What is the Voter Rights Act of 1965
During the height of the civil rights movement, the Voter Rights Act of 1965 was passed. It eliminated various arrangements such as literacy tests, etc. These devices had previously been in use to restrict voting by black people and other uneducated people in the United States. It outlawed any and all discriminatory voting practices that was used in majority of Southern States to keep people from voting. The Voting Rights Act was passed in response to Jim Crow laws and other discriminations towards minorities and their rights. It has undergone several revisions and additions since it was initially created to help become the fifteenth amendment we have today.
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References http://civilrights.findlaw.com/other-constitutional-rights/the-voting-rights-act-of-1965-overview.html http://www.dictionary.com/browse/voting-rights-act-of-1965
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This was the act that helped enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution. Before the Voter Rights Act African Americans, especially those living in the deep south, faced plenty of difficulties to voting which can include "poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions to deny them the right to vote." They were also faced with other non- legal issues such as harassment and violence when they attempted to vote. Because of everything that was going on at this time, there were few to none African American voters as well as any national or local political power. One event that specifically highlighted the attention of voting matters was the mass murder of voting rights activist in Mississippi, and the attack of non-violent marchers in Alabama. After this