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To make voting more difficult for black people, many were required to take a test called a “literacy test.” The literacy tests were given to people who couldn’t prove they had a fifth grade education or higher. If they got one question wrong, they would fail the entire test, and would not be allowed to vote. (Document 6: Louisiana Literacy Test from the 1960s) The questions on the test had complicated instructions written with the intent of making people fail.

As noted in Document 1, the 14th Amendment explicitly affirmed: “…All persons born or naturalized in the United State, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws…” The 14th Amendment ------------ (lead into the 15th amendment) 15th Amendment: The Fifteenth Amendment granted all male citizens, regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” the right to vote.

In summary, the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in order to give U.S. citizens the right to vote. This means that a U.S. citizen who is eighteen years of age or older shall be allowed to vote and not discriminated against because of their race, color, or history of servitude. The Fifteenth Amendment also gives Congress the right to create laws in order to enforce the amendment. Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act in 1965 in response to the Jim Crow laws. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act says that local governments and certain states must obtain permission from the federal government before they can make any changes to their voting laws or practices.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in order to move forward towards equality in voting in the United States. The Amendments passed in 1982 included providing aid and instruction for any voters that needed extra assistance, for example someone disabled or illiterate. It also required there to be bilingual ballots and other voting materials in jurisdictions where there were large amounts of minority populations. This allowed many Spanish-speaking citizens to vote. The Amendment also “allowed jurisdictions that could provide evidence of maintaining a clean voting rights record for at least 10 years, to avoid preclearance coverage” to change any voting laws in that state, (“Constitutional Amendments”).

At the age of 18, one has new rights associated with being independent. One also has new responsibilities and are held personally accountable for their actions. The new rights that come along with being 18 lead into the topic of the 26th amendment. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Two specific examples of federal laws rulings that were victories in the equality movements were President Johnson Voting Rights Act in 1965 prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. It was aimed to overcome legal barriers preventing African American from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment in 1870. Various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans to exercises their right to vote especially in the South mean African Americans were mistreated violently attacked when trying to vote. The voting act banned the use of literacy testing and made poll taxing illegal. This law gave legal law means to challenge voting restrictions.

First the American civil rights movement starting to boycott the bus and protest to let their voices heard and to be treated equally. Most widely known, it started as a small protest, resulting in emergence movement leaders, and organization. It began on December 1, 1955. Rosa Parks of Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her seat to a white man.

Influential Person Research Paper Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential figure because of his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement despite the challenges he faced such as constantly being arrested and his house being bombed. One of the first accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was his founding and presidency of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC is a civil rights group that focused on desegregating the south. The group's first focus was on desegregating the bus system, but they eventually moved on to greater things such as registering blacks to vote and organizing peaceful protests. This proves that King was a successful civil rights leader, even though he struggled against racists whites in power that would try to oppress him and his group.

However, 19 states allow citizens of the age of 17 to vote as long as they will be 18 by Election Day. It is shameful to think that some of the authors of the Constitution believed blacks to be second class citizens and women to be frail and ignorant citizens. It is even more shameful to think that some citizens still think that. Nevertheless, America, as a whole, has advanced and left those archaic beliefs and gender roles behind. Now, all citizens who are old enough to vote are able to elect who represents them.

Introduction: The civil rights movement of 1954-1968 has made a huge impact on the history of African-American equality. All the great leaders of the movement have gone down in history for their courageous work and outstanding commitment to the civil rights movement. One of the most famous of the activists was Martin Luther King Junior (1929-1968) . King is still remembered today for his legendary speech entitled “I had a dream”.

Although technically people of color had the right, white people were making it very difficult to register. When African Americans went to register they would be tested continuously, something white people never had to deal with. Only two percent of African Americans in the south could vote. Before the march from Selma to Montgomery there were many protests to try to gain fair voting rights. One man, Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed at a peaceful protest by a state trooper.

Critique of Nonfiction Novel The civil rights movement was a revolutionary chapter in American history. Leading the movement was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose legacy has been etched in history. Troy Jackson explores the roots of King’s legacy in Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and The Making of a National Leader. Jackson analyzes how different influences in Montgomery, Alabama shaped Dr. King into the leader of the civil rights movement.

“At the time of the of the march, only 383 of the 15,000black residents in Selma's Dallas County were registered to vote. ”(Berman) A lot of people could not vote because of poll tax and grandfather clause. Most African American could not meet the requirement to vote. "literacy tests" were commonly used intimidation tactics, especially in southern states, designed to keep African-Americans disenfranchised.”

The Civil Right Acts ended segregation for many things and voting was also a part of that, the discrimination that happened was based on citizens’ race, religion, gender or the origin from which they came from. Norm Ornstein in the article “The U.S. Should Require All Citizens to Vote” said “Americans rebel viscerally against the idea of taking away the freedom not to vote,” the one who rule against mandatory voting are stepping on our history. (Par 6). Many had lost their lives fighting over equal rights; as an American citizen, it is our duty is to be grateful for the opportunity and luxury that have been provided for us. Ornstein’s statement should help American citizens’ realize that there is no such thing as ‘freedom not to vote’, and how would they feel if the freedom to vote is taken away from

Major laws included the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1964 this was an important piece of legislation that stopped segregation and discrimination in public accommodations, and 1968; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the most successful congressional civil rights legislation prohibited racial discrimination in the sale and rental of most of the housing in the nation and acquire the land of former owners, seek their own employment, and use public accommodations. The 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1964, was another victory for the civil rights movement. The amendment banned poll taxes in federal elections. The amount of the tax is the same for a poor person as for a rich one. Southern laws in many states that had required the citizens to pay poll taxes in order to vote, this requirement had been used to keep and prevent poor African American from voting.