Suffrage and Civil RightsChapter 6 Section 3

The 15th Amendment

Ratified 1870Vote cannot be denied any U.S. citizen

because of race, color, or pervious condition of servitude

Southern whites used violence, threats, social pressures, literacy test, poll taxes, white primaries, and gerrymandering deny African Americans their 15th Amendment rights

The 15th Amendment

Smith v. Allwright (1944)Banned white primaries

Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960s)Banned gerrymandering for purposes of racial

discrimination, but use of literacy test and poll taxes remained into the 1960s

Civil RightsCivil Rights Act of 1957

set up commission to investigate voter discrimination and enabled attorney general to enforce voting rights

Civil Rights Act of 1960 provided for federal voting referees to serve where

voter discrimination existed and help eligible voters register and vote

Civil Rights of 1964Banned discrimination in jobs and other areas and

discriminatory voter registration or literacy requirements

Civil RightsVoting Rights Act of 1965

Prompted by civil rights march in Selma, Alabama; applied 15th Amendment to all elections, not just federal; challenged poll taxes and literacy test; authorized voting examiners; required federal preclearance for any changes to State election laws

South Carolina v. KatzenbachUpheld Voting Rights Act of 1965

Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970Extended the Act for five years; banned literacy

tests

Civil Rights

Oregon v. MitchellUpheld ban on literacy tests and the residency

requirements in the lawLaw extended in 1975

Ban on literacy tests made permanent; applied provisions to language minorities

Equal Voting Rights