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Martin Luther King's Voting Rights Movement

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Activist, Martin Luther King Jr. launched a voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama where only 355 of the 15,000 black residents were permitted to register to vote (Foner, 995). Johnson asked Congress to enact a law securing the right to vote, finally showing support from the federal government during the movement. The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed that allowed federal officials to register voters. Additionally, the twenty fourth amendment outlawed the poll tax that prevented poor blacks and some whites, from voting in the South. Likewise, another moment racial tensions rose is recognized as the Watts Uprising, which took place a few days after Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. In a predominantly black neighborhood in Los Angeles, two white policemen fought a black motorist that was suspected of drunk driving, according to the article,“Watts Riot begins.” published by A+E Networks. A crowd of people grew angry as they …show more content…

He was the vice president elected in 1952 and 1956 under Eisenhower. He ran against Humphrey and Wallace and 1968, and he caught the attention of the white southerners for the Republicans in the middle class. The Great Society attained its high point during the Nixon administration. However, American politics included an increase of conservatism at that time. In conjunction with the actions made around that time, the American Indian Movement was a Native American organization founded in 1968 to protest government policies and injustices Native Americans suffered. They staged protests demanding greater tribal self-government and the restoration of economic resources guaranteed in treaties (Foner, 1015). The protest lasted into 1971, and created the Red Power movement to reclaim what was once their own native territory. Indian tribes would win greater control over education and economic development on the

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By the end of 1966, alone 4 out of the 13 southern states had beneath than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was readopted and adequate in 1970, 1975, and

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Even if individuals could read the administrator in charge could create impossible questions for an individual to answer before being able to register. With the Voting Rights Act of 1965 the literacy test and any discriminatory voting, practices were outlawed as prerequisites of voting. The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 enforced this amendment. The 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.

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The Cold War Era started in 1946 and lasted until 1989 when the Berlin war fell signifying its end. Many events happened through this time period that shaped American culture and brought us to where we are today. It all started in march 1947, which reflected the combativeness of president Harry Truman. Secretary George c Marshall told Europe that that policy of the United States was not directed “ against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.” in 1947 the brutish announced that they could no longer support the pro western governments of the Mediterranean in their fight against communism. If the US could not take up the burden the whole region was in danger of falling under communist roll.

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After the 15th Amendment stated that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, southern state governments began to require black citizens to pay voting taxes, pass literacy tests and endure many other unfair restrictions on their right to vote. In response to their rights being infringed upon, several groups led marches to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the mistreatment that they have had to endure. Six hundred marchers assembled in Selma on Sunday, March 7, and were met by Alabama State troopers who promptly ordered them to turn around. When the marchers refused, the officers shot teargas into the crowd and beat the nonviolent protestors; hospitalizing over fifty people. This event was televised all over the world and it disgusted the viewers who witnessed the horrific police brutality.

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Prior to the establishment of this act, African Americans faced many legal restraints prohibiting many of them from voting- a right guaranteed to all citizens under the fifteenth amendment. When African Americans attended the polling booths, they were often asked to complete a literacy test or pay a poll fine to vote. These tests caused a vast demographic of African Americans to be exempt from the voting process, excluding and discrediting their voices. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally outlawed any discriminatory voting prerequisites used by many Southern states at the time. The development of this act is often seen as a crucial turning point for the Civil Rights Movement and one of the nation’s most significant accomplishments since Reconstruction.

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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.

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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

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A civil rights activist named Martin Luther King Jr pushed for the Voting Rights Act to be passed. The protest in Selma Alabama helped push the Voting Rights Act to be passed. The Voting Rights Act of 1964 was finally passed in 1968, but not everyone was happy about this. Many democrats called the Voting Rights Act of 1964 unconstitutional. Even though some were not happy about the Voting Rights act being passed, thousands upon thousands of blacks went to register to vote after its

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In 1955 a former preacher named Martin Luther King began the Grassroots Movement, also known as the early movement. Dr. King’s had goals for the early movement, with a strategy that was supported by many African Americans. His goals was to move toward integration of white and black people, along with hopes to have black people given political rights and equality. Martin wanted a world where black and whites worked together equally, and side by side. His goals was to diminish the mindset of “us and them” and, instead create a world of “we”.

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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

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About two centuries ago, an American polymath Henry Thoreau protested the Mexican-American War by refusing to pay government taxes and with his innovative essay,'Civil Disobedience'. Years later, Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King both followed his lead in employing nonviolence as a way to protest the injustices of their time. Because of their recognition as great men and outcome of these great men efforts, I believe that nonviolent protest is the only way we can achieve reform concerning today's issues. For many years, Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King as well as Henry Thoreau have been revered by many. King won a Nobel Peace Prize for his peaceful imperviousness to the racial partiality in America.

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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.

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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.

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In addition to the methodology that surrounded the Black Lives Matter Movement, the direct actions behind the movement helped gain the attention and regency of the issues. After the first appearance of the hashtag on social media it started gaining fame after the tragic death of Michael Brown as the hashtag went viral. The marches happening in Ferguson, Missouri were in response to the terrible police brutality that has plagued our society for African Americans. African Americans and minorities alike have been dealing with the stresses of discrimination, segregation, and fear that has been brought on by the white man in power. Everyone has a breaking point where they are sick and tired of dealing with the same problems over and over again.

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Morality is the basis on which people make their decisions every day. People have the ability to decide for themselves what is right or wrong. Since morality can be argued as being personally subjective, mental state is obviously an important factor in moral decision making. In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses Henry Clerval as a foil to Victor Frankenstein in order to emphasize Victor’s own mental state, and ultimately question the morality of Victor’s actions, thus highlighting how state of mind affects choices on what is morally right or wrong. One of the important functions of Henry as a foil to Victor is to highlight Victor’s state of mind in the novel.

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