What famous march helped influence the Voting Rights Act, passed in August 1965?

• A. March on Washington
• B. March to Selma
• C. Birmingham Campaign
• D. Freedom Summer

Answer: (B)

This question looks at how a specific march helped push the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965. The Selma to Montgomery marches brought the struggle for Black voting rights into sharp national focus. When marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Bloody Sunday and faced violent resistance, millions watched on TV and demanded federal intervention to protect the right to vote. That public pressure, along with ongoing advocacy, helped persuade President Johnson and Congress to move forward with a strong federal voting rights bill, culminating in the act being signed in August 1965.

Other major civil rights actions—like the March on Washington in 1963, the Birmingham Campaign in 1963, and Freedom Summer in 1964—were crucial parts of the broader movement, but the Selma marches provided the immediate, galvanizing push that led to the Voting Rights Act.