Voting+Rights+Act+of+1965

Steve Berick American Experience Unit 8: Vietnam War & Great Society May 11, 2011

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered to be the most successful civil rights law ever passed in America. It was passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 9th, 1965, and was a great victory on the road to equal opportunity and fair treatment for Americans of every race, creed, or religion. The year of 1965 was one of racial turmoil across the United States. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in an attempt to help African Americans vote without being discriminated against and being put through harmful or unfair treatment by white voting registration workers who put blacks through unfair tests for the right to vote. When the first went into effect racist southern whites were the only ones complaining. The law was very successful and increased the amount of black voters registered by ten percent which was considered a big success for the civil rights movement. The voting rights act is still in effect today, although it is now mainly for non-English speakers who can register to vote in another language. I think that President Johnson would still support this law because it has helped diversify American politics, which is better for the people. Work Cited "Voting Rights Act (1965)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011.

 Dago Poblete Mr. Glasier 10 American Experience 3rd Period 11/05/2011 Voting Rights Act of 1965 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">African Americans have been fighting for their rights since the 14th amendment was passed in 1868. They had many victories but many more defeats. The voting Rights Act was one of the biggest wins for them; at the end of the Civil Rights Movement they accomplished to get the most basic of all rights, the right to have an opinion, the right to vote. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the first one giving universal suffrage to all Americans. This act didn’t discriminate in gender or race. This federal law mainly helped African Americans, because southern states didn’t allow them to vote; after this act more than 62% of African Americans were registered to vote. It gave federal support to the African Americans who wanted to exercise the right to vote. This act has been extended multiple times since 1965, adding important details to ensure the voting rights to all Americans. This law will need to be practiced for the rest of the U.S. history; and if Johnson was president today and this law wasn’t addressed yet it would be a major topic. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">This was a major success for the African American community and for the Civil Rights movement supporters. It gave the right to be heard to a large part of the country and it helped with the fight against race discrimination in the United States of America. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Voting Rights Act (1965)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><www.shaker.org>.