African American Voting Rights Research Paper

Furthermore, the Ku Klux Klan was a group of white supremacists that terrorized blacks from voting. “Most Klan action was designed to intimidate black voters and white supporters of the Republican Party.” (“Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era” 1). The KKK did not believe in equality between the two races. One of their main

Most change can be caused by people or something with significant value. Occasionally people forget that change can also be caused by pieces of paper. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a law passed that primarily gave African Americans the right to vote without having to take any sort of literacy tests. African Americans were widely ignored in voting rights because they were forced to take literacy tests to be eligible to vote. Having this event in our nation’s civil rights movement was a landmark that allowed the other half of our nation’s voice to be heard. “The Voting Rights Act itself has been called the single most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever passed by Congress.”(Laney 65)

Despite what many might think, the voting rights act of 1965 is well known across hundreds of nations all over the world. The voting rights act of 1965 has been around for several centuries and has a very important meaning in the lives of many. This act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. He aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It is a landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibits this racial discrimination. This document is just as big and important as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It would be safe to assume that voting rights act of 1965 is going to be around for a long time and will have an enormous impact on the lives of many people in times to come. The voting acts of 1965 created positive and negative changes for America. But, why was this law created, when was it put into effect, and what effect did it have on the U.S.?

The national narrative of transformation depicted in the appended PowerPoint presentation purports to explain African American's longwinded struggle for voting rights. The story begins with a newspaper advertisement of black slaves for purchase. The advertisement perpetuates the ubiquitously presumed value of black people as commodities which consecutively invalidates black people’s value as human beings. Considering black people’s undervalued reputation, they were not appreciated as citizens of the United States until 1866. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 marked the beginning of transformation, as all native-born Americans including blacks were given the rights to citizenship.

Some states mostly southern completely disregarded the reconstruction amendments. They imposed racial segregation and made it extremely difficult for races other than white to vote. African American were denied opportunity to grow economically and were often the victim of hate groups. Blacks, however, did not simply endured discrimination passively; They founded establishments to strengthen their community such as churches. They worked closely with abolitionist to create organizations such as the NAACP whose mission is to “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.” In the 1880’s poll taxes and literacy requirements that afterward advocated African Americans to vote. Meanwhile Klan violence frightens from police and employers, blacks were still “protesting”about voting rights. As a result, there were over two dozen blacks serving in state congress across some

The African-American community is comprised of 34 million people, and makes up approximately 12.8 percent of the American population (Barker, Jones, Tate 1999: 3). As such, it is the largest minority group in the United States. Yet, politically, the black community has never been able to sufficiently capitalize on that status in order to receive the full benefits of life in America. Today, African-Americans, hold less than 2 percent of the total number of elected positions in this country (Tate, 1994: 3) and the number of members within the community that actually partake in voting continues to drop. In spite of these statistics, as of 1984, a telephone survey found that 70

A quote from Document 8 says “ In May 1872, because of pressure from the libral Republican, Congress passed a general amnesty act which restored the right of officeholding [and voting] to the vast majority of those who had been disqualified.” Previously most black men had been disqualified from voting because of the lack of education, but all of that went away in an attempt to restore equality. White men were firious and would not stand to see this happent. Document four says “Let there be White Leagues formed in every town, village and hamlet of the south...they will not stand idly by and see us borne down by northern radicals and half-barbarous negroes.” White people formed grooups such as the KKK to torture the black people and prevent them from effecting white

Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people,--a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people. The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, the boon that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp,--like a tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host. The holocaust of war, the terrors of the Ku-Klux Klan, the lies of carpet-baggers, the disorganization of industry, and the contradictory advice of friends and foes, left the bewildered serf with no new watchword beyond the old cry for freedom" (Chapter 1). They thought the Black people did not enjoy their deserved rights, like the 14th and 15th Amendments. 14th Amendments provided civil rights for African Americans, and15th Amendments provided voting rights for African Americans. Ku Klux Klan preventing African American from using the 15th Amendment to enable them to vote. Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist arm of the Southern Democratic Party. The immediate goal of these groups was to keep white and black Republicans away from polling places. Their violent tactics, targeted at black leaders, escalated during Reconstruction. White mobs killed three state legislators during these turbulent times.

Up until the year 1870 African Americans could not vote in any election in American. (U.S. Voting Rights). In the past America has been making a lot of changes in our voting system’s equality. In the present, legally African Americans have the same rights as a white man does. In the future the rights will not get any better or worse. Throughout history The African American voting rights have improved to the present day and will stay the same in the near future.

     Black Americans of today need to register to vote and make use of their voting rights if they want to see a change to the current state of democracy. In the

Youtube.com). Hate groups started to develop and the actions put forth by congress were not very effective at this time. One popular hate group was the Klu Klux Klan. “The KKK was formed in Tennessee and was created to terrorize blacks” (pinzler.com). Members of the Klu Klux Klan wore white robes and pointed hats. These hate groups main goals were to terrorize blacks in the South, but they also did other things. “These groups kept African Americans and white republicans from voting” (Sparknotes.com). There were consequences for people that were involved in hate groups; “If anyone attempting to prevent a person from voting [usually blacks or white republicans] would be fined or imprisoned” (visitthecapital.gov). Something known as the Klu Klux Klan Act was passed around 1871. “Between May 1870 and February 1871 congress passed three bills called the enforcement acts” (Visitthecapital.gov). Overall, these acts were meant to protect blacks on a state and a local level. Besides Black Codes and the groups there was another problem in the south which had to do with the 14th and 15th amendments. The 14th amendment was created on July, 9 1868 during the time of reconstruction. According to

After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the ensuing American Civil War all states where forced to ratify the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery “within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In 1870 the fifteenth amendment was passed making it unconstitutional to prohibit voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” While the thirteenth and fifteenth amendments made it constitution for African Americans to vote it did not prohibit states from implementing obstructions at voting booths such as poll taxes, literacy test, lineage tracking, and other qualifications. While Plessy v. Ferguson established the separate but equal doctrine which is described as “racially segregated but ostensibly ensuring equal opportunities to all races.” The established doctrine of Separate but Equal was never enforced, and the cries of the neglected fell upon deaf ears until 1954, 58 years after a virtual caste system was established in the Nation of “freedom and equal opportunity” segregating everything from schools to bathrooms because of the color of your skin.

This source provides a brief summary and primary source document on the Texas black codes passed on November 10th 1866, in which Texas revoked the black right to vote, hold office, serve in juries , receive public land or create black school from the states public school fund. The article is a primary source document with small explanation of the different sections of these codes and can be summarized by the documents purpose, redefining slavery under new terms and manipulating the freedom of “ free men”. The point of this article is to provide historical information concerning black codes that is accessible digitally. It solely focuses on the black codes and the restrictions they placed on black people's ability to have land,an

Wonder who’s been a victim of voter suppression? Voter suppression has been a problem since the act of voting came into play. Politicians have schemed since the very beginning to get their way. With the citizens being the voters it’s our responsibility to spot crooked politicians. Sometimes what we see and what we hear are not the truth. With the voter literacy test and laws that dis-proportionally affect African Americans it’s only human nature to be discouraged. What is going on in society isn’t right to us citizens who do up ide by the law. Even with it being un-lawful, Voter suppression is still practiced because some politicians are crooked and the voter literacy test and laws that disproportionately affect African Americans are a prime example.