Major John Cloud

Civil Rights Era

On Bloody Sunday, March 7th, 1965, Major John Cloud, who commanded the Alabama State Troopers, with support from Sheriff Jim Clark, worked to stop a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Hundreds of protestors, black and white, had prepared to participate in the march that was meant to demand equal voting rights and general racial equality. Cloud declared that day that the march was unlawful and would not go forward. He then quickly gave orders to the troopers to act violently. Billy clubs, gasses and bullwhips were used. As a result, the march did not continue. Efforts continued in the days following. However, Cloud continued to exert resistance to the protestors, using violence whenever possible. His behavior and that of the subordinate state troopers, all led President Lyndon B. Johnson to finally take action. Within days of Cloud's orders to gas and attack the peaceful protestors who had lined the bridge without the intentions to use violence, Johnson decided to proceed with the voting rights proposal by quickly submitting it to Congress. Cloud's excessive actions were seen across the nation on news broadcasts and made people aware of the resistance blacks faced. People in the North traveled south in large numbers to join the cause of racial equality and the Federal government, which had been stagnant and seemingly unresponsive, finally took action by passing the Voting Rights Act.

Bibliography

Information for this biography was gathered from the following sources:

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