What Was The Voting Rights Act Of 1965 ?
The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed so that any discrimination in voting practices was removed from the government policies, and every citizen of the US who was 18 years of age and above had voting rights irrespective of their caste, color, gender and religion or previous status. |
Previously, before this act was passed, the US had several outdated and outlawed practices, wherein African Americans and women were not granted voting rights. After the 15th Amendment was passed and put into action, no one could deny any citizen of the US his voting rights. Race and color were given utmost importance as only these two areas were severely suffering.
In the mid-nineteenth century the Congress was trying to get a rule where voter’s had to pass a qualifying literacy test so that they can vote. Which basically meant that the southern states wished to restrict the African Americans from voting because the literacy rate among them was poor. However, the African Americans soon started the Civil Rights Movement in 1964 and one of the first things that they fought about was the voting right. It lasted for more than a decade and was the most violent movement ever. Several young men lost their lives and then only the Civil Rights Act came into being. The National Voting Rights Act is considered historic and momentous in the Civil Rights Movement because it set precedence for several more rights like women’s suffrage, and right to employment and equal employment opportunity and so on.
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