19.1.12

Civil & Voting Rights Acts

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The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act was introduced by President Kennedy and passed by President Johnson on 2nd July 1964. The Voting Rights Act was passed on 6th August 1965 by President Johnson.

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The Civil Rights Act, 1964

  • The Civil Rights Act was introduced by President Kennedy and passed by President Johnson on 2nd July 1964.
  • It introduced bans on:
    • Discriminatory voter registration tests designed to prevent black people from registering to vote.
    • Discrimination in public spaces and multi-state businesses.
    • Discrimination in employment.
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The Civil Rights Act cont.

  • The Civil Rights Act established the following:
    • An Equal Opportunities Commission to enforce employment equality.
    • Government ability to force desegregation in schools.
    • Government ability to remove funding from discriminating state projects.
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Loopholes

  • However, there was nothing to enforce these changes and businesses and schools found loopholes in order to continue discriminating against black people.
  • The Equal Opportunities Commission only dealt with complaints, which were rarely made due to threats, and didn’t have enough staff to investigate all claims.
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The Voting Rights Act 1965

  • Passed on 6th August by President Johnson.
  • The Voting Rights Act set up:
    • A single voter registration requirement that would be enforced by federal government. States could only set extra qualification rules with federal approval.
    • Federal officials to increase voter registration in states where over 50% of those eligible to vote were not registered.
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The Voting Rights Act cont.

  • By December 1965, nearly 80,000 new voters were registered, however the process was very slow and led to frustration that the government was still not doing enough.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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