Voting Rights Act of 1965

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/voting-rights-act-of-1965

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the federal statute?Prohibits racial discrimination in voting
2. What is the date of enactment?August 6, 1965
3. Why did President Lyndon B. Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act?He signed it to help all people, no matter their race, have a fair chance to vote and choose leaders.
4. What is Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act?Section 5 said that places that had a history of unfair voting rules had to ask the federal government for permission before changing any voting rules, so no unfair rules could sneak in.

Suffrage: The right to vote in political elections.
Disparate Impact: A policy or practice that unintentionally disadvantages a particular group.
Reconstruction Era: The period in U.S. history after the Civil War (1865-1877) focused on rebuilding the South and integrating formerly enslaved people.
Enfranchisement: The act of granting the right to vote to a person or group.