the twentieth century civil rights movement the right to vote

The Twentieth Century Civil Rights Movement

THE RIGHT TO VOTE

In a short reply of one to three sentences, respond to the following prompt:

Why is the vote so important in the American system of government?

FOCUS QUESTION

“Where universal suffrage [voting] is the rule, where that is the fundamental idea of the Government, to rule us out is to make us an exception, to brand us with the stigma of inferiority, and to invite to our heads the missiles of those about us; therefore, I want the franchise for the black man.”

Frederick Douglass“What the Black Man Wants”April 1865

“Our fathers believed that if this noble view of the rights of man was to flourish, it must be rooted in democracy. The most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders. The history of this country, in large measure, is the history of the expansion of that right to all of our people”

Lyndon B. JohnsonSpeech to CongressMay 15, 1965

Black Voting Rights suppressed in the South15th Amendment rolled back since the Reconstruction Era IntimidationLegislation

Poll Taxes Literacy Tests Roadblocks

THE QUEST FOR THE VOTE

Civil Rights Activists recognized this needForced new tactics

NAACP turned to the law and the courtsEconomic boycotts by the SCLC and SNCC

The Vote was Key

RECOGNITION

Drive to register Black voters in MississippiCalled by SNCC for the summer of 1964

Integrated teams would go to rural Mississippi Voter Registration drives “Freedom Schools”

Idea was the build the movement

FREEDOM SUMMER

On June 21, three volunteers went missing

James ChaneyAndrew GoodmanMickey Schwerner

Pulled over in Neshoba CountyMultistate manhunt calledBodies found on August 4 near Philadelphia, MSSeven found guilty of “civil rights” violationsOne was tried with murder in 2005

TRAGEDY

Drive expanded to Selma in 1965Protests grew

March to MontgomeryFirst driven back by police violenceMarch opened with legal decision

SELMA

Voting Rights Act became law on August 5, 1965 Protecting voting rights

Banned literacy tests Banned poll taxes in state elections Banned voting discrimination for racial and

language minorities Established federal oversight of election practices

in certain area History of discrimination against voters Overturned in Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

Minority voting expanded almost immediatelyMore African American and Latino/a representatives in government

Wider appreciation for issues

LEGACIES

Voter ID laws todayCalled for to prevent election fraud In practice suppresses minority votingMoral Monday Movement in North Carolina

LEGACIES (II)

In a short reply of one to three sentences, respond to the following prompt:

Describe what you liked and what you did not like about today’s lesson

SUMMARY