On March 20, 1965, Mrs. Bertram Jeffrey sent this  letter to Representative Emanuel Cellar, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, advocating for the passage of the Voting Rights Act for the continuance of a true democratic system. Letter from Mrs. Bertram Jeffrey in Favor of the Voting Rights Act, 3/20/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 593573)
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On March 20, 1965, Mrs. Bertram Jeffrey sent this  letter to Representative Emanuel Cellar, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, advocating for the passage of the Voting Rights Act for the continuance of a true democratic system.

Letter from Mrs. Bertram Jeffrey in Favor of the Voting Rights Act, 3/20/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 593573)

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This draft of the VRA demonstrates a part of the legislative process in which different versions of the bill from the two houses, in this case H.R. 6400 and S. 1564, are reconciled as one bill and then passed by both houses. Engrossed Copy of H.R. 6400, 7/9/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 5637803)
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On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This draft of the VRA demonstrates a part of the legislative process in which different versions of the bill from the two houses, in this case H.R. 6400 and S. 1564, are reconciled as one bill and then passed by both houses.

Engrossed Copy of H.R. 6400, 7/9/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 5637803)

ourpresidents: On August 6, 1965, The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.  The Act applied a nationwide prohibition of the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color.  It outlawed discriminatory literacy tests, expanded voting rights for non-English speaking Americans, and appointed Federal examiners to oversee voter registration and elections. Read More The law had an immediate impact. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new African American voters had been registered, one-third by Federal examiners. In this photo, LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC.  Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders stand behind him. LBJ’s speech from the signing here
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ourpresidents:

On August 6, 1965, The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.  The Act applied a nationwide prohibition of the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color.  It outlawed discriminatory literacy tests, expanded voting rights for non-English speaking Americans, and appointed Federal examiners to oversee voter registration and elections. Read More

The law had an immediate impact. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new African American voters had been registered, one-third by Federal examiners.

In this photo, LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC.  Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders stand behind him.

LBJ’s speech from the signing here

Despite the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, African-Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting. Congress’s Reconstruction Era laws to enforce the 15th Amendment were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1883, and for decades, there had been no further Federal attempts to protect civil rights. As a result, very few African-Americans were registered voters in the former Confederate states, and African Americans exercised little political power, locally or nationally. They also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote. By the 1950s, the nation’s attention focused once again on civil rights. Congress passed Civil Rights Acts in 1957, 1960, and 1964, but none of these laws were strong enough to prevent voting discrimination by local officials. While many counseled patience, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Council) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) launched protests in Selma, Alabama that dramatically underscored the need for voting rights legislation. As a result of these protests and the decisive actions of the House and Senate leadership working in tandem with President Lyndon Johnson, a milestone accomplishment was achieved in the protection of voting rights in the South. Senate Bill 1564, passed on May 26, 1965 by a vote of 77 to 19. The House passed its own bill H.R. 6400 on July 10. Together, the House and Senate reconciled the differences in the two bills through a conference committee on August 2. President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6. Roll Call Vote Tally on S. 1564, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 5/26/1965, SEN89A-M1, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 5637787)
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Despite the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, African-Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting. Congress’s Reconstruction Era laws to enforce the 15th Amendment were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1883, and for decades, there had been no further Federal attempts to protect civil rights. As a result, very few African-Americans were registered voters in the former Confederate states, and African Americans exercised little political power, locally or nationally. They also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote.

By the 1950s, the nation’s attention focused once again on civil rights. Congress passed Civil Rights Acts in 1957, 1960, and 1964, but none of these laws were strong enough to prevent voting discrimination by local officials. While many counseled patience, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Council) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) launched protests in Selma, Alabama that dramatically underscored the need for voting rights legislation.

As a result of these protests and the decisive actions of the House and Senate leadership working in tandem with President Lyndon Johnson, a milestone accomplishment was achieved in the protection of voting rights in the South. Senate Bill 1564, passed on May 26, 1965 by a vote of 77 to 19. The House passed its own bill H.R. 6400 on July 10. Together, the House and Senate reconciled the differences in the two bills through a conference committee on August 2. President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6.

Roll Call Vote Tally on S. 1564, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 5/26/1965, SEN89A-M1, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 5637787)

Mrs. E. Jackson wrote to the House Judiciary Committee the day after Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama. She was reacting to scenes of police brutality during a voting rights march that many Americans witnessed on television news programs. The interlined handwriting in pencil is likely that of House Judiciary Chairman Emanuel Celler, who was Mrs. Jackson’s representative in Congress and an active supporter of voting rights legislation in the House. Interested in teaching or learning more about Voting Rights Act of 1965? Visit our web-lesson, Congress Protects the Right to Vote: the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Letter from Mrs. E. Jackson, 3/8/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 2173239)

Congress in the Archives will feature a monthly staff post on our blog. November’s post comes from Center archives specialist, Christine Blackerby.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is generally considered the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted by Congress. By the 1968 election, areas covered by the Voting Rights Act averaged a 25% increase in the number of registered African American voters. The new voters caused a shift in the political base of the entire nation, realigning the political parties and sending large numbers of African American representatives to Congress for the first time.

When the Voting Rights Act was under consideration in Congress in March and April of 1965, Americans vigorously exercised their First Amendment right to petition their government. Citizens’ petitions, witness testimony, statistical data, and other information came before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which solicited many points of view during consideration of the bill. The two documents on display here are letters from citizens received by the committee—one is in favor of voting rights legislation and the other is against.

Several documents from the records of the Committee, which reflect multiple perspectives, are part of a lesson plan created by the Outreach staff of the Center for Legislative Archives. The lesson puts students in the shoes of members of the Committee as they deliberated the bill, and asks them to evaluate the evidence which led to the Voting Rights Act.

The education programs at the Center aim to make the historical records of Congress available to help teachers integrate the history and workings of Congress into American history and government classes. More lessons are available in the lesson plan section of our website.

Letter from Mrs. E. Jackson, 03/08/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 2173239)

Letter from George Neu, 03/26/1965, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 2173238)