The Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act is a very impactful event and changed history for the better. The Civil Rights Act is a legislation that was intended to end any discrimination based on colour, religion, race or national origin. But this was also a very controversial issue in the United States. Now with this issue being so controversial no one really knew if this act would work. Questions about the Civil Rights Act were, why was the legislation so controversial?, why did the Civil Rights Act need to be made? and did the Civil Rights Act work and change discrimination in the United States? The Civil Rights Act is known as one of the crowning legislative achievements of the Civil Rights movement.

When the act was put out and proposed there were a lot of different opinions about it. People agreed with the fact that discrimination was getting to a point where something needed to be done. But other people still didn’t believe people of color or other races deserved the same rights as them. The first time someone proposed this act was done by John F. Kennedy. After the Civil War amendments abolished slavery which made former slaves citizens and gave men a chance to have the right to vote.

Now that these former slaves were considered citizens many people became upset about this especially the south. The South was always known for relying on slavery for all their labour work and now that slavery was banned and they were now citizens the South used poll taxes, tests and other measures to deprive them the right to vote.

By 1957 the civil rights act finally made made its way into a section of the Justice Department. With the South still making all these rules attempting to keep the blacks away from being able to vote, the Congress decided to have court-appointed referees. These referees are there to help black peoples register to vote without the South having an effect on that.

John F. Kennedy finally entered the White House in 1961. Even though he fought for the rights act he delayed creating a legislation. But with having the South protesting and still finding holes in the act to get their way, Kennedy decided it's time to create and enforce a act. In 1963 John F. Kennedy created a new Civil Rights Act which included nearly all the elements to stop the South. John F. Kennedy says “ We will not be fully free until all of its citizens are free.” This proves that he invested a lot into having everyone in his country have the same rights. With this act many people were able to have the rights they always wanted.

The Civil Rights Act, the act that changed the world for many people. Discrimination was allowed and at times encouraged which formed a lot of problems. People who weren’t receiving the same rights as they should be would protest and create more problems. Once this act was created it removed all negative hate towards people of different races, beliefs, religions, sex, and national origins. If this act had never been created discrimination would still be a major issue in ir loves today. Discrimination will always exist but at least now there is a act to prevent it. The 50th anniversary of the act was celebrated in April 2014. So if your really wondering why the Civil Rights Act was made here’s why.

Discrimination started way before we were born. Racism is built up of hate towards someone of a different race. This means that these people believe that their race is superior. When you discriminate someone you take away their rights. When you take away someone's rights, you basically tell them they aren’t a citization. With people now being treated like an item instead of a human it caused a lot of disagreements. Things like slavery began and people were losing jobs. Store owners wouldn’t hire people of a different color or race than them. Without this act half of civilization would never be able to get jobs and support their families. We were basically trying to kill off their race because it wasn’t ours. When the Civil Rights Act was put into place it stopped owners from not hiring those people and stopped people from treating other races ina way they never should have been treated.

In the United States, discrimination was constantly booming and slavery was striving. While treating other races unfairly the United States wasn’t making enemies with other countries, they were actually getting along with people since discrimination was so important. People really thought that they owned people of other races and that these people had to do what the white people told them to do. Once the Civil Rights Act was put into place it ended all unfairness to people of color, different races, different religions and or origin. Those people who were thought of as different had no rights and had people making decisions for them. They weren’t aloud to be independent. Their lives were basically taken away from them. With no ability to do what they want or get a job they were at an all time low. Once the act was put into place those disabilities were changed. These people now had the opportunity to find jobs and support their families. They were able to vote for who they wanted to and do things they thought they would never be able to. Things we easily take for granted such as voting or being able to make our own decisions about our future were taken away from people that were ‘different’ than us.

Slavery is and was a major issue and it’s something that will never fully end but this act definitely made it harder for people to have slaves. During the Civil War slavery played a key role, the war would’ve never happened if slavery had not been so important to people. The Civil War did succeed and ended slavery, but the Civil Rights Act refrained it from starting up again.

In conclusion the Civil Rights Act really did make an impactful point on history. Without it, people that have rights and are treated as a citizen like everyone else would have never had this opportunity. There is still discrimination these days but not close to how bad it used to be. Without the Civil Rights Act the way we treat these people now would be much different. No matter what race, color, sex, or origin you are you should be treated like every citizen is treated. 

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