Description
This legislation established a Commission on Civil Rights to investigate civil rights violations and also established a Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 authorized the prosecution for those who violated the right to vote for United States citizens. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 took the issue one step further and authorized federal law enforcement to make sure that citizens of all people groups, in all states, were allowed to vote.
Full Transcript of the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Transcribed Excerpts from the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Source-Dependent Questions
- Which groups of people did the Civil Rights Act of 1957 seek to help?
- What was the problem the Civil Rights Act of 1957 worked to solve?
- How will the United States government go about solving that problem?
Citation Information
"An Act to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States," 9 September 1957. Courtesy of University of Maryland Law Library