How and why was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed? Flashcards
How long was John F Kennedy President?
1961-1963
Was John F Kennedy a Democrat or Republican?
Democrat
Who was Lyndon B Johnson when Kennedy was President?
vice-president
Was Lyndon B Johnson a Democrat or Republican?
Democrat
Who was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 proposed by? When?
-JFK in 1963
Who was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed by?
-passed by Johnson following JFK’s death
When did the Civil Rights Act become law?
-became law in 1964->great powers of persuasion needed to get Bill through Congress due to lots of stalling
What were the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
-ban on exclusions from public places
-Attorney General could file lawsuits speeding up desegregation and voting rights
-FEPC set up on permanent basis->no racial, sexual or religious discrimination would be lawful
-no discrimination allowed on Federally-aided programmes
-Community Relations service set up to deal with outstanding issues
What has not been mentioned in the provisions of the act?
-voting rights
What was the Selma March of 1965 used to do?
-used to highlight the issue of voting rights was not addressed by the Civil Rights Act
What were Selma AA registered voters like?
-Selma, Alabama had a very low number of registrations of AA voters->50% population, less than 1% registered to vote
Who organised the Selma March and who took part?
-Martin Luther King organised it->both AAs and White Americans took part
What happened with the Selma March?
-King led a march from Montgomery to Selma->after police attacked Johnson gave the marchers protection and promised legislation for a voting rights bill
When was the Voting Rights Act?
1965
How did changes in public opinion following the Selma and Birmingham Marches suggest the Voting Rights Act would be successful and it was?
-House of Representatives (333 to 48) and the Senate (77 to 19)->passed very easily->very little opposition due to want of progress
