aug 17, 1965 - Voting Rights Act 1965 [POLITICAL]

Description:

Due partly to the Cold war climate, and the US needing to seem like the champion of freedom and democracy, along with the Selma march, Johnson proposed this Bill (became law in August 1965.

This Act outlawed voting qualifications and provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50% of the non-white population had registered to vote.

The results were dramatic: by the end of 1966 only 4 out of the traditional 13 southern states had less than 50% AAs registered to vote. In Mississippi, voter turnout increased from 6%in 1964 to 59% in 1969. In 1965 at the time of the Act, there were 6 AA members of the House of Representatives and none in the Senate. By 1971 there were 13 members of the House and one black Senator – i.e. their AA presence in Congress had doubled as a result of the Act.

EVIDENCE of IMPACT:
- The first black senator since Reconstruction was elected in 1967.

- 71% of all AAs who had served in congress entered the House or senate after 1971.

- In Alabama, AA John Hurlett was elected Sheriff in 1970.

- In 1964, just 100 AAs held office, by 1992, it was over 8000.

Evidence of a favourable President and Congress helping development.

Evidence of AAs being keen to participate in the political process - own actions facilitating progress as they grasped the new opportunities afforded to them. Compare with Reconstrucion era. Also use as evidence that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an important turning point.

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