Civil & Voting Rights Acts
History: KS3, topic 21.1.12
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Test yourself on Civil & Voting Rights Acts
When was the Civil Rights Act passed?