The Voting Rights Act is arguably one of the most significant pieces of federal legislation of the twentieth century. It constituted the biggest shift in the relationship between the federal government and the states, at least in elections terms, since the end of Reconstruction. The hundred years between the end of the American Civil War and the signing of the act was punctuated by moments of extreme violence and courageous acts of heroism. The Voting Rights Act marked a significant change. According to one social scientist, the act “halved both the number of instances of political violence and the likelihood of the onset of new waves of political violence in covered counties…it limited the prospects of targeted electoral violence.” Although struggles for voting rights continue to this day, the bravery and leadership shown by generations of civil rights activists serve to inspire today’s voting rights advocates.