Voting Rights Dbq

Words: 2104

Pages: 9

Open Document

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a major law in the United States that was made to stop unfair practices that kept African Americans from voting. Before this law came around, a lot of tricky rules like literacy tests and poll taxes were used mainly in the South to stop Black people from voting, even though they had the right to do so according to the Constitution. This law was a big deal because it tackled these unfair practices head-on. It had special rules, like one called "preclearance." This rule said that places with a history of messing with voting rights had to get a thumbs-up from the federal government before they could change any voting laws or rules. The idea was to stop discrimination before it could happen, instead of trying to fix it after the fact. Another part of the law figured …show more content…
They found "continued evidence of racial discrimination in voting" and decided it was necessary to keep these parts of the law for another 25 years (Congressional Record, 2006). By ignoring Congress' decision, the Supreme Court took away an important tool for protecting voting rights. As Justice Ginsburg pointed out in her dissent, "Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet" ("Shelby County v. Holder," 570 U.S. 529, 2013). She believed that just because the law was successful in stopping discrimination, that didn't mean the protections were no longer necessary. The VRA was enacted during a period of intense civil rights struggle, aimed at dismantling systemic barriers to voting for African Americans and other minorities. Before the VRA, discriminatory practices like literacy tests and poll taxes were widespread, particularly in the Southern states, effectively disenfranchising minority

Voting Rights Act Dbq

The Voting Rights Act was crucial for taking away racial discrimination in voting, which impacted the U.S. by creating equal rights for all citizens. The voting act was necessary because it overcame the barriers that prevented the African Americans from having their right to vote. In the voting rights act, there were barriers that got eliminated. African Americans faced challenges in voting, like the literacy tests. In literacy tests there was violence and they would threaten the African Americans…

Words 195 - Pages 1

Required To Vote Dbq

DBQ: Should Americans Be Required to vote? Many people are questioning if Americans should possess the right to vote based on record low turnouts. The voter turnout for America has been decreasing rapidly throughout the years. Good turnouts are important because it expresses each and every citizen’s opinion on a candidate or proposition, and lets the government know how much the country cares about their leadership. Is compulsory voting the right choice to increase voter turnout for America? Compulsory…

Words 601 - Pages 3

Dbq Democracy In Colonial America

DBQ - Democracy in Colonial America Essay Democracy in Colonial America which was a work in progress, had both democratic and undemocratic features. Engraving of Virginia’s House of Burgesses ( document 6 ). The Engraving of Virginia's House of Burgesses would be a democratic feature. The legislative was made up of representatives and eventually every colony in America would have a legislature. The House of Burgesses allowed the citizens to have a voice by voting. This would be a Regular Free…

Words 228 - Pages 1

Dbq Summary: Democracy In Colonial America

DBQ - Democracy in Colonial America Essay Democracy, a work in progress with undemocratic features in colonial America. When the colonist came to the world they needed to make new unlike the ones in England. The laws and freedoms they created are what made us able to vote. Citizens participation Democratic and undemocratic features in Colonial America, democracy was a working progress. A democratic feature in colonial America was accountability. Accountability means people are responsible…

Words 200 - Pages 1

Ethnicity In The Late 19th Century

DBQ During the late 19th century through the 20th century ethnicity was still a big problem in America. With more and more immigrants coming through and many gaining more rights than before America had to put citizens into categories. Within occupations and politics there was really no equal treatment and has caused different points of views. Coming to politics first with voting views. In document 1 it shows how politics thought. Saying that immigration puts a heavy toll on voting because they…

Words 458 - Pages 2

Dbq 3 Essay

DBQ Women's Rights Ever since the beginning of time women have battled to be equal with men in all areas of life. Men have always created the atmosphere of being superior to women and it's been carried over for generations upon generations. This changed however as people became more intelligent and developed a deeper sense of reason and wisdom. This gave women the chance to slowly step in and prove they were equal and take steps toward being seen as equals. A huge turn of women's roles and…

Words 908 - Pages 4

Malcolm X Dbq

different perspective, would you ignite the fire with more fire, or bring peace at times when there’s seems to be none? To begin with, the Civil Rights Era was a time for a revolutionary and historical change for African Americans living in the U.S. Protests, marches, and riots were common as African Americans fought to change segregated public areas, voting rights, unequal distribution of income, and etc. Key figures of the movement that lead to a change included Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X;…

Words 1763 - Pages 8

MLK And Malcolm X: The African American Civil Rights Movement

served. This is one of the many tactics non-violent protesting tactics that Martin Luther King Jr. used to arise issues in Americans civil rights. However, this was not the only strategy, Malcolm X, another key civil rights activist, used self defense as his main way of getting civil rights back. While MLK and Malcolm X were leaders of the African American civil rights movement, their strategies…

Words 912 - Pages 4

Essay on The reconstruction was an important time for the country

DBQ reconstruction Period 5 5/29/14 The reconstruction was an important time for the country’s history, because it sets the president that the country will follow for a long time. The reconstruction has shaped this country drastically, and the decisions made during this time weren’t always successful. One , ;/1 example is in document instead of people doing different types of jobs they went back to farming, after they got their freedom. The bad part about this is how they would get their land and…

Words 450 - Pages 2

Reconstruction Era Essay

Jake Wild Period 7 DBQ essay Try to imagine if people were playing tug-of-war with you and then the rope finally snaps and only one side is left happy. This is how the African Americans felt during the Reconstruction Era. Reconstruction went on for a long time then failed and only the Democrats were happy with the result. After the Civil War, African Americans had nowhere to go and were surrounded in a world of controversy. Many plans were made to help dig them out of their current hole but it all…

Words 991 - Pages 4