Voting Rights Act of 1965
August 6, 1965 · 20th Century
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law on August 6, 1965, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. The legislation followed the Selma to Montgomery marches, including the March 7, 1965 incident when state troopers attacked civil rights protesters. The act banned literacy tests, authorized federal oversight of voter registration in areas with histories of discrimination, and permitted federal officials to register voters in areas with significant disenfranchisement. The law substantially increased voter registration among minority citizens.
Key Figures
Lyndon B. JohnsonMartin Luther King Jr.
Locations
Washington, D.C.Selma, Alabama
Topics
civil rightslegislationvoting rights
Connected Events — 4 Connections
The Voting Rights Act enabled increased Black voter participation that became crucial to Biden's victory, particularly in key swing states like Georgia, while Harris's historic role as first Black VP represents the political culmination of voting rights gains President Biden inaugurated
The 19th Amendment's 1920 women's suffrage victory demonstrated that constitutional amendments could expand voting rights, a precedent the Voting Rights Act extended to racial minorities in practice Nineteenth Amendment Ratified
Promise finally enforced by Fifteenth Amendment Ratified
The televised brutality of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge created the political crisis that forced Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act within five months Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Marches
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