Conflict and Compromise: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Coursework Sample)

CONFLICT AND COMPROMISE: THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
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Introduction
Throughout the history of the world, there have been many social issues that have brought about the conflict. These conflicts brought about a lot of unrest, and some compromises had to be made to bring peace. In the United States, African Americans faced many challenges relating to racism and discrimination. Due to this discrimination, there was a lot of civil unrest among black people. This conflict brought about the largest civil movement in part of the 19th and 20th Centuries, known as the civil rights movement. This movement comprised of African Americans as well as whites. They used petitions, negotiations, and legal means, as well as using nonviolent protest demonstrations. The campaign was mainly centered in the American South, where most of the African American population lived and faced a lot of racial inequality in terms of economic opportunities, education, and legal and political processes. Thus, This movement focused on addressing issues concerning voting rights, social segregation, and education discrimination. The movement brought about the Civil Rights Act that came into force in 1964, which will be the main point of discussion in this paper.
Introduction to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1964. It was responsible for ending segregation in public places and banning employment discrimination based on color, race, sex, religion, or national origin, among other basis that was used in discriminating against people. This was considered the greatest legislative achievement that the civil rights movement achieved. President John F. Kennedy was the first to propose the law and faced much opposition from the members of the Southern Congress. Due to the much resistance, Lyndon B. Johnson, his successor, signed the bill into law. In the years that followed, the Act was expanded by Congress, leading to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as another civil rights legislation. The Act helped a lot in banning the segregation of people in public places, including parks, courthouses, theaters, restaurants, hotels, and sports arenas. Blacks, as well as other minorities, were no longer denied any form of service because of the color of their skin.
The Act thus hindered any form of discrimination based on gender, race, national origin, and religion by labor unions and employers. Because of this, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created that had the power to file lawsuits on behalf of aggravated workers. The other area that the Act helped with is forbidding