CargoAdmin, Bureaucrats, Moderators (CommentStreams), fileuploaders, Interface administrators, newuser, Push subscription managers, Suppressors, Administrators
14,662
edits
Civil Rights Act of 1957: Difference between revisions
m
Text replacement - "Dwight D. Eisenhower" to "Dwight D. Eisenhower"
m (Text replacement - "Lyndon B. Johnson" to "Lyndon B. Johnson") |
m (Text replacement - "Dwight D. Eisenhower" to "Dwight D. Eisenhower") |
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
| agreeddate4 = August 29, 1957 | | agreeddate4 = August 29, 1957 | ||
| agreedvote4 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s105 60–15] | | agreedvote4 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s105 60–15] | ||
| signedpresident = | | signedpresident = Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| signeddate = September 9, 1957 | | signeddate = September 9, 1957 | ||
| amendments = [[Civil Rights Act of 1960]]<br />[[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] | | amendments = [[Civil Rights Act of 1960]]<br />[[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] | ||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{CRM in Washington D.C.}} | {{CRM in Washington D.C.}} | ||
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 | 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 of the United States|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 Americans|African American]] voting rights; most African Americans in the [[Southern United States]] had been [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|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|Anderson–Aiken amendment]] and the [[#Jury trial amendment|O'Mahoney jury trial amendment]], significantly watering down its immediate impact. During the debate over the law, Senator [[Strom Thurmond]] [[Strom Thurmond filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/The-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1957/|title=The Civil Rights Act of 1957|publisher=U.S. House of Representative History, Art, and Archives|accessdate=April 13, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407053549/https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/The-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1957/|url-status=live}}</ref> | The [[Supreme Court of the United States|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 Americans|African American]] voting rights; most African Americans in the [[Southern United States]] had been [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|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|Anderson–Aiken amendment]] and the [[#Jury trial amendment|O'Mahoney jury trial amendment]], significantly watering down its immediate impact. During the debate over the law, Senator [[Strom Thurmond]] [[Strom Thurmond filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/The-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1957/|title=The Civil Rights Act of 1957|publisher=U.S. House of Representative History, Art, and Archives|accessdate=April 13, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407053549/https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/The-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1957/|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
| Line 46: | Line 46: | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Following the Supreme Court ruling in ''Brown'', which eventually led to the integration of public schools,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Civil Rights Movement: Striving for Justice|last=McNeese|first=Tim|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2008|location=New York}}</ref> [[Southern United States|Southern]] [[White American|whites]] began a campaign of "[[Massive Resistance]]". Violence against black people rose; in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] where President | Following the Supreme Court ruling in ''Brown'', which eventually led to the integration of public schools,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Civil Rights Movement: Striving for Justice|last=McNeese|first=Tim|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2008|location=New York}}</ref> [[Southern United States|Southern]] [[White American|whites]] began a campaign of "[[Massive Resistance]]". Violence against black people rose; in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] where President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered U.S. paratroopers of the [[101st Airborne Division]] to protect [[Little Rock Nine|nine black teenagers integrating into a public school]], the first time federal troops were deployed in the South to settle civil rights issues since the [[Reconstruction Era]].<ref name="Miller">James A. Miller, [http://articles.boston.com/2007-11-21/news/29228077_1_civil-rights-nichols-truman-s-executive-order "An inside look at Eisenhower's civil rights record"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107182758/http://articles.boston.com/2007-11-21/news/29228077_1_civil-rights-nichols-truman-s-executive-order |date=January 7, 2012 }} ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', November 21, 2007, accessed October 28, 2011</ref> There had been continued physical assaults against suspected activists and bombings of schools and churches in the South. Partly in an effort to defuse calls for more far-reaching reforms, President Eisenhower proposed a civil rights bill that would increase the protection of African American voting rights.{{sfn|Pach|Richardson|pp=145–146}} | ||
By 1957, only about 20% of black people were registered to vote. Despite being the majority in numerous counties and [[list of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]] in the South, most black people had been effectively [[disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchised]] by discriminatory [[voter registration]] rules and laws in those states since the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were heavily instituted and propagated by Southern Democrats. Civil rights organizations had collected evidence of discriminatory practices, such as the administration of [[literacy test|literacy]] and comprehension tests and [[poll tax (United States)|poll taxes]]. While the states had the right to establish rules for voter registration and elections, the federal government found an oversight role in ensuring that citizens could exercise the constitutional right to vote for federal officers: electors for president and [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] and members of the US Congress. | By 1957, only about 20% of black people were registered to vote. Despite being the majority in numerous counties and [[list of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]] in the South, most black people had been effectively [[disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchised]] by discriminatory [[voter registration]] rules and laws in those states since the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were heavily instituted and propagated by Southern Democrats. Civil rights organizations had collected evidence of discriminatory practices, such as the administration of [[literacy test|literacy]] and comprehension tests and [[poll tax (United States)|poll taxes]]. While the states had the right to establish rules for voter registration and elections, the federal government found an oversight role in ensuring that citizens could exercise the constitutional right to vote for federal officers: electors for president and [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] and members of the US Congress. | ||