present day, the United States is still a country of immigrants and continues to expand its laws to be inclusive of all its citizens and residents. All participants who contributed to the diversity of this county helped to create the vibrant economy and democracy that we know
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 United States had an open door policy on immigration from the nations beginning until 1921. During that time, between 1790 and 1920, the population grew by 102 million. That’s about one million new immigrants each year for 130 years. Most of these immigrants were from European countries. In 1921 Congress passed the Quota Act which put a cap of 360,000 new immigrants per year. Congress did this because the public was concerned about the number of new immigrants and how it would affect the country. This act also favored immigrants from England, Germany, France, and Scandinavia over those from Asia, Africa, and southern Europe.
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.
... in public places, including parks, libraries, restaurants, sports arenas, and hotels. It also prohibited employment discrimination against race, nationality, gender, religion, physical disability, etc. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is responsible for enforcing these plans and investigating charges of job discrimination. Although, African Americans were still denied their civil rights. Literacy tests and poll taxes kept blacks from voting. at the Freedom Summer was a campaign which focused on registering African Americans to vote. The Brown decision also led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which strengthened the voting rights of African Americans. This act banned literacy tests. The Twenty-fourth Amendment was ratified in 1964. It banned poll tax, which denied African Americans their right to vote.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history’s greatest political battles.
White people from the South used legal means to deny African-American southerners, even though the bill had passed. In the North, African-Americans still lived in bad parts of town and lived poorly. Some were homeless. White didn’t make it much easier for them to in school or in the community. The Act did force people to give African-Americans more freedom for Civil Rights. African-Americans were able to go to school, have jobs, give their opinions, and live more freely. People felt more safe to come to the States in order to live a better life and provide for their families. The Act was a big impact on the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Ofari-Hutchinson, an author and political analyst said,” That was a great moment of not only personal pride but of historical accomplishment. I know all African-Americans, no matter what age, what their religion or political convictions, or social standing, education or profession, all uniformly took pride in that
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbid businesses connected with interstate commerce to discriminate when choosing its employees. If these businesses did not conform to the act, they would lose funds that were granted to them from the government. Another act that was passed to secure the equality of blacks was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act, which was readopted and modified in 1970, 1975, and 1982, contained a plan to eliminate devices for voting discrimination and gave the Department of Justice more power in enforcing equal rights. In another attempt for equal rights, the Equal Employment ...
The movement influenced Congress to take action, which became the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This law made it illegal to segregate people in America based on their race, skin color or in almost all areas of public life. The Congress also passed the 1965 Immigration Act. This law put the racial quota system for immigrant groups an end to it. The Voting Rights Act was passed and aimed to overcome the prevented African Americans from practicing their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. This act is considered among the most far reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.
Civil rights are giving people equal rights no matter their race, religion, sexuality, or gender. However, civil rights were not granted to African Americans in the 1950's and 60's. Even though voting rights of African Americans were protected with the 13th Amendment, ended slavery, the 14th Amendment, giving African Americans citizenship, and the 15th Amendment, gave African Americans the right to vote. State governments still found ways to pass laws that disenfranchise the rights of blacks, known as Jim Crow laws. No matter what beginnings African Americans had with civil rights, with the help of protests and reactions, the effects of the Civil Rights Movement left a Major impact in America.
restricted black voting. This was a decent attempt to meet black demands, but the act