Civil Rights Act | Summary, Facts, President, & History (2024)

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Civil Rights Act | Summary, Facts, President, & History? ›

This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

The Act prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs. It also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the nation's benchmark civil rights legislation, and it continues to resonate in America.

President John F. Kennedy first proposed the bill on June 11, 1963, in a televised address to the American people announcing that he would send a civil rights bill to Congress. His bill would become the basis for the most-far reaching act of legislation supporting racial equality since Reconstruction.

In 1957, President Eisenhower sent Congress a proposal for civil rights legislation. The result was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

Our country's Constitution and federal laws contain critical protections that form the foundation of our inclusive society – the right to be free from discrimination, the freedom to worship as we choose, the right to vote for our elected representatives, the protections of due process, the right to privacy.

In this capacity, Celler strengthened and broadened President Kennedy's civil rights bill and worked with Representative William McCulloch (R-OH) to successfully shepherd the bill through the House. Celler was the author of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.

Examples of civil rights include the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, the right to gainful employment, the right to housing, the right to use public facilities, freedom of religion.

It was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, a Black woman who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. “To work, it required everyone's participation in the Black community.

Who fought for Civil Rights Act? ›

Johnson pressed hard in the U.S. Congress, with support of the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the U.S. Justice Department, and key members of Congress such as Hubert Humphrey (D-MN), Everett Dirksen (R-IL), Emanuel Celler (D-NY), and William McCulloch (R-OH), to secure the bill's passage.

This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal.

With six wavering senators providing a four-vote margin of victory, the final tally stood at 71 to 29—27 Republicans and 44 Democrats joined forces to support cloture. They were opposed by nay votes from six Republicans and 21 Democrats. The Senate's civil rights proponents had achieved a remarkable victory.

Interesting Facts about the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Southern democrats were staunchly against the bill and filibustered for 83 days. Most voting requirements beyond age and citizenship were eliminated by the Voting Rights Act. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended the official signing-in of the law by President Johnson.

Democrats and Republicans from the Southern states opposed the bill and led an unsuccessful 60 working day filibuster, including Senators Albert Gore, Sr. (D-TN) and J. William Fulbright (D-AR), as well as Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), who personally filibustered for 14 hours straight.

First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In subsequent years, Congress expanded the act and passed additional civil rights legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The movement helped spawn a national crisis that forced intervention by the federal government to overturn segregation laws in southern states, restore voting rights for African-Americans, and end legal discrimination in housing, education and employment.

There were many major achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. These included desegregation of interstate travel, the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There were many specific legal reforms that were consequences of the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States.