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Voting Rights Of 1965 Essay

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As the United States was being built as a country many years ago, specifically during the Reconstruction era, African Americans in the South were given the right to vote while they were constantly strayed away from voting. For many years the right to vote was not given to all American citizens. In 1870 the 15th Amendment was ratified so that the right to vote for any American citizen should not be denied or abridged. Although this amendment was put in place many times African Americans strayed away from voting due to poll taxes, literacy tests and other things that easily discouraged them. Not until 1965 was the “Voting Rights of 1965” established, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which prohibited the racial discrimination of voting. Many …show more content…

Majority of the time those that don’t agree with a decision that was made did not participate on Election Day. Some might believe that their one vote will not make a difference in the outcome of an election, but there is really no way to predict what the polls will read. Having someone in office that supports issues in the same manner that you would is great because it is their job to fix whatever is broken in the way that you and other people with the same view see it fit. With the political climate of the United States today, a lot of the issues are involved around the economy, immigration, social issues, foreign policy and health care. The ones participating in this year’s election will be looking for answers to things concerning those issues. As someone that places great value in their right to vote, I would choose the candidate that has the best solution for each problem that our country is facing. During this midterm election that is approaching governors, congressmen, and senators will be voted for. These positions are almost like the CEOs of each state. Congressmen and senators are a citizen’s direct way into government involvement. These elected officials travel to different cities and counties in order to grasp the public opinion on what they feel needs to be taken care of. Without congressmen and senators it would be very difficult to have your own public opinion(s) discussed in a joint session of congress. For the purposes of making our cities, counties, states, and nation a better place to live I place a great amount of value in my right to

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Although African Americans were free, they were treated as less than a white U.S Citizen. Up until 1870, black people were unable to vote. Ulysses S. Grant despised these injustices and made it his presidential goal to fight for civil rights. On February 3, the 15th Amendment was passed giving African Americans the right to vote. This empowered a new collective of people to voice their opinions.

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The representatives would be the voices of their constituents, leaving them with the responsibility of making decisions for the public good.

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“The second section of the amendment said that if a state denies the right to vote to citizens of the United States, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 21 years of age in such states”. This meant that if the South refused to let the Negro vote, it would be punished by a cut in the number of representatives each state had in the House”. (Latham 1969). Though there wasn’t technically a law that African Americans couldn’t vote, there were laws targeted towards

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The fifteen amendment of the United States Constitution prohibit the federal and state government from denying the citizens the right to vote, based on that citizen’s race, color or previous condition of servitude. The fifteen Amendments finally gave the African American the right to vote, but also allowed them to be able to elect into public office. Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promises if the 15 amendment would not fully realized for almost a century, thought the used of poll taxes, literacy test and other means. Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African American. Current controversies over the right to vote can be divided into two types of claims.

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This was due to literacy tests and poll taxes. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified. This amendment gave all Americans the right to vote regardless of race (Document C). However, after the amendment was passed, Southern states passed a series of laws designed to restrict African Americans voting rights. First, they added the grandfather clause.

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The right of citizens of the body 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. This amendment was proposed on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870. African Americans who had been slaves became citizens under the terms of the 14th Amendment. The 15th Amendment does not specifically say that they must be allowed to vote. The states are free to set qualifications for voters.

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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

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The Fifteenth Amendment, which was ratified February 3, 1870, states that 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.” By dodging around the Amendment, people still found ways to disclude African Americans from voting. According to Document L, “Denying black men the right to vote through legal maneuvering and violence was a first step in taking away their civil rights. Beginning in 1890s, southern states enacted literacy tests... The laws proved very effective.

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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.”

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Significant amounts of people today often do not comprehend how recently African-Americans truly gained the right to vote. About fifty-some years ago, less than one generation, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act; a landmark piece of federal legislation. The Voting Rights Act help African-Americans across the nation to overcome the legal barriers, such as the racially discriminatory Jim Crow Laws, that often prevented them from exercising their right to vote—which is guaranteed under the fifteen amendment, in national, state, and local elections. More specially, from the ratification of the fifteen amendment to the passage and signing of the Voting Rights Act, African-Americans, as well as other minority groups, endure countless

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