ipl-logo

Summary Of Give Us The Ballot By Aar Berman

966 Words4 Pages

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. In December 1964, Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964 and described it as, “a …show more content…

Although before and after the VRA was passed there was violent and discriminatory acts that occurred. Especially the violent acts between the white and back communities. An example of the violent acts between these two communities is the event that occurred at the Selma to Montgomery march. “The state troopers and Clark’s posse chased and beat the fleeing marchers all the way back to the Brown Chapel.” State troopers and other authorities beat unarmed protesters and attacked them with tear gas, bully clubs, and with horrible violence. This horrendous event is now remembered and commonly known as “Bloody Sunday”. “Bloody Sunday” was not the only time that marchers where met with horrible violence. “…the murder of the white Detroit housewife Viola Liuzzo, a thirty-nine-year-old mother of five gunned down on Route 80 by Alabama Klansmen after she had attended the Selma to Montgomery march…” The violence that was met with before and after the Voting Rights Act was passed were moments that will never be forgotten. Later came the importance of the Voter Education Project (VEP), an extension to the voting Rights Act. There were many other organizations that host the Voter education Project, for example, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Congress of Racial …show more content…

It was known that minority groups like Mexican-Americans also faced discrimination and were denied the participation in the political process with equal rights like other Americans. Chicago activist Barbara Jordan stated that discriminatory acts towards minorities were still accruing in Texas even after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 and after the renewal in 1970. Thanks to Barbara Jordan, “the House overwhelmingly passed a ten-year extension of the VRA, adopting Barbara Jordan’s new protections for language minorities.” The new Voting Rights Act brought a new change to the Mexican-American community, bringing an increase in Mexican-Americans holding county and municipal offices which lead to a more fair and equal representation of Mexican-Americans. Even though the Voting Rights Act was a success towards minority groups like African Americans and Mexican-Americans. Many conservative southern states and people from the Republican Party were not happy with the Voting Rights Act and called it and believed it was “unconstitutional”. This brought then to the point where they wanted to make it more difficult for blacks and Mexican-Americans to vote. They even challenged the unconstitutionality of the Voting Rights Act in front of the Supreme Court in 1996 but they were not successful. After this president Regan

Show More
Related

Lee Resolution Summary

713 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Gerrymandering

813 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Effective Use Of Ethos In Lyndon B. Johnson's Speech

572 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Movement In The 1950's And 1960s

1017 Words | 5 Pages

The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social, In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement was very successful because activist showed the level of racism and segregation in the south. The tactics and resistance made in this time period helped achieve desegregation because and the resistance that the activists dealt with just made them become more aware in the media and hopefully spread nation wide.

Read More

Voting Rights Act Of 1965 Thesis Statement

66 Words | 1 Pages

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.”

Read More

15 Amendment Research Paper

563 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More

Voter Discrimination Dbq

69 Words | 1 Pages

On august, 6, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed a law that made it easier for African Americans to vote in the US elections. Up until that time, some community’s attempted to discriminate against black people and members of other minority group. They required voters to take written tests or pay special taxes four the write to vote The Voting Rights Act of 1965 put an end to voter discrimination.

Read More

The Ballot Or The Bullet Summary

472 Words | 2 Pages

In April 1964, in the midst of a 54 day Senate filibuster of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Malcolm X gave his famous speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet”. In “The Ballot or the Bullet”, Malcolm X advocates for racial, economic, and social justice through the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, more black voting control, and more black local control through any means possible, including violence and the threat of it. Throughout the entire speech, the metaphor of “the ballot or the bullet” is repeatedly used. X states this phrase constantly throughout the speech, even repeating it multiple times in succession. He uses this anaphora to emphasize the importance of this to his audience.

Read More

The Life And Legacy Of John Lewis

1225 Words | 5 Pages

This vessel of courage was met with what is now know as “Bloody Sunday” when marchers reached the end of the bridge and began to pray before they were beaten by Alabama’s state troopers. (Academy of Acheivment). The mass spread publicity from the violence of Bloody Sunday was broadcasted to the public. Consequently, this news sparked outrage in the country and the public demanded progression at the presidential level. Only a week after the outbreak, president Johnson appeared before congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that would enforce the voting rights of African Americans across the country (Academy of Achievement).

Read More

Voting Rights Act Summary

164 Words | 1 Pages

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed by the 36th President of the United States - Lyndon Johnson. This act broke down prejudices against low-income people, people of color and people with disabilities. In a recent op-ed piece President Obama showed admiration to Civil-Rights leaders like:Jimmie Lee Jackson, John Lewis, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr by writing "we owe them a great debt". Although the President wrote the Voting Rights Act started an "era of progress" with its enactment, he argued the fact that it needs to be updated. He sighted the recent court cases which upheld new voting laws that are seen as hindering minorities voting rights, and the 2013 Supreme Court decision that invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act.

Read More

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) Of 1965

977 Words | 4 Pages

Part of the VRA’s goal was to end aggravated violence among the black and white community. Examples of such unrestrained violence are elaborated in text, describing the events of what took place during the Selma to Montgomery march, quoting, “The state troopers and Clark’s posse chased and beat the fleeing marchers all the way back to the Brown Chapel.” State troopers and county possemen attacked the unarmed marchers with tear gas and billy clubs. This event became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Another example of exacerbated violence was “the murder of the white Detroit housewife Viola Liuzzo, a thirty-nine-year-old mother of five gunned down on Route 80 by Alabama Klansmen after she had attended the Selma to Montgomery

Read More

Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Essay

1166 Words | 5 Pages

Voting Rights Act of 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a speech on March 15, 1965 that was later named “We Shall Overcome” in which he submitted a voting rights bill to Congress. This act gave the federal government the right to check the primary and general elections in the southern states that were refusing the right to vote to African Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed on August 6, 1965 by LBJ. This act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 effectively ended the 90 year span of the Jim Crow Era. 6.

Read More

Selma March Essay

484 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Essay On The Voting Rights Act Of 1965

1821 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More

Voting Rights Act Argumentative Essay

1419 Words | 6 Pages

According to Voter Institute, Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning than to fall victim to voter fraud. However, states consistently cite this problem to justify strict voter identification laws, a popular form of voter discrimination today. It is for this reason that the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965 to prevent the disenfranchisement of minority voters. However, in June 2013, the Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder, deemed Section 4(b) of the act, the list of states subjected to preclearance, unconstitutional. Critics argue that the Section 4 states no longer displayed the same amount of blatant discrimination compared to the past rates which had warranted the burdens of preclearance.

Read More

More about Summary Of Give Us The Ballot By Aar Berman

Related Topics

Open Document