Civil Rights Act of 1957 Facts
for kids
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facts on Civil Rights Act of 1957 for kids.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts for kids
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 1: History: The
Civil Rights
Act of 1866 of the Reconstruction era
detailed the
rights of all U.S. citizens
was passed by Congress as a response to the
Black
Codes enacted by many of
the Southern states.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts -
2: History:
The
Civil Rights
Act of 1875
was intended to
to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights
but was
practically ignored in the Southern states.
In
1883, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of
1875 unconstitutional and it was never enacted.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 3: History:
The
1883 Supreme Court ruling and the 1896
Plessy vs.
Ferguson Case
declared segregation to be constitutional which led to the
segregation of the
Jim
Crow Laws and the "separate but equal" doctrine
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 4: History: In 1954, the legal case of
Brown vs Board of Education ruled that segregation in
public schools was unconstitutional and violated the equal
protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 5: History: The modern Civil Rights Movement (1954 -
1970) emerged led by
Dr Martin Luther King which aimed
at eliminating the practice of segregation. African
Americans were encouraged to exercise their civil rights and register to vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 6: In 1956, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, a firm believer of the right to vote, sent
the civil rights bill to congress aimed at protecting
the voting rights of all citizens.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 7: President Eisenhower knew that the
conservative Democrats in the southern states would try
to block the legislation and hoped that the bill would
split the Democrat party. Eisenhower also hoped that
passing such a bill would convince African Americans to
vote Republican.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 8: Attorney General Herbert Brownell
played a major role in shaping the bill which was very
similar to a 1956 bill which had not been enacted
because of the resistance of Southern senators.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts -
9: The bill initially contained four
parts:
● Part I created a Civil Rights
Commission within the executive branch to
investigate violations of civil rights
● Part 2 created an assistant
attorney general for civil rights, providing
additional power to the civil rights section of the
Department of Justice to the Civil Rights Division
● Part 3 aimed at expanding the
authority of the Department of Justice to enforce
civil rights through civil and criminal proceedings
● Part 4 authorized the
attorney general to bring civil lawsuits and obtain
injunctions for the protection of voting rights
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 10: The bill did not create new rights,
but it prohibited attempts to intimidate or prevent
persons from voting and laid the foundation for federal
enforcement of civil rights law.
Continued...
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts for kids
Facts
about the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for kids
The following fact
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Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts for kids
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts -
11: Several Southern senators, led by
Democrat Richard B. Russell of Georgia, attempted to
block the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 12: They successfully argued that Part 3 of the bill
gave unprecedented power to the federal government to force school
and housing integration and using armed forces to help enforce the
judicial process.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 13: The Southern senators also successfully argued
that Part 4 would mean that those who violated civil rights would be
tried by a judge (rather than an all-white jury) which might be more
lenient toward defendants in such cases
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 14: As a result of the opposition, the Senate
majority leader Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, put together a
compromise to enable the act to pass. Part 3 of the bill was omitted
from the final version of the act and an additional Part 5 was
added to the compromise in a "jury trial" provision.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 15: The bill passed the House of
Representatives on June 18, 1957, by a vote of 286 to
126 and on September 9, 1957, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 16: Although the Act of 1957
was much weaker than originally intended, it brought the
power of the Federal government into the debates on
Civil Rights issues. The law succeeded in showing that
the Federal Government would not allow the southern
states to do as they wished.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 17: The Act marked the first occasion,
since the Reconstruction era, that the federal
government undertook significant legislative action to
protect civil rights.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 18: After the law was passed the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC),
led by
Dr Martin Luther King, announced a campaign to register
new voters.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts - 19: The provisions of the 1957 law were
amplified by the Civil Rights Act of 1960 that
introduced penalties to be levied against those who
obstructed attempts to register to vote or to actually
vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts -
20: After the
Selma
March, President Lyndon
Johnson signed the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964,
banning segregation and discrimination based on race,
nationality, or gender.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts -
21:
The
Voting Rights Act
of 1965
was passed to safeguard the right to
vote of Black Americans and bans the use of literacy
tests.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Facts for kids
Civil Rights Act of 1957 - President Dwight Eisenhower Video
The article on the Act of 1957 provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Dwight Eisenhower video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 34th American President whose presidency spanned from January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
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Facts about the 1957 Act for kids and schools
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Summary of the Act of 1957 in US history
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The Act of 1957, a major
event in US history
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Dwight Eisenhower from January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961
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Fast, fun facts about the Act of 1957 for kids
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Dwight Eisenhower
●
Dwight Eisenhower Presidency and
the 1957 Act for schools,
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