98 PART onE • THE AmERiCAn sYsTEm
The march on Washington. In August 1963, African American leaders A. Philip
Randolph and Bayard Rustin organized the massive March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom. Before nearly a quarter-million white and African American spectators and mil-
lions watching on television, Martin Luther King told the world: “I have a dream that my
four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content of their character.”modern Civil Rights legislation
Attacks on demonstrators using police dogs, cattle prods, high-pressure water hoses, beat-
ings, and bombings—plus the March on Washington—all led to an environment in which
Congress felt compelled to act on behalf of African Americans. The second era of civil
rights acts, sometimes referred to as the second Reconstruction period, was under way.The Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most far- reaching bill
on civil rights in modern times, banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,
gender, or national origin. The major provisions of the act were as follows:n It outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter registration.
n It barred discrimination in public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants,
which have operations that affect interstate commerce.
n It authorized the federal government to sue to desegregate public schools and
facilities.
n It expanded the power of the Civil Rights Commission, which had been created in
1957, and extended its life.martin luther King, Jr.’s, speech at the Washington Monument in 1963 was
watched by millions of Americans on television. What were his most famous words? (AFP/Stringer/Getty
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