1. Chapter 6 Section 3

2. The 15 th Amendment  Ratified 1870  Vote cannot be denied any U.S. citizen because of race, color, or pervious condition of servitude  Southern whites used violence, threats, social pressures, literacy test, poll taxes, white primaries, and gerrymandering deny African Americans their 15 th Amendment rights

3. The 15 th Amendment  Smith v. Allwright (1944)  Banned white primaries  Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960s)  Banned gerrymandering for purposes of racial discrimination, but use of literacy test and poll taxes remained into the 1960s

4. Civil Rights  Civil Rights Act of 1957  set up commission to investigate voter discrimination and enabled attorney general to enforce voting rights  Civil Rights Act of 1960  provided for federal voting referees to serve where voter discrimination existed and help eligible voters register and vote  Civil Rights of 1964  Banned discrimination in jobs and other areas and discriminatory voter registration or literacy requirements

5. Civil Rights  Voting Rights Act of 1965  Prompted by civil rights march in Selma, Alabama; applied 15 th Amendment to all elections, not just federal; challenged poll taxes and literacy test; authorized voting examiners; required federal preclearance for any changes to State election laws  South Carolina v. Katzenbach  Upheld Voting Rights Act of 1965  Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970  Extended the Act for five years; banned literacy tests

6. Civil Rights  Oregon v. Mitchell  Upheld ban on literacy tests and the residency requirements in the law  Law extended in 1975  Ban on literacy tests made permanent; applied provisions to language minorities Equal Voting Rights