Listen Live
WOLB Featured Video
CLOSE

The 1960 Civil Rights Act was born towards the end of 1958.

~Eisenhower introduced another civil rights bill in late 1958, which was his reaction to a violent outbreak of bombings against churches and schools in the South.

~The bill became an act in 1960 as both parties were fighting for the ‘Black Vote’.

~The 1960 Civil Rights Act introduced penalties to be levied against anybody who obstructed someone’s attempt to register to vote or someone’s attempt to actually vote. A Civil Rights Commission was created.

~The act barely touched on anything new and Eisenhower, at the end of his term of presidency, was accused of passing the thorny problem of voters’ constitutional rights over to his successor.

~The act did little to impress civil rights leaders, they were ready to acknowledge that it was again federal government recognition that a problem existed.

~The two Eisenhower civil rights acts only added an extra 3% Black voters to the electoral roll for the 1960 election.

 

~The two Eisenhower civil rights acts only added an extra 3% Black voters to the electoral roll for the 1960 election. Some would argue that this reflected Eisenhower’s failure to really put his weight behind civil rights legislation. Others could argue that after 80 years of federal apathy, something was finally being done and the only way the federal government could go from 1960 was further down the road of advancing the cause of civil rights. This was to lead to two landmark pieces of legislation : the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.