The United States Congress concluded that federal anti-discrimination laws were not successful in overcoming resistance by state officials to enforcing the 15th. Amendment.

On August 6, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the legislation that more stringently enforced the 15th. Amendment and enacted a national prohibition of the denial or abridgment of the right to vote via literacy tests, gerrymandering congressional districts intended to weaken the voting power of African-Americans and similar, illegal tactics. Intimidation of voters, violence surrounding elections and domestic political assassinations would persist, however, even after these sweeping changes were made. But the message was clear: The United States of America was maturing and moving closer to equal access for all.

Click here to read more about the Voting Rights Act of 1965