Learn More About the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965

Introduction To Federal Voting Rights Laws

The Voting Rights Act of 1965: The Background

Our Documents: Background and Explanation

Key questions to answer:

Give examples of some of the inequalities that this legislation attempted to address.

Was there opposition to this bill? If so, where did the opposition come from?

Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965

Watch this video to help put the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965 into the context of the civil rights movement:

What Do You Think?

Imagine that you are about to vote in your first election, and there is a candidate for city council that you really want to win. The person he's running against always votes to strengthen the rights of local businesses who pay their workers very low wages, and the person you want to win will help workers. When you try to register to vote, you're told that you cannot register unless you pay the poll tax, which you cannot afford. Why do you think this is happening? What might you do about it? How does this make you feel?