On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law an act that removed legal barriers some states had created to prevent Black Americans from voting in elections. These barriers existed despite the fact that the Blacks were granted this right by the 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, the Act was passed after police brutalized protesters in March 1965 for a peaceful vote in support of voting rights at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The incident sparked outrage across the country, after which President Johnson gave a historic speech at a joint meeting of both houses of Congress, urging lawmakers to pass the law. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered the most effective civil rights law ever enacted in the United States. It marked a turning point in the civil rights movement, in which the Blacks have taken to the streets to demand an end to official racial discrimination and segregation in all areas of American society.
Secondary Sources Review
As secondary sources, two articles were chosen. The first one, by Pedriana and Stryker (2017), explores three crucial legislations of the U.S. democracy: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The authors draw on the comparative effectiveness of each legislation and propose a new theoretical approach to evaluating civil rights policies as a whole, which is why it is relevant to this paper. According to Pedriana and Stryker (2017), “the comparative effectiveness of civil rights policies is best explained by the extent to which each policy incorporated a “group-centered effects” statutory and enforcement framework” (p. 86). It is quite important to understand the effect the legislation caused and what its outcomes are for society.
The second article by Mazzone and Rushin (2017) examines a specific case of using the Voting Rights Act – as an example for long-needed police reform. The authors (2017) state that “the Voting Rights Act replaced reactive, piecemeal litigation with a proactive structure of continual federal oversight” (p. 263), thus providing a better framework for future reforms. This article proves to have an interesting insight into the consequence of the Voting Rights Act implementation no one quite expected: how it influenced the process of democratic reformation and what are the possibilities.
Both articles elaborate on general concepts of the legislation and its consequences for the U.S. However, Pedriana and Stryker’s (2017) paper takes a more comparative approach, not focusing fully only on the Voting Rights Act, but evaluating it in relation to other legislations. At the same time, Mazzone and Rushin (2017) use its revolutionary theoretical background to build a reformed approach to the necessary changes in the police’s credentials. Still, both sources prove to be valuable to the research, as they provide points of view that need to be investigated before addressing the issue.
Primary Sources Review
As primary sources, another article and a book were chosen. The article by Ang (2019) examines the long-term influence of the Voting Rights Act on the federal government’s policies. This study gives an important insight into the impact the Act made on the process of elections, which was the first goal of the legislation from the start. For example, Ang (2019) states that “preclearance increased long-run voter turnout by 4–8 percentage points, due to lasting gains in minority participation” (p. 1). This is, indeed, an interesting consequence of the Act that needs further exploration, and it relates directly to the article by Pedriana and Stryker (2017).
The book by May (2015) is another primary source that provides a detailed overview of the Voting Rights Act and its impact on American society: majorly, on the Black population. According to May (2015), “the Voting Rights Act transformed American democracy and in many ways was the last act of emancipation, a process Abraham Lincoln began in 1863” (p. 9). This book might be crucial to the research, as it gives the most comprehensive view on the legislation: its history, barriers it overcame, challenges it faces now, and other aspects. Moreover, it directly relates to both secondary sources, as it gives the relevant information to understand their findings and implications.
Research Question
After reviewing the sources, the research question can be stated as follows: what are the indirect implications of the implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965? In other words, how does it influence American society outside of governmental policies’ changes? Revealing and understanding this would be the purpose of this research.
Audience
The audience that might find this research interesting would consist primarily of historians, political researchers, and sociologists. Seeing as the study examines the indirect impact of the legislation on American society, it would touch upon the history of the Act first, then close in on its consequences: social and political. Thus, it is safe to say that it would be the most relevant to the fields of studies listed above.
Message
The study of governmental policies might prove to be a little difficult for historians and sociologists, majorly in terminology, while political researchers would hardly find it too complicated. Thus, it is important to develop the study message with as little complex terminology as possible. For example, it could be presented as follows: “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the course of American political and social life dramatically, bringing new perspectives into the light. This study examines the indirect longitudinal impact on the American society of the legislation, such as changes in social views towards Black population, as well as new approaches to implementing political reforms.”
References
Ang, D. (2019). Do 40-year-old facts still matter? Long-run effects of federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(3), 1–53. Web.
May, G. (2015). Bending toward justice: The Voting Rights Act and the transformation of American democracy. Duke University Press.
Mazzone, J., & Rushin, S. (2017). From Selma to Ferguson: The Voting Rights Act as a blueprint for police reform. California Law Review, 105(2), 263–334. Web.
Pedriana, N., & Stryker, R. (2017). From legal doctrine to social transformation? Comparing U.S. voting rights, equal employment opportunity, and fair housing legislation. American Journal of Sociology, 123(1), 86–135. Web.