Voting Rights Act Signed, Aug. 6, 1965

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The Voting Rights Act signed into law on Aug. 6, 1945, was intended to end discrimination against voters on racial grounds. The act prohibited state laws such as literacy tests and poll taxes that had been used to prevent certain groups, particularly African-Americans and poor citizens, from voting. It was a sequel of sorts to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation and prohibited discrimination against African-Americans and women.
In an Aug. 7, 1965, article, The Charleston Gazette of Charleston, W. Va., noted the historic nature of the legislation.

“President Johnson signed into law Friday the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and immediately announced steps for its quick and vigorous enforcement.

“The signing took place in the President’s Room of the Capitol, just off the Senate chamber. There, 104 years ago Friday, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill freeing slaves pressed into the service of the Confederacy.”