The Civil Rights Acts of 1964: Discrimination Based On Race

Equal Protection and the African American Constitutional Experience (2000) is a compilation of over a hundred primary source documents. The primary sources (legislation, letters, testimony and more) were compiled, edited and analyzed by Robert P. Green, a “distinguished professor” who claims a Masters in United States History, a Bachelors in History and has taught American Educational History, Principles of American Education along with several other courses at Clemson College. Green’s purpose is to provide a volume of information for students to learn the basic facts behind pivotal events

President Lyndon B. Johnson and President John F. Kennedy made many notable advances to outlaw discrimination in America. They fought against discrimination on race, color, religion, and national origin. Although the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments outlawed slavery, provided for equal protection under the law, guaranteed citizenship, and protected the right to vote, individual states continued to allow unfair treatment of minorities and passed Jim Crow laws allowing segregation of public facilities. America would not be the country it is today without their effort to make this country better and of course without the help of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history's greatest political battles.

This document sets a right to give the many African Americans whom have been through countless amounts of racial discrimination and segregation the right to vote. It was produced mainly to propose the segregation and racial discrimination that was being given to the people of different race and color. Soon after passage of the VRA, federal examiners began voter registration and an immense increase in black voter registration was shown. It was produced so that the right to vote would be free, fair, and accessible to all Americans despite race or

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was known as an end to racial segregation. It was brought about by a number of things including the effects of major events mostly involving riots. State and federal legislation needed it to be passed along with many social movements that influenced its decision. It is no question that it heavily changed America for the better by turning us into a melting pot and making us see that everyone should be treated as equals. It is important to remember that this act was not only beneficial to the time in which it was enacted, but it has affected our future by sustaining society. Today we continue to fight to outlaw discrimination within our nation, and thanks to the passing of this act we are able to be strong and help support the removal of unequal protection for all citizens. The general public has always deserved to be treated with the same rights that every White American is given. This act needed to be passed in order to see the harm we were causing by segregating people. America has grown so much since the act was established, and with it by our sides everyone can be able to have the rights they all truly deserve. Without this act in effect, the impacts on our country would be dire. We needed this act in order to flourish as one nation and continue to build movements against any discrimination.

The act also gave the federal government the power to step in if any states attempted to intrude on the African Americans’ rights.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address defined the American government as an institution “of the people, by the people, [and] for the people”. Lincoln had an idealistic view of the government as an instrument for societal change. He, as well as the founding fathers, intended for the government to act in support of the people’s will or the majority rule. This democratic definition of the government has remained true throughout the course of American history. By placing all of its power on its citizens, the government itself did not decide the course of history but rather followed it. This follower mindset is seen through the government’s positive interactions with marginalized groups’ who in their attempts to overcome exclusion gained

Necessary and Proper Clause: This is a clause within the United States Constitution specifically in Article I Section 8. It grants Congress the power to create laws or take certain actions that are not explicitly seen in the Constitution and allows flexibility within Congress. The Necessary and Proper clause allows Congress to use enumerated powers that are implied within the text of the Constitution.

On April 09, 1866, Andrew Johnson had vetoed the Civil Rights bill, but he had was overridden by the House. It was passed by the thirty-ninth Congress. The bill’s main purpose: everyone born in the United States was to be declared citizens of the United States, no matter what ethnicity, except American Indians. The House had wanted all people born here to be given an equal and fair opportunity of legal benefits. This bill was quite important concerning other races in the American workforce because it was the first major anti-discrimination employment ordinance. The bill originated from Senate Judiciary Chairman Lyman Trumbull of Illinois. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 essentially encourages nondiscrimination and protect all ethic groups. Despite not giving this benefit to Native Americans, this bill represents America taking a step closer to being a free and equal country that offers the same opportunities to

The Act granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all males in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." 6 The activities of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or KKK undermined the act. It failed to immediately secure the civil rights of African Americans. Since 1866 it has been illegal in the U.S. to discriminate in jobs and housing because of race. However, federal penalties were not provided for, so that remedies were left to the individuals involved.

On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court made its final decision on the Shelby County, Alabama v Holder, deeming Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, passed by Congress in 1965 and extended several times, unconstitutional. Section 5, although not being struck down, became insignificant without its triggering formula, Section 4, to determine the coverage. This Supreme Court decision took away the key parts of the Voting Rights Act, which was an important method for the federal government to oversee and enforce the enfranchisement of African-Americans in some states. While justifying their decision, the Court mentioned that Section 4 only applied to specific states and it was against the idea of equal sovereignty of all states in the Constitution. What is more, the Congress’ justification of these unequal actions towards those states in 2006, was based on 40-year old data showing that it was still an exceptional condition, which cannot reflect the current situations and needs of the country.

These orders made it illegal to prevent someone from voting if they have the ability to vote. This section of the act reaffirmed the citizenship of African-Americans because an important part of American identity at the time was voting. As a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Eisenhower banned any discrimination from places of public accommodation. This act decrees that no one can deny service to a person based on their ethnicity, race, religion, etc. The president also banned discrimination from employers or labor unions, in order to ensure people could have an equal opportunity to apply for jobs. This provided African-Americans with an ability to act as a true citizen because the government prohibited race determining job availability. No boundaries technically existed, leaving blacks to have a chance at succeeding in the U.S. When Eisenhower reacted to the issues at Little Rock, he gave this message to the country, “Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts. Now, let me make it very clear that federal troops are not being used to relieve local and state authorities of their primary duty to preserve the peace and order of the

Outside of the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many states have issued this problem as a privacy issue between employer and employee instead of a protected classification. “Nowhere in the United States Constitution is explicit reference made to the right of privacy. The Supreme Court, however, has interpreted the Constitution to provide for individual privacy in certain areas such as reproduction, contraception, abortion and marriage. There are no Supreme Court cases which specifically pertain to privacy issues that arise from employee testing, however certain legal scholars have advanced the idea that personality tests should be considered under the Fourth Amendment Search and

Civil the rights of citizens of a country to political and social freedom and equality. Americans didn't always have civil rights they had to fight hard just to earn these freedoms. Even after all these beliefs of freedom Americans mistreated people of different skin colors for man years, even to the extent of slavery itself.Even after slavery was ended the mistreatment continued to the workplace,schools,and public areas such as parks and buses. The Civil Rights Act if 1964 was a major factor in finally eliminating various kinds of discrimination based on things such as race,sex,and country of origin.

First, the acts resulted in the barring of the unequal application practices in voter registration. For the first time, the blacks were allowed to register as voters and choose their leaders.