It aimed to overcome legal barriers within states that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
It prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
It aimed to create legal barriers within states that would prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
It allowed states to deny a male citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Question 2
Question
As described in the text, the Voting Rights Act was a solution created to address what problem?
Answer
African Americans did not yet have the right to vote.
Women did not yet have the right to vote.
African Americans were being prevented from exercising their right to vote.
Women were being prevented from exercising their right to vote.
Question 3
Question
Re-read these sentences from the text:
"After the U.S. Civil War (1861‐65), the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on 'race, color or previous condition of servitude.' Nevertheless, in the ensuing decades, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans, particularly those in the South, from exercising their right to vote...
"Although the Voting Rights Act passed, state and local enforcement of the law was weak and it often was ignored outright, mainly in the South and in areas where the proportion of blacks in the population was high and their vote threatened the political status quo."
Based on the evidence in the text, what inference can you make about the reaction many southern states have had to civil rights laws?
Answer
Many states in the South did not agree with civil rights laws, but followed them.
Many states in the South encouraged and supported civil rights laws.
Many states in the South did not respect nor comply with civil rights laws.
Many states in the South did not care about or object to civil rights laws.
Question 4
Question
Why might the number of African American members in the House and Senate have increased between 1965 and 1971?
Answer
The 15th Amendment required a higher number of African Americans in the House and the Senate
The Voting Rights Act encouraged more white voters in the South to vote for African American representation in the House and Senate.
The Voting Rights Act required a higher number of African Americans in the House and the Senate.
More African Americans were able to vote for the people that represented them in the House and Senate, including more African Americans, due to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
Question 5
Question
What is the main idea of this passage?
Answer
After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on race.
Many states used various discrimatory practices to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
The Voting Rights Act gave African American voters the legal means to challenge voting restrictions, and the act vastly improved voter turnout.
The Voting Rights Act has been amended to include such features as the protection of voting rights for non-English-speaking Americans.