Chapter 6Voters and Voter Behavior

Section 3: Suffrage and Civil Rights

Lesson Objectives:

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Describe the tactics often used to deny African Americans the right to vote despite the command of the 15th Amendment.

2. Understand the significance of the civil rights laws enacted in 1957, 1960, and 1964.

In the deep south of the 1960s, civil rights workers suffered arrest, beatings, and even death- all in the name of the right to vote. Their efforts inspired the nation and led to large-scale federal efforts to secure that right for the African Americans and other minority groups in the United States.

The 15th Amendment*Ratified in 1870 it declared that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States because of race or color. *The Amendment was intended to ensure that African American men could vote.*The Amendment did not explain how this law would be enforced.

Tactics used to keep African Americans from votingEven after the passage of the 15th Amendment, African Americans were kept from voting for the next 90 years in America . White supremacists used the following tactics to keep them from voting:

*Violence*Threats and social pressure*Literacy Tests*Poll Taxes*Gerrymandering- the practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party. (Gerrymandering video).

Early Civil Rights LegislationLargely in response to the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Congress was moved to act. In the late 1950s, it began to enact civil rights laws specifically intended to enforce the 15th Amendment.

Civil Rights Act of 1957- Created the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The commission investigated claims of voter discrimination. And reported its findings to Congress and the President.

The Civil Rights Act of 1960- Created federal voting referees. Those officers were to travel to any election site that was suspected of having voter discrimination. They could also help qualified voters register and vote in federal elections but not in state or local elections.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964- The most effective of the three civil rights acts. Outlawed discrimination in several areas, especially in job-related matters. It made the use of literacy requirements illegal.

Unfortunately, these acts all fell short. Violence broke out across the south and an outraged President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress to pass new and stronger legislation to ensure the voting rights of African Americans (Speech video). Congress quickly responded.

Voting Rights Act of 1965- This law directed the attorney general to challenge all States that still required a poll tax to vote. The law also suspended the use of any literacy tests in any State. The law gave the attorney general to ability to hire voting examiners to serve in any State that was suspected of voter discrimination. The law also stated that any suspected State had to have all new voting laws approved by the Department of Justice before going into effect.

The following States were suspected of voter discrimination in the 1960s: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, ad 40 counties in North Carolina.

Over time, voter discrimination eventually leveled off and minority suffrage rights were upheld. Over the years, this act which is still in existence has been updated and renewed to fit the times.