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Voting Rights Act Of 1965 Dbq Essay

677 Words3 Pages

The outcome of Shelby County v. Holder, a Supreme Court Case in which a district in Alabama appealed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has resulted in the United States becoming a less democratic state (oyez.com). Democracies are defined as governments that reflect the will of its people, which can be achieved by allowing citizens a voice to express themselves in society. Most democracies are attained by giving each citizen an equal vote (ushistory.org). After the ruling of Shelby County, various states throughout United States, especially in the south, have now had more influence upon creating voting requirements. The ruling of the case has made the United States less democratic as it has influenced many states to narrow their electorate, making it harder for everyone to vote and contribute to society.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created, by Lyndon B. Johnson, to further enforce the 15th Amendment of the United States. The purpose of the act was to ensure democracy within the United States by giving everyone an equal ability to practice their rights. Throughout the history of the United States, African Americans have been denied of their basic freedoms as citizens. The Voting Rights Act made it harder for states to further deny African-Americans, and other …show more content…

It was set out to become the land of the free and the home of the brave, a land far away from the greedy kings and tyrannical dictators (archives.gov). The US was set to become a democracy, a place where everyone would be heard. In order for a nation to be considered a democracy (ushistory.org), it must properly reflect the views of its people. If only one group of its people have the ability to exercise their beliefs and have a voice in society, the country does not render all of its people’s views and is not a true democracy. Ever since the ruling of Shelby County v. Holder, the US has not been a true

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On July 02, 1964 , Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited against people discriminating against another because of their skin color , so everybody was treated equally. L.B.J he became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963 and L.B.J took office the next day. He finished what J.F.K wanted and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Political means some did it for votes or for something and principle means the person did something because it was the right thing to do. Why did L.B.J sign it was, it a political decision or was it a principle decision?

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According to writer, James Mott’s Is the United States a Democracy?, “In the strictest sense of the word, the system of government established by the Constitution was never intended to be a "democracy” This is evident not only in the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance but in the Constitution itself which declares that "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government" Moreover, the scheme of representation and the various mechanisms for selecting representatives established by the Constitution were clearly intended to produce a republic, not a

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Originally, African Americans had to be segregated and weren’t even allowed to vote. In 1965 after the Montgomery March, Lyndon B Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act, and later in 1968 both the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Fourteenth Amendment were passed. The Fourteenth Amendmendment said that “all persons born of naturalized in the United States” could legally vote. These acts got rid of literacy tests, and in 1968, when Nixon became president (Document H), there was over two times the amount of African American voters than there was in 1960 (Document G). African Americans also gained large support from a president, John F. Kennedy, which wasn’t something anyone had expected looking back at how past presidents acted.

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We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

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