Multiple Choice Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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The
Fifteenth Amendment
The
effort to extend the franchise to African Americans began with the 15th Amendment, which was ratified
in 1870. It declares that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States
because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The amendment was plainly intended to
ensure that African American men, nearly all of them former slaves and nearly all of them living in
the South, could vote.
The 15th Amendment is not self-executing, however. In other
words, simply stating a general principle without providing for a means to enforce implementation was
not enough to carry out the intention of the amendment. To make it effective, Congress had to act.
Yet for almost 90 years the Federal Government paid little attention to voting rights for African
Americans.
During that period, African Americans were generally and systematically kept from
the polls in much of the South. White supremacists employed a number of tactics to that end. Their
major weapon was violence. Other tactics included more subtle threats and social pressures, such as
firing an African American man who tried to register or vote, or denying his family credit at local
stores.
More formal “legal” devices were used, as well. The most effective were
literacy tests. White officials regularly manipulated these tests to disenfranchise African American
citizens.
Registration laws served the same end. As written, they applied to all potential
voters. In practice, however, they were often administered to keep African Americans from qualifying
to vote. Poll taxes, “white primaries,” gerrymandering, and several other devices were
also regularly used to disenfranchise African Americans. Gerrymandering is the practice
of drawing electoral district lines (the boundaries of the geographic area from which a candidate is
elected to a public office) in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or
party.
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1.
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Which amendment says that you
cannot deny a person the right to vote because of their race, color or previous condition of
servitude
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2.
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What does it mean when a law,
such as the 15th amendment, is not self-executing?
a. | the law is strong enough to stand on
its own | c. | you cannot be
executed for disobeying the law | b. | it is up to the executive branch of government to circumvent the
law | d. | the law needs additional laws so it can be
enforced |
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The white primary arose out of
the decades-long Democratic domination of politics in the South. It was almost a given that the
Democratic candidate for an office would be elected. Therefore, almost always, it was only the
Democrats who nominated candidates, generally in primaries. In several southern States, political
parties were defined by law as “private associations.” As such, they could exclude
whomever they chose, and the Democrats regularly refused to admit African Americans. Because only
party members could vote in the party’s primary, African Americans were then excluded from a
critical step in the public election process
The Supreme Court finally outlawed the white
primary in a case from Texas, Smith v. Allwright, 1944. The Court held that nominations are an integral
part of the election process. Consequently, when a political party holds a primary it is performing a
public function and it is, therefore, bound by the terms of the 15th Amendment.
The Supreme
Court outlawed gerrymandering when used for purposes of racial discrimination in a case from Alabama,
Gomillion v. Lightfoot, in 1960. In this case, the Alabama legislature had redrawn the
electoral district boundaries of Tuskegee, effectively excluding all blacks from the city limits. The
Court ruled that the legislature’s act violated the 15th Amendment because the irregularly
shaped district clearly was created to deprive blacks of political power
Led by these
decisions of the Supreme Court, the lower federal courts struck down many of the practices designed
to disenfranchise African Americans in the 1940s and 1950s. Still, the courts could act only when
those who claimed to be victims of discrimination sued. That case-by-case method was, at best,
agonizingly slow.
Finally, and largely in response to the civil rights movement led by Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress was moved to act. It has passed several civil rights laws since the
late 1950s. Those statutes contain a number of sections specifically intended to implement the 15th
Amendment.
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3.
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What was a “white
primary?”
a. | whatever Democrat person won the
primary election was automatically elected to the office | c. | only white people could vote in primary
elections | b. | white people could run in the primary but not in the general
election | d. | white people could not run in the
primary elections |
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4.
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What Supreme Court case
outlawed the white primary?
a. | Gomillion v.
Lightfoot, in 1960 | c. | Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 | b. | Smith v. Allwright,
1944 | d. | Plessy v. Ferguson,
1898 |
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5.
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What Supreme Court case
outlawed gerrymandering for the purpose of excluding black people from voting?
a. | Gomillion v.
Lightfoot, in 196 | c. | Brown v. Board
of Education, 1954 | b. | Smith v. Allwright, 1944 | d. | Plessy v. Ferguson, 1898 |
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Early Civil Rights Legislation
The first law passed by Congress to implement the 15th
Amendment was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which set up the United States Civil Rights Commission.
One of the Commission’s major duties is to inquire into claims of voter discrimination. The
Commission reports its findings to Congress and the President and, through the media, to the public.
The Act also gave the attorney general the power to seek federal court orders to prevent interference
with any person’s right to vote in any federal election . The Civil Rights Act of 1960
added an additional safeguard. It provided for the appointment of federal voting referees. These
officers were to serve anywhere a federal court found voter discrimination. They were given the power
to help qualified persons to register and vote in federal elections.
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6.
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What is the purpose of the
United States Civil Rights Commission?
a. | to investigate anti-free speech
activities | c. | to investigate
activities that infringe on the voting rights of citizens | b. | to promote the Bill of Rights in the minority
community | d. | to help African American students to
seek college educations |
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The
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is much broader and much more effective than either of
the two earlier measures. It outlaws discrimination in several areas, especially in job-related
matters. With regard to voting rights, its most important section forbids the use of any voter
registration or literacy requirement in an unfair or discriminatory manner.
The 1964 law
continued a pattern set in the earlier laws. In major part, it relied on judicial action to overcome
racial barriers and emphasized the use of federal court orders called injunctions. An injunction is a court order that
either compels (forces) or restrains (limits) the performance of some act by a private individual or
by a public official. The violation of an injunction amounts to contempt of court, a crime punishable
by fine and/or imprisonment.
Dramatic events in Selma, Alabama, soon pointed up the
shortcomings of this approach. Dr. King mounted a voter registration drive in that city in early
1965. He and his supporters hoped that they could focus national attention on the issue of African
American voting rights—and they most certainly did.
Their registration efforts were met
with insults and violence by local white civilians, by city and county police, and then by State
troopers. Two civil rights workers were murdered, and many were beaten when they attempted a peaceful
march to the State capitol. The nation saw much of the drama on television and was shocked. An
outraged President Lyndon Johnson urged Congress to pass new and stronger legislation to ensure the
voting rights of African Americans. Congress responded quickly.
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7.
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What was the major tool that
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 used to fight racial discrimination?
a. | court
injunctions | c. | Education | b. | Affirmative Action | d. | congressional action |
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8.
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Why is a court injunction such
a powerful tool in fighting racial discrimination?
a. | Violating an injunction can result
in jail and heavy fines | c. | It is issued by
the president and can bring out the military to enforce it | b. | It provides lawyers to minorities accused of major
crimes | d. | It is issued by the Congress and can result in new laws
against discrimination |
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9.
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What did President Johnson do
in response to the violence against Dr. King civil rights marchers at Selma
Alabama?
a. | He sent the marines in to occupy the
town of Selma Alabama | c. | He used the event
to get congress to pass new laws against racial discrimination | b. | He made large amounts of federal money available to Dr.
Kings organization | d. | He did
nothing |
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The
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made the 15th Amendment, at
long last, a truly effective part of the Constitution. Unlike its predecessors, this act applied to
all elections held anywhere in this country—State and local, as well as federal.
Originally, the Voting Rights Act was to be in effect for a period of five years. Congress
has extended its life three times, in the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, 1975, and most
recently 1982. The present version of the law was made effective for 25 years; its provisions are
scheduled to expire in 2007
![nar006-1.jpg](gov_ch_6-3_suffrage_files/nar006-1.jpg)
The 1965 law directed the attorney
general to challenge the constitutionality of the remaining State poll-tax laws in the federal
courts. That provision led directly to Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, in 1966
(see page 157).
The law also suspended the use of any literacy test or similar device in any
State or county where less than half of the electorate had been registered or had voted in the 1964
presidential election. The law authorized the attorney general to appoint voting examiners to serve
in any of those States or counties. It also gave these federal officers the power to register voters
and otherwise oversee the conduct of elections in those areas.
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10.
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What was the main effect of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965?
a. | It allowed women to vote in national
elections | c. | It created anger
in the African American community because it did not go far enough | b. | It made the 15th Amendment apply to all elections in the
United States, not just federal elections | d. | It slowed down African American participation in the election
process |
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Preclearance
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 created a further
restriction on those States where a majority of the electorate had not voted in 1964. The act
declared that no new election laws, and no changes in existing election laws, could go into effect in
any of those States unless first approved—given preclearance—the Department
of Justice. Only those new or revised laws that do not “dilute” (weaken) the voting
rights of minority groups can survive the preclearance process.
The preclearance hurdle has
produced a large number of court cases since the passage of the law. Those cases show that the laws
most likely to run afoul of the preclearance requirement are those that make these kinds of changes:
(1) the location of polling places; (2) the boundaries of election districts; (3)
deadlines in the election process; (4) from ward or district election to at-large elections;
(5) the qualifications candidates must meet in order to run for office.
Any State or
county subject to the voter-examiner and preclearance provisions can be removed from the law’s
coverage through a “bail-out” process. That relief can come if the State can show the
United States District Court in the District of Columbia that it has not applied any voting
procedures in a discriminatory way for at least 10 years.
The voter-examiner and preclearance
provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act originally applied to six entire States: Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia. The act also applied to 40 North Carolina
counties.
The Supreme Court upheld the Voting Rights Act in 1966. In South Carolina v.
Katzenbach, a
unanimous Court found the law to be a proper exercise of the power granted to Congress in Section 2
of the 15th Amendment. That provision authorizes the National Legislature to effectuate by
“appropriate” measures constitutional prohibition against racial discrimination in
voting.
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11.
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Another result of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 was preclearance. What was preclearance?
a. | certain states could not pass any
new election laws that lowered minority participation without Justice Department
approval | c. | the Justice
Department would write all new election laws for a period of 30
years. | b. | certain Souther States could no longer pass any election laws unless half the
people elected were minorities. | d. | no new election laws could be passed by any Southern States because of past
abuses |
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12.
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What did the Supreme Court
finally do in regards to the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
a. | It modified and softened the
law in the South Carolina v. Katzenbach
case | c. | It struck down the
law in the South Carolina v. Katzenbach
case | b. | It refused to hear the case | d. | It upheld the law in the South Carolina v.
Katzenbach case |
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Amendments to the Act
The 1970 amendments extended the law for another five
years. The 1968 elections were added to the law’s triggering formula; the result was that a
number of counties in six more States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Oregon)
were added to the law’s coverage.
The 1970 law also provided that, for five years, no
State could use literacy as the basis for any voting requirement. That temporary ban as well as
residence provisions outlined in the law were upheld by the Supreme Court in Oregon v.
Mitchell in 1970.
In 1975, the law was extended again, this time for seven years, and
the five-year ban on literacy tests was made permanent. Since 1975, no State has been able to apply
any sort of literacy qualification to any aspect of the election process.
The law’s
voter-examiner and preclearance provisions were also broadened in 1975. Since then they have also
covered any State or county where more than 5 percent of the voting-age population belongs to certain
“language minorities.” These groups are defined to include all persons of Spanish
heritage, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Alaskan Natives
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13.
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Since its passage amendments to
the Voting Rights Act have
a. | slowly weakened the
law | c. | changed the law so that it no longer
protects minorities in elections | b. | extended the law and made it stronger | d. | allowed the law to be used against
minorities |
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![nar009-1.jpg](gov_ch_6-3_suffrage_files/nar009-1.jpg) I Have a
Dream This famous speech, delivered by civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was a
highlight of the 1963 March on Washington, which drew more than 200,000 people. H-SS 12.5.4
This addition expanded the law’s coverage to all of Alaska and Texas and to
several counties in 24 other States, as well. In these areas, all ballots and other official election
materials must be printed both in English and in the language of the minority, or minorities,
involved.
The 1982 amendments extended the basic features of the act for another 25 years. In
1992 the law’s language-minority provisions were revised: they now apply to any community that
has a minority-language population of 10,000 or more persons.
Over the years, several States
and a handful of counties in a few other States have been removed from the law’s coverage,
through the “bail-out” process. Today, eight entire States remain subject to the Voting
Rights Act: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. At
least some counties in nine other states are also covered by the statue: California, Florida,
Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia
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14.
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How has the Voting Rights Act
been used to help Hispanic citizens?
a. | It has provided increased social
services to the Latino community | c. | It requires ballots be printed in Spanish and
English | b. | It has nothing to do with the Latino
community | d. | It requires that anyone of Hispanic
heritage be permitted to vote in local elections |
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Multiple Response Identify one
or more choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
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Section 3 Suffrage and Civil
Rights
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, declared that the right to vote cannot be
denied to a citizen because of race.
Southern States used a variety of devices to circumvent
the 15th Amendment and deny African Americans the vote. These tactics included literacy tests, white
primaries, and gerrymandering. Congress finally took action to protect minority voting rights in the
Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its later amendments
finally ensured African American suffrage.
Objectives
Describe the
15th Amendment and the tactics used to circumvent it in an effort to deny African Americans the
vote.
Explain the significance of the early civil rights legislation passed in 1957, 1960, and
1964.
Analyze the provisions and effects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Why It Matters
The 15th
Amendment declared that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of race. Nevertheless, a
variety of tactics were used in southern States to disenfranchise African Americans. The Supreme
Court struck down a number of these efforts, and, beginning in the 1950s, Congress passed laws to
protect minority voting rights.
Political Dictionary
gerrymandering The
drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a party or group
injunction A court order that forces
or limits the performance of some act by a private individual or by a public official
preclearance Mandated by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the prior
approval by the Justice Department of changes to or new election laws by certain States
How
important is the right to vote? For those who do not have it, that right can seem as important as
life itself. Indeed, in the Deep South of the 1960s, civil rights workers suffered arrest, beatings,
shocks with electric cattle prods, even death—all in the name of the right to vote. Their
efforts inspired the nation and led to large-scale federal efforts to secure suffrage for African
Americans and other minority groups in the United States.
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15.
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What are the objectives of this
lesson? (check all that apply)
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The
Fifteenth Amendment
The
effort to extend the franchise to African Americans began with the 15th Amendment, which was ratified
in 1870. It declares that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States
because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The amendment was plainly intended to
ensure that African American men, nearly all of them former slaves and nearly all of them living in
the South, could vote.
The 15th Amendment is not self-executing, however. In other
words, simply stating a general principle without providing for a means to enforce implementation was
not enough to carry out the intention of the amendment. To make it effective, Congress had to act.
Yet for almost 90 years the Federal Government paid little attention to voting rights for African
Americans.
During that period, African Americans were generally and systematically kept from
the polls in much of the South. White supremacists employed a number of tactics to that end. Their
major weapon was violence. Other tactics included more subtle threats and social pressures, such as
firing an African American man who tried to register or vote, or denying his family credit at local
stores.
More formal “legal” devices were used, as well. The most effective were
literacy tests. White officials regularly manipulated these tests to disenfranchise African American
citizens.
Registration laws served the same end. As written, they applied to all potential
voters. In practice, however, they were often administered to keep African Americans from qualifying
to vote. Poll taxes, “white primaries,” gerrymandering, and several other devices were
also regularly used to disenfranchise African Americans. Gerrymandering is the practice
of drawing electoral district lines (the boundaries of the geographic area from which a candidate is
elected to a public office) in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or
party.
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16.
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What were some of the
procedures that the South used to keep African Americans from voting in spite of the 15th amendment?
(check all that apply)
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The
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made the 15th Amendment, at
long last, a truly effective part of the Constitution. Unlike its predecessors, this act applied to
all elections held anywhere in this country—State and local, as well as federal.
Originally, the Voting Rights Act was to be in effect for a period of five years. Congress
has extended its life three times, in the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, 1975, and most
recently 1982. The present version of the law was made effective for 25 years; its provisions are
scheduled to expire in 2007
![nar006-1.jpg](gov_ch_6-3_suffrage_files/nar006-1.jpg)
The 1965 law directed the attorney
general to challenge the constitutionality of the remaining State poll-tax laws in the federal
courts. That provision led directly to Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, in 1966
(see page 157).
The law also suspended the use of any literacy test or similar device in any
State or county where less than half of the electorate had been registered or had voted in the 1964
presidential election. The law authorized the attorney general to appoint voting examiners to serve
in any of those States or counties. It also gave these federal officers the power to register voters
and otherwise oversee the conduct of elections in those areas.
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17.
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Which two discriminatory
practices did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally end? (pick 2)
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Matching
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a. | gerrymandering | c. | preclearance | b. | injunction |
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18.
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a court order that is used to
halt some action by the government
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19.
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some states with a poor civil
rights record have to get this before taking any action on voting requirements
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20.
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when a state draws voting
district boundaries in such a way as to give one political party an advantage
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