The Civil Rights Act of 1957: Laying the Groundwork for Racial Equality

Civil Rights Act of 1957 [Name] HIST4397 [Name] November 30, 2022 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first Civil Rights legislation since the reconstruction era. It dawned in America when the federal government took its first initiative to protect civil rights in the twentieth century. It was legislation to end segregation deeply rooted in White America. The White Supremacists denied African Americans equality and they lived in poverty, hopelessness, and segregation for a very long time. The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower in his second term of the presidency on 9 September 1957, protecting the civil rights of United States citizens. The Act was significant in protecting the rights of minority groups and black Americans. Despite challenges in the execution of the Act until the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 laid a steadfast foundation in the enforcement of Civil Rights that for a long time had been trampled by white supremacists. It did not create new rights but increased the protection of voting rights for blacks and minorities. Only 20 % of African Americans were registered as voters in the South. Discrimination and segregation hindered African Americans' healthy living in schools, businesses, and public institutions. The law's primary purpose was to increase the number of registered voters in the South. This research paper will discuss the historical propositions of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 on a broad spectrum and its tremendous influences on Civil Rights legislation in American society. The abolition of slavery was a new dawn for African Americans after three amendments were passed to protect their freedom. The thirteenth amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery; the fourteenth amendment, ratified in 1868, granted them citizenship; and the fifteenth amendment, ratified in 1870, guaranteed them the right to vote. However, the enforcement of these rights failed terribly after the supreme court between 1873-1883 dismantled the work of Congress during the reconstruction era, leaving a chasm in the enforcement of civil rights. The black codes then limited African American progress. The leaders were also racists and did not want progressive legislation to counter discrimination. The passing of the Civil Rights Bill in the senate became very difficult due to the leader's provocations to hinder civil rights legislation. The Senator of South Carolina used a filibuster to create a magical twist for the people to change their minds against passing the Civil Rights Act bill 1957. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was a call to ban racial discrimination in public institutions, but it only lasted until 1883, when it was nullified. The Jim crow laws became a custom and racial segregation became a norm. The 1890s saw African Americans lose their voting rights through white primary, poll taxes, and literacy tests. The Civil Rights Act led to the formation of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice, a Civil Rights Commission in the Executive Branch, and the broadening of federal authority in determining lawsuits. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was influenced by segregation in the United States. Segregation was a law the emerged in the United States in nineteenth century. African Americans were treated as second-class citizens and deprived of their human rights of freedom and equality. In the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), the United States Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not United States citizens. Racial segregation was common in schools, housing, medical care, transportation, employment, prisons, and recreational facilities. The white supremacists operated under the doctrine passed in 1896 that upheld the legal separation of races following the ruling on H.A. Plessy v. J.H. Ferguson. This doctrine was regarded as "separate but equal"; hence segregation laws did not violate the constitution. The famous belief that blacks and whites cannot coexist was a norm in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Jim Crow laws established a chasm between blacks and whites in all sectors of society. The anti-mix marriage laws were upheld since they did not violate the constitution. The Great Migration in the nineteenth century showed the incredible hatred of racism. Most African Americans migrated from the South towards the North, but the whites were not receptive to it. The racial segregation they experienced in the South was also prevalent in the North. Even after fifty years of the passage of the 15th Amendment, blacks still found it difficult to exercise their voting right in their government. The fight for suffrage rights was a long struggle due to the continuous intimidation and poll taxes. Black women tried to form political societies and attended conventions to discuss the right to vote but were met with reappraisal for the National Women Suffrage Rights Convention. Their voting was a struggle; in 1920, some black women selectively voted and held political offices despite discrimination and limited freedoms from various states. The Great Depression was a crisis that affected the U.S., and African Americans continued to languish in poverty. The government focused on building houses in the white communities, and few blacks enjoyed the privilege. The 1930s saw the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board conspired to the red lining of black communities, and they could not access loans and replenish themselves from poverty. Racial segregation was adverse and black activists led protests around the country to express their dismay. The segregation did not affect only politics but extended to public policy. The Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist movement, targeted black voters who wanted to be registered as voters and killed the people of color who attempted to desegregate the country. The Civil rights movement became a cornerstone in fighting against segregation in the United States. Nobody was more interested in freedom than African Americans. The racial tribulations and narratives documented in history are painful. They seemingly strike the people of color today due to the legacy of slavery and segregation they succumbed to, passed from generation to generation. The African Americans suffered racial turmoil in a fascist setting that led to heroic mobilizations across the country demanding equality and justice that would ultimately shape American politics for a long time. The first initiative the blacks used since the civil war was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Civil rights in America are a long struggle, a journey of discrimination, assassination, and turmoil. Yet today Americans can enjoy the freedom of modern society that was created by those who fought for a peaceful America. The demand for civil