AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
 HOW IMPORTANT IS THE RIGHT TO VOTE?
 Southerners of the 1960s suffered arrest, beatings,
shocks with electric cattle prods, even death in the
name of the right to vote.
 Their efforts inspired a nation and led to large-scale
federal efforts to secure suffrage for African-Americans
and other minority groups
THE XVTH AMENDMENT
 XVth Amendment ratified in 1870
 The right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of
the USA because of race, color, or previous condition
of servitude.
 This amendment was not self-executing
 Congress had to act to enforce the amendment but for
almost 90 years the federal government paid little
attention to the voting rights of African Americans
 1870-1960s—African-Americans systematically were
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kept from the polls
White supremacists’ main weapon was violence
They also used subtle threats and social pressure
People fired from jobs for registering to vote or denied
the family credit at the local store
Formal “legal” devices were used—literacy tests
White officials regularly manipulated these tests to
disenfranchise the African-Americans
 Registration laws also served to prohibit African-
American voting
 GERRYMANDERING—the practice of drawing
electoral district lines (the boundaries of the
geographic area from which a candidate is elected to a
public office) in order to limit the voting strength of a
particular group or party
 In response to the civil rights campaign of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Congress decided to act to remove
prohibition of African-American voting.
EARLY CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION
 Civil Rights Act of 1957
 Set up the US Civil Rights Commission
 The commission inquired into claims of voter
discrimination
 The Act also gave the attorney general the power to
seek federal court orders to prevent interference with a
person’s right to vote in any federal election
 Civil Rights Act of 1960
 Provided for the appointment of federal voting
referees—help qualified people register and vote.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
 Broader and more effective than previous laws
 Outlawed discrimination in several areas, especially
job-related matters
 Forbids the use of any voter registration or literacy
requirement in an unfair or discriminatory manner
 Relied on judicial action to overcome racial barriers
 INJUNCTION—a court order that either compels
(forces) or restrains (limits) the performance of some
act by a private individual or public official
 Violating an injunction amounts to contempt of court,
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punishable by a fine and/or prison time
Selma, AL—Dr. King mounts a voter registration drive in
early 1965
He wanted to focus national attention on the issue of
African-American voting rights
Registration was met by insults and violence by white
civilians, city and county police, and state troopers
Two civil rights workers were murdered and many others
beaten
Much of the drama was shown on national TV
President Johnson urged Congress to pass stronger
legislation. Congress responded quickly.
THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
 Made the XVth Amendment, at long last, a truly effective
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part of the Constitution.
This act applied to ALL elections held anywhere in this
country—state and local, as well as federal.
The law lasted for 5 years but was extended in 1970, 1975,
1982, and most recently 2006.
The most recent law is in effect for 25 years and will expire
or need to be renewed by 2031.
Attorney General challenged the constitutionality of
remaining state poll-tax laws.
The law also suspended the use of literacy tests in states
 PRECLEARANCE
 The process of reviewing election-related laws before
they were allowed to go into effect.
 Many court cases have occurred since preclearance
 These cases show that the laws most likely to run afoul
of preclearance are those that make these changes:
 1) the location of polling places; 2) the boundaries of
election districts; 3) deadlines in the election process;
4) from ward or district elections to at-large elections;
5) the qualifications candidates must meet in order to
run for office
 AMENDMENTS TO THE ACT
 1970 amendment extended the law for 5 years
 No law could use literacy as a the basis for voting
requirements
 1975—law extended again for 7 years until 1982
 1982—law extended for 25 year to 2007
 THE END