6 agos 1965 anni - Voting Rights Act Signed

Descrizione:

The original civil rights bill had contained more to try and increase the number of AA voters but Johnson removed these sections, fearing that the bill would never be passed
However, the events of the Freedom Summer and Selma highlighted the many issues that prevented AAs from voting and the need for to help with this
During the events in Selma, Johnson began trying to persuade members of Congress to support a voting rights bill
He managed to get this bill through Congress in record time. It became a law on
6th August 1965

After the Voting Rights Act, there was a dramatic increase in the number of AAs registered to vote in some Southern states

Many historians believe that the Voting Rights Act was even more important than the Civil Rights Act of 1964
It meant that AAs began to gradually elect representatives from their own communities at local, city and then national level
It also meant that, for the first time, issues which affected AAs had to be considered by politicians who wanted to win their votes

Aggiunto al nastro di tempo:

Data: