Civil Rights Act of 1957

Civil Rights Act of 1957
U.S. Government · Public domain · source
Shorttitle	Civil Rights Act of 1957
Longtitle	An Act to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Enacted by	85th
Effective date	September 9, 1957
Public law url	http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-71/pdf/STATUTE-71-Pg634.pdf
Cite public law	85-315
Cite statutes at large	71, 634
Introducedin	House
Introducedbill	HR 6127
Introducedby	Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-NY)
Introduceddate	June 6, 1956
Committees	House Judiciary
Passedbody1	House
Passeddate1	June 18, 1957
Passedvote1	286–126
Passedbody2	Senate
Passeddate2	August 7, 1957
Passedvote2	72–18
Signedpresident	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Signeddate	September 9, 1957

Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first major federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Reconstruction era. Signed into law by President Dwide D. Eisenhower, the act was primarily designed to protect the voting rights of African Americans and established new government mechanisms to address civil rights violations. While its immediate impact was limited by political compromise and resistance, it marked a crucial symbolic and procedural turning point, reviving federal authority in civil rights and setting the stage for more powerful legislation in the 1960s.

Background and legislative history

The push for federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1950s was driven by the growing Civil rights movement and increasing national awareness of violent segregationist resistance in the Southern United States. The ''Brown v. Board of Education'' decision in 1954, which declared school segregation unconstitutional, intensified the struggle. However, voter suppression through poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation remained rampant, particularly in the Democratic Solid South.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, though not a passionate crusader for racial equality, felt compelled to act following events like the brutal murder of Emmett Till in 1955 and the Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr.. He directed Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. to draft a bill. The administration's initial proposal was ambitious, but it faced immediate and fierce opposition from a powerful coalition of Southern Democrats led by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Senator Richard Russell Jr. of Georgia. The bill was introduced in the 84th United States Congress but was gutted by the Senate Judiciary Committee, then chaired by segregationist Senator James Eastland of Mississippi.

Provisions of the act

The final version of the act was significantly weakened from its original form but contained several key provisions. Its central creation was the United States Commission on Civil Rights, a bipartisan, fact-finding agency tasked with investigating and reporting on deprivations of voting rights and other civil rights issues. The act also established a Civil Rights Division within the United States Department of Justice, headed by an Assistant Attorney General, to centralize federal enforcement.

Most importantly, the act empowered the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief through federal courts to prevent interference with the right to vote in federal elections. However, a critical limitation was that individuals could not initiate suits on their own; only the Justice Department could act. The act also contained a provision, largely symbolic, making it a crime to use intimidation or threats to interfere with a federal court order. Notably, the act did not address public accommodations, school desegregation, or employment discrimination, and it lacked strong enforcement teeth for voting rights.

Passage and political context

The passage of the act was a monumental legislative battle, famously including the longest filibuster in Senate history at the time. Senator Strom Thurmond filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes in a failed attempt to block the bill. Ultimately, its survival depended on a historic political compromise engineered by Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Johnson, eyeing the national presidency and national political necessity of the United States|Johnson, Jr. and political landscape of America|Johnson of the United States Senate|Johnson, Texas|United States Senate|Senate and political rights movement|Johnson, and political rights movement|States Senate|Georgia (U.S. The United States Senate|United States Senate|Georgia (U.S. S. S. Johnson and political rights movement|United States Senate|Ly B. The 1957

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