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Voting Rights Act Of 1965 Essay

579 Words3 Pages

In 1870, the Fifteenth amendment was passed which 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” (civilrights.org). Although this amendment was passed, it would take more than sixty years until African Americans were fairly admitted to vote. Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans fought discrimination and violence on the way to the voting ballot. Jim Crow laws enacted various voting restrictions, including poll taxes, literacy tests, moral character tests, and document interpreting tests. The Voting rights act of 1965 would silence all the voting rights issues and bring fairness and equality to all races. With the help of the riots in Selma, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the enforcement of the act; voting discrimination would be greatly reduced over a span of sixty years. …show more content…

One event that outraged many Americans was on March 7, 1965, when peaceful participants in a voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery were met by Alabama state troopers who attacked them with nightsticks, tear gas and whips after they refused to turn back. During the march, Martin Luther King Jr. rallied the protestors up and chanted, “We're going to stand up amid anything they can muster up, letting the world know that we are determined to be free" (history.com). MLK said this in order to evoke emotions and establish the fact that they would do anything for freedom. Some protesters were severely beaten, and others ran for their lives. The incident was captured on national

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