Edmund Pettus Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Edmund Pettus Bridge is a bridge that carries U.S. Highway 80 across the Alabama River
in Selma, Alabama
. Built in 1940, it is named for Edmund Winston Pettus
, a former Confederate
brigadier general
and U.S. Senator
from Alabama. The bridge is a steel through arch bridge with a central span of 250 feet (76.2 m). It is famous as the site of the conflict of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, when armed officers attacked peaceful civil rights demonstrators attempting to march to the state capital of Montgomery
.
, to John Pettus and Alice Taylor Winston in 1821. He graduated from a public high school and attended Clinton College
. He then went on to Tuscumbia, Alabama
, to study law and was admitted into the state's bar association in 1842. In 1844 he was elected to serve in the seventh Judicial Circuit of Alabama as a solicitor. From 1847-1849 he served as a lieutenant
with the Alabama Volunteers during the Mexican–American War
. From 1854 he served as a judge in the seventh Judicial Circuit of Alabama, until resigning in 1858. After resigning as judge he went back to Selma, Alabama
where he went back to practicing law. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War
he served with the 20th Regiment Alabama Infantry, eventually attaining the rank of brigadier general in 1863 and being assigned a command in the Army of Tennessee
. Following the war he resumed his law practice in Selma. He was residing there when he was elected as a United States Senator
from Alabama in 1897 and 1903. He died in 1907.
, voting rolls were 99% White and 1% African American. The case of Jimmie Lee Jackson
showed how African Americans were treated; as state troopers and other locals started a fight with some 400 hundred African American demonstrators, Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot in the stomach, and he died eight days later. As word reached the people, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
, a plan for a peaceful march on the state's capitol was made. There were many acts just like this one that involved killings, and many more that involve economic and health problems.
The days and months leading up to Bloody Sunday were very chaotic and stressful as blacks were being targeted by whites as they went to register to vote. Most blacks were laughed at or harassed, but some were even beaten or killed. The black registered voters were also hit hard economically, in addition to physical abuse. Some were refused federal food aid, some refused credit at local banks and stores, and some were fired from their jobs. Growing unrest and activism resulted in the decision to have a peaceful march from Selma
, to Montgomery, Alabama
, to focus in a positive way the pain and anger of the innocent people being persecuted. This idea led the people to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. As the people came marching from Selma towards Montgomery they hit the Edmund Pettus Bridge and were attacked by police officers with tear gas and beaten by clubs. This bridge had a huge role in the fight for African American voting rights; Bloody Sunday and the other marches show that part of the bridge's history and why it is so well known.
made discriminatory voting practices illegal and put a stop to the persecution of the African Americans who had been working for the cause. Section 4 of the Act ended the requirement of literacy tests in six of the Southern states. These states included: Alabama
, Georgia
, Louisiana
, Mississippi
, and South Carolina
. Section 5 stated that no one could make a change to their voting rules unless first authorized by a three-judge court, the District of Columbia, or by the Attorney General of the United States.
, Rep. John Lewis, former president of SNCC
and a prominent activist during the Selma to Montgomery marches
, said, "It's gratifying to come back and see the changes that have occurred; to see the number of registered voters and the number of Black elected officials in the state of Alabama to be able to walk with other members of Congress that are African Americans." Another notable day was the 40th reunion of Bloody Sunday
, when over 10,000 people met to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge again. Among those 10,000 people was, again, Rep. John Lewis, who was one of the men attacked on Bloody Sunday. Also, in 1996, the Olympic torch made its way across the bridge with its carrier, Andrew Young, and many public officials, to symbolize how far the South has come. When Young spoke at the AME Brown Chapel, as part of the torch ceremony, he said, "We couldn't have gone to Atlanta with the Olympic Games if we hadn't come through Selma a long time ago."
Alabama River
The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery.The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it unites with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which discharge into...
in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
. Built in 1940, it is named for Edmund Winston Pettus
Edmund Pettus
Edmund Winston Pettus , was an American lawyer, soldier, and legislator. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, during which he was captured three times, as well as a U.S...
, a former Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
and U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Alabama. The bridge is a steel through arch bridge with a central span of 250 feet (76.2 m). It is famous as the site of the conflict of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, when armed officers attacked peaceful civil rights demonstrators attempting to march to the state capital of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
.
Edmund Winston Pettus
Edmund Winston Pettus was born in Limestone County, AlabamaLimestone County, Alabama
Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area.It is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Metro Area. Its name comes from Limestone Creek, a local stream. In 2000, the population was 65,676. As of 2010 the county's...
, to John Pettus and Alice Taylor Winston in 1821. He graduated from a public high school and attended Clinton College
Clinton College (Tennessee)
Clinton College was a college in New Middleton, Smith County, Tennessee. The original Porter's Hill Academy was formed in 1830 and then reorganized as Clinton College in 1833-4. Its main teacher was Francis Haynes Gordon. The school had failed by February 1842....
. He then went on to Tuscumbia, Alabama
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423 and is included in The Shoals MSA....
, to study law and was admitted into the state's bar association in 1842. In 1844 he was elected to serve in the seventh Judicial Circuit of Alabama as a solicitor. From 1847-1849 he served as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
with the Alabama Volunteers during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
. From 1854 he served as a judge in the seventh Judicial Circuit of Alabama, until resigning in 1858. After resigning as judge he went back to Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
where he went back to practicing law. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he served with the 20th Regiment Alabama Infantry, eventually attaining the rank of brigadier general in 1863 and being assigned a command in the Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
. Following the war he resumed his law practice in Selma. He was residing there when he was elected as a United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Alabama in 1897 and 1903. He died in 1907.
Political issues in 1965
In 1965 voting rights was a complicated issue. African Americans were being attacked for wanting to vote. In Selma, AlabamaSelma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, voting rolls were 99% White and 1% African American. The case of Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a civil rights protestor who was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement. He was 26 years old.-Personal...
showed how African Americans were treated; as state troopers and other locals started a fight with some 400 hundred African American demonstrators, Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot in the stomach, and he died eight days later. As word reached the people, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, a plan for a peaceful march on the state's capitol was made. There were many acts just like this one that involved killings, and many more that involve economic and health problems.
Bloody Sunday
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, to Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, to focus in a positive way the pain and anger of the innocent people being persecuted. This idea led the people to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. As the people came marching from Selma towards Montgomery they hit the Edmund Pettus Bridge and were attacked by police officers with tear gas and beaten by clubs. This bridge had a huge role in the fight for African American voting rights; Bloody Sunday and the other marches show that part of the bridge's history and why it is so well known.
Voting Act of 1965
Due to the events on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the many people who came to march walked away with a huge accomplishment. The Voting Rights ActVoting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
made discriminatory voting practices illegal and put a stop to the persecution of the African Americans who had been working for the cause. Section 4 of the Act ended the requirement of literacy tests in six of the Southern states. These states included: Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Section 5 stated that no one could make a change to their voting rules unless first authorized by a three-judge court, the District of Columbia, or by the Attorney General of the United States.
Notable occurrences at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Since 1965, many marches have commemorated the events of Bloody Sunday. On one such occasion, the 30th anniversary of Bloody SundayBloody Sunday
-Events :* Bloody Sunday , a demonstration in London, England against British repression in Ireland* Bloody Sunday , a day of high casualties in the Second Boer War, South Africa...
, Rep. John Lewis, former president of SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
and a prominent activist during the Selma to Montgomery marches
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
, said, "It's gratifying to come back and see the changes that have occurred; to see the number of registered voters and the number of Black elected officials in the state of Alabama to be able to walk with other members of Congress that are African Americans." Another notable day was the 40th reunion of Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday
-Events :* Bloody Sunday , a demonstration in London, England against British repression in Ireland* Bloody Sunday , a day of high casualties in the Second Boer War, South Africa...
, when over 10,000 people met to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge again. Among those 10,000 people was, again, Rep. John Lewis, who was one of the men attacked on Bloody Sunday. Also, in 1996, the Olympic torch made its way across the bridge with its carrier, Andrew Young, and many public officials, to symbolize how far the South has come. When Young spoke at the AME Brown Chapel, as part of the torch ceremony, he said, "We couldn't have gone to Atlanta with the Olympic Games if we hadn't come through Selma a long time ago."