The Promises of the Constitution
| “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
–Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution |
According to the United States Constitution, everyone had a right to vote. But in reality, it was difficult to vote in many places, especially in the southern states like Alabama. Legally, Alabama could not prevent a black person from voting. Instead it used literacy tests, poll taxes, and other ways to prevent a black person from registering to vote. Since blacks could not register, they never had a chance to vote.
Think about it:
What do you think about the right to vote? Is it possible to be an equal citizen without the right to vote? Is there ever a reason to keep certain people from voting?
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Marches for Voting Rights in Selma
Selma, Alabama prevented blacks from registering to vote. Selma police even shot and killed a young man named Jimmie Lee Jackson while he and his mother tried to register to vote. Dr. King and others leaders were having difficulty bringing attention to these unjust practices. Dr. King and citizen leaders planned a march from Selma to Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. The march was planned to draw attention to the violence and the need for laws to protect voting rights.
The marchers never made it to Montgomery. On the day of the march, police officers blocked the way across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and when the marchers refused to go away, the lawmen attacked them with clubs and tear gas. Many of the marchers were hurt so badly they needed to be taken to the hospital. This day became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
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The Right to Vote is Granted
President Lyndon B. Johnson and the country were appalled by the events of Bloody Sunday. President Johnson assured the country that everyone would have guaranteed voting rights soon—democracy depended on it. A few weeks later Dr. King and the protesters marched for days all the way to Montgomery. Twenty-five thousand people welcomed the marchers and Dr. King made a speech about his hope that America would soon be at peace. Soon after, President Johnson signed a law guaranteeing all people the right to vote, just as the Constitution promised.
