This article is about the 1957 Civil Rights Act. For other American laws called Civil Rights Acts, see Civil Rights Act.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Long title
An Act to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Enacted by
the 85th United States Congress
Effective
September 9, 1957
Citations
Public law
85-315
Statutes at Large
71 Stat. 634
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 6127
Committee consideration by Judiciary
Passed the House on June 18, 1957 (286–126)
Passed the Senate on August 7, 1957 (72–18) with amendment
House agreed to Senate amendment on August 27, 1957 (279–97) with further amendment
Senate agreed to House amendment on August 29, 1957 (60–15)
Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 9, 1957
Major amendments
Civil Rights Act of 1960 Civil Rights Act of 1964
v
t
e
Civil Rights Movement in Washington D.C.
National movement
Journey of Reconciliation
Executive Order 9981
Prayer Pilgrimage
Strom Thurmond filibuster
Civil Rights Act of 1957
1st Youth March
2nd Youth March
Civil Rights Act of 1960
Baldwin–Kennedy meeting
President Kennedy's civil rights address
March on Washington
"I Have a Dream"
24th U.S. Constitutional Amendment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Poor People's Campaign
District of Columbia
District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co.
Bolling v. Sharpe
23rd U.S. Constitutional Amendment
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 9, 1957.
The Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education brought the issue of school desegregation to the fore of public attention, as Southern Democratic leaders began a campaign of "massive resistance" against desegregation. In the midst of this campaign, President Eisenhower proposed a civil rights bill designed to provide federal protection for African American voting rights; most African Americans in the Southern United States had been disenfranchised by state and local laws. Though the civil rights bill passed Congress, opponents of the act were able to remove or weaken several provisions via the Anderson–Aiken amendment and the O'Mahoney jury trial amendment, significantly watering down its immediate impact. During the debate over the law, Senator Strom Thurmond conducted the longest one-person filibuster in Senate history. Under the direction of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, the Senate passed a watered-down, yet also passable, version of the House bill which removed stringent voting protection clauses.[1]
Despite having a limited impact on African American voter participation, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 did establish the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Congress would later pass far more effective civil rights laws in the form of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
^"The Civil Rights Act of 1957". U.S. House of Representative History, Art, and Archives. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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