...The voting rights act of 1965 was written into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6th 1965, and it prevented African Americans from using their right to vote under the 15th amendment of the constitution. After the law was passed in 1965 more than 250,000 African Americans were registered to vote. The voting rights act of 1965 prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It helped more minorities be able to vote, the voting rights act came to pass during the civil rights movement. During this time many African Americans were facing many racial and segregating events. Around this time Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had just finished working and helping out in Birmingham, it was brought to his attention of Selma’s lack of voting and equal rights...
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...Kenneth Gill Honors American History II Per: 4 The civil rights movement had a big impact on racial equality. It made the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act possible. In this essay, I will be discussing the factors which contributed to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I will also discuss the shift in the civil rights movement towards “black power” and the results of the shift. There were many factors that contributed to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In early 1960 a group of black college students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This caused similar demonstrations throughout the South that forced merchants to integrate their facilities. In the fall of 1960, participates of the sit-ins formed the SNCC or Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This group worked to keep the spirit of resistance alive in the South. In 1961 a group of interracial students, collaborating with the Congress of Racial Equality, organized “freedom rides”. These consisted of interracial students traveling by bus throughout the south in an attempt to force the desegregation of bus stations. In some places they were met with physical brutality from whites which forced President Kennedy to dispatch federal marshals to help keep the peace. Kennedy also ordered the integration of all bus and train stations. In October 1962, federal courts ordered the University of Mississippi to enroll its first black student...
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...A Tireless Road1 A Tireless Road HIS204: American History Since 1865 February 10, 2014 A Tireless Road2 It was long and tiring for African Americans on the road to freedom. Slavery was abolished in 1865 but not as they had hoped. It took many decades for it to come full circle and be properly finished. There were so many people and events that finally led to the complete freedom and equality for African Americans. I believe that the most significant events that led to a final resolution were the Amendments and Civil Rights Acts passed and signed by our government. Although, it was hard for proper implementation of the laws at first, I believe that they were all extremely important building blocks for the movement to finally get to where it is today. The first event that started the Civil Rights Movement was the abolishment of slavery. Ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment did just this, it restricted state power federally and outlawed involuntary servitude. What this meant is that nationwide, it was illegal to claim ownership over another person. “Although its full effect was not achieved for nearly a century, it began the process of dismantling involuntary servitude as a widespread form of labor relations” (Rutherglen, 2012). With that being said, this was the first real law of its kind, so its implementation was crudely regulated. Yes, slaves were free to now go about and live as they see fit, however, even with freedom they could not regulate their own...
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...The modern Civil Rights movement in the United States was a pivotal period marked by significant strides toward racial equality. Historians have often drawn parallels between this era and the period immediately following the Civil War, known as Reconstruction, prompting some to refer to the modern Civil Rights movement as the "Second Reconstruction." This comparison highlights both the enduring struggle for African American civil rights and the efforts to address the legacy of racial oppression in America. The Reconstruction era sought to establish civil rights for African Americans through constitutional amendments and federal legislation. However, these gains were short-lived as they faced significant backlash from Southern states and white...
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...1960’s Essay by Hailey Kotz The Nineteen Sixties was a decade that changed America forever. The topics that arose during the sixties were not small. When they were accomplished or challenged, the outcome changed American society forever. Most legislative bills passed in the sixties still remain today. The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was created in August of 1964 by the Economic Opportunity Act. The OEO was a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s social and economic plans known as the “Great Society” and the “War on Poverty”. When it was created, the OEO coordinated the Job Corps, Neighborhood Youth Corps, work training and study programs, community action agencies including Head Start, adult education, loans for the rural poor and small businesses, work experience programs and Volunteers in Service to America. In the 1960 presidential election campaign John F. Kennedy argued for a new Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights bill was brought before Congress in 1963 and in a speech on television on 11th June, Kennedy pointed out that: "The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one third as much chance of completing college; one third as much chance of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year; a life expectancy...
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...We the Students Essay Contest In order to establish a free and just society, the people must be willing to reject unjust and immoral laws. This is because laws that violate the human rights of any individuals threaten everyone else as well. Civil disobedience is the violation of unjust laws and acceptance of the punishment that comes with breaking those laws. The punishment that comes with violating the law must be accepted in order to ensure that order is maintained and that so to draw a distinction between civil disobedience and lawlessness. Peaceful resistance to unjust laws is needed in order expose and call attention to laws that are unjust and therefore positively impacts society. The resistance must be peaceful or many may be unwilling...
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...perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended. 2. Discuss the origins of the Vietnam War, the course of the war over thirty years in the 1940s, and wars' impact on the United States, both at home and in terms of foreign policy. 3. Write an essay on the civil rights movement since 1953 in which you discuss the major factors that have contributed to its success and its major gains. Be sure to discuss more than one group and to cite examples from each decade of the 1950s through the 1990s. 4. Discuss the reasons for America's economic growth or decline in each decade from the 1950s through the 1990s. Then explain how various presidents have dealt with economic problems and why they succeeded or failed. 5. Write an essay about the impact of television on the history of the United States over the past fifty years in which you describe in detail at least one historical event of national importance from each decade of the 1950s - 1990s that was affected by TV. Civil Right: The WWII can be recognized at the origin of the period when United States started it political and economical dominant compare to other nations. WWII reshaped Americans’ understanding of themselves as a people. The struggle against Nazi tyranny and its theory of a master race discredited ethnic and racial inequality. Originally promoted by religious and ethnic minorities...
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...as a Place of Memory Selma, Alabama became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement as activists, such as John Lewis and Dr. King, worked to register black voters. Martin Luther King’s voter registration movement worked on a city-by-city approach, gathering national attention. Other civil rights leaders, such as John Lewis and William Hosea, worked more locally in the most dangerous areas of the Deep South for African-Americans. While both worked to register voters, King’s method is better characterized as an attempt to change the public discourse about race in this country, while John Lewis’ method attempted to change public action. Led by John Lewis and William Hosea, “Bloody Sunday” occurred as a result of the fight for freedom and equality. In order to make some headway against centuries of legally sanctioned racism and discrimination, the United States government began to promote and support the Civil Rights Movement. The relatively scarce attention the march in US history textbooks is quite disappointing in a sense that it illustrates an event that is not fully depicted. The battle fought on the bridge, in a way, is being fought till this day. Voter registration laws, though not as harsh as Jim Crow literacy tests, create barriers that restrict minorities from having the opportunity to vote. By surveying a few of the patterns of inequality that still prevail in many sectors of American society, this essay will explore the significance of the bridge and what it represents...
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...Thematic Essay Practice – Reform Movements US History/Napp Name: __________________ From the August 2004 New York States Regents/ U.S. History & Government THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTION Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs addressing the task below, and a conclusion. Theme: Reform Movements Task: Some suggestions you might wish to consider include the abolitionist movement, Populist movement, Progressive movement, women’s rights movement, civil rights movement, and the labor movement. Gathering the Facts: 1- The Abolitionist Movement • “The goal of the abolitionist movement was the immediate emancipation of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. • Advocating for immediate emancipation distinguished abolitionists from more moderate anti-slavery advocates who argued for gradual emancipation, and from free-soil activists who sought to restrict slavery to existing areas and prevent its spread further west. • Radical abolitionism was partly fueled by the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening, which prompted many people to advocate for emancipation on religious grounds. • Abolitionist ideas became increasingly prominent in Northern churches and politics beginning in the 1830s, which contributed to the regional animosity between North and South leading up to the...
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...Hadeel Hammad Period 1 Profiles in Courage Essay Contest I am writing my essay Carl Levin. Carl Levin was a United States Senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. Carl Levin had some courageous actions. He supported the civil rights movement, women rights movement, legalizing same sex-marriage he also believed in a better education equals a better future. I believe he will be best served in a larger public interest. I think that because he had a lot of experience, he was the longest-serving senator in the state's history. He does exemplify political courage because he not afraid to take a stand for what he believes is right. During the Women’s Right Movement in the 60’s and 70’s, the World of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace. A woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her early 20s, start a family quickly, and devote her life to homemaking. Carl Levin signed the Women’s Equal Right’s Amendment in 1972. Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women. Constitutional Amendment: Prohibits denying or abridging equality of rights under the law by the United States or by any state on account of sex (Source: HJR69&SJR21 11-SJR21 on Jun 22, 2011). Levin co-sponsored re-introducing the Equal Rights Amendment. Levin co-sponsored Paycheck Fairness Act. This act makes sure women gets paid the same as men. Levin also voted yes on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy...
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...On September 17, 1789, the U.S. Constitution was ratified and made law. In this essay we are going to take a look at the Bill of Rights and the amendments. We will be reviewing how and why the amendments become part of the Constitution, what problems the original document motivated the adoption of the Bill of Rights, what are the effects of the Bill of Rights, what problems with the original document, or changes in society led to later amendments. All of these are very necessary and fun topics to address. Now let’s take a look. There are multiple ways for trying to add an amendment to the U.S Constitution, creating it into law. One way is to propose the amendment in the U.S. Congress who is the law-making body of the United States. Congress is composed of two houses, the House of Representative and the Senate. The amendment must be approved by at least two-thirds of both houses. If they then approve the amendment it is sent to the legislatures of each state of the union. Then all state legislatures must approve the amendment by three-fourths vote. After all is approved, the amendment then becomes law. If vote was not passed in any of the houses the amendment will fail to become law. An amendment is made to the constitution when it is necessary for change while still preserving what the constitution represents. The original document called for a stronger and centralized American government. Antifederalists believed this centralized government would be tyrannical. They believed...
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...As our society becomes more diverse, there are still minority groups that are still experiencing hardships. For example, African Americans and Native Americans future is unpredictable. Although African Americans have made advances in our society they have not made enough to improve their quality of life. Native Americans are confronted with derogatory and stereotypical representations of their race. To better understand the continued struggle within these two minority groups, this essay will explore how the De Jure Segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Civil Rights Act impacted African-American life and the effects of the initial European contact, the “Indian Problem”, the Ghost Dance Movement and the Dawes Act on American Indians....
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...Teaching Guide The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin The Novel at a Glance SUMMARY The book opens with the essay “My Dungeon Shook,” written as a letter to Baldwin’s nephew on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Baldwin says that the celebration is a hundred years too early, because black people in America are still not free. He exhorts his nephew to approach life with love, even though he lives in a racist world. In the second essay, “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind,” Baldwin describes his visit to the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad. Baldwin concludes that he does not agree with the Nation of Islam’s bitter beliefs about white people. In closing, Baldwin says that if Americans stop thinking of the United States as a white nation, it can transform the world. MORE ABOUT THE WRITER When James Baldwin was sixteen, he began one of the most important friendships of his life. As a confused and self-doubting teenager, he needed a mentor, and he found one in Beauford Delaney, a painter who lived in Greenwich Village in New York City. A black man and an artist, Delaney provided Baldwin with a model of how to respond to experience and transform it into works of art. Virtually taking the place of a father, Delaney introduced his young protégé not only to music and art, but also to a wide circle of friends, and Baldwin began to recognize new possibilities for himself. Through Beauford Delaney and his scratchy phonograph...
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...African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement Destiny McClenningham Anderson University Introduction: “Vulnerable Populations” are subgroups who possess specific characteristics that distinguish them from others in the population (Jansson, 2005).The group I choice to focus on was African Americans. African or black Americans are define is an ethnic group of citizens or residents of the United States with total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa(Foner & Garraty,1991). The time I choice to focus on with my group was the civil rights movement. This era play a key role in African American history. What is the African American history leading up to this time? What was going on during this era? What social policy was affected during this time? History: There was a lot of history leading up to the civil rights movement. In the late 1950s and 1960s there was an increase in racial violence and protests in the South(Jansson). A 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation African Americans in the South still inhabited a unequal world(Foner & Garraty). “Jim Crow” laws at the local state levels barred them from businesses, schools, public bathrooms, transportations, and theaters from juried and legislatures(Foner & Garraty). In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court shut down the “separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination(Foner & Garraty). This event draw national and international...
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...Was the legislation that gave African Americans equal rights to ‘whites’ the result of famous, glorified leaders such as Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson or was it those who worked behind the scenes, the local groups and individuals, who set the stage for these legal amendments to be possible? The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most significant events in the modern history of the United States that has formed the basis of many of its core values and laws today. The Civil Rights Movement unofficially ended with the passing of the long awaited “1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act” which legally saw an end to the racial discrimination faced by African Americans. However the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement has “undergone some serious revision” since 1965 as it ‘gained popular appeal.’ Initially the Civil Rights Movement was “romanticized” and considered to be a “heroic narrative of moral purpose and personal courage by which great men and women inspired ordinary people to rise up and struggle for their rights” such as the famed Martin Luther King, who was painted as the ‘driving force behind the movement’ ,President Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy and organisations such as ‘The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People’ (NAACP) This idea of the federal government, prominent leaders and organisations playing the defining role in the passing of these bills soon became less plausible in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the “second...
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