Ethical Jurisprudence in African American History: A Critical Analysis of the 1965 Voting Rights Act from Peter Singer’s Consequentialist Ethical Theory

Abstract

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson officially signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law. This special day passed one of the most significant laws in American history and also marked one of the most critical moments in the civil rights movement, which is remembered and celebrated by many Americans. This paper aims to parse the underlying morality of the 1965 VRA based on the nature of the act and its immediate or indirect effects on the American people. Qualitative analysis based on primary and secondary sources is used as the primary research method, with Peter Singer's consequentialist ethics as the theoretical underpinning. No first-hand data is generated or used in this research. The analysis of the 1965 VRA's morality yields a positive moral appraisal. The consequentialist approach elucidates without ambiguity that the VRA is moral because it promoted happiness and fulfilled the moral requirement of lessening pains for minority voters. Although the act's impact gradually faded after the Shelby County ruling, the positive effects are not diminished to zero and thus should be acknowledged.