The Archive

Reference Library

The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.

Back to Landmark Legislation

Civil Rights & Voting

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Enacted: 1957

Signed into law by

Dwight D. Eisenhower

In brief

The first federal civil-rights statute since Reconstruction — created the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The Act in depth

Signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 9, 1957 after a record-setting 24-hour filibuster by Senator Strom Thurmond, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and authorized federal injunctions to protect voting rights. Its enforcement provisions were weak — juries in voting-rights cases were guaranteed — but its symbolic importance and institution-building were enormous. The Act set the legislative stage for the far more powerful Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

All Legislation