An Act to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States

E77447

The Civil Rights Act of 1960 is a U.S. federal law that strengthened enforcement of voting rights and introduced federal oversight to help prevent racial discrimination in elections.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
civil rights legislation
affectedGroup African American voters in the Southern United States
racial minorities facing voting discrimination
amends Civil Rights Act of 1957
appliesTo persons within the jurisdiction of the United States
branchOfGovernment legislative branch of the United States
citationStyle Public Law 86-449
country United States
enactedBy 86th United States Congress
enforcementBy United States Attorney General
expandedPowersOf United States Department of Justice
federal courts in civil rights enforcement
followedBy Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
hasOfficialLongTitle An Act to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States
historicalContext post–Brown v. Board of Education civil rights era
jurisdiction federal government of the United States
languageOfDocument English
legalMechanism criminal penalties for obstructing court-ordered school desegregation or voting rights
legalStatus in force
legislativeChamberInvolved United States House of Representatives NERFINISHED
United States Senate
partOf United States civil rights legislation
precededBy Civil Rights Act of 1957
presidentAtEnactment Dwight D. Eisenhower
primaryPurpose to help prevent racial discrimination in voting
to provide federal oversight of voter registration and elections
to strengthen enforcement of federal voting rights laws
prohibits interference with court orders regarding school desegregation
providesFor federal court authority to appoint referees to help African Americans register and vote
federal inspection of local voter registration polls
preservation of voting records for federal inspection
requires retention of voting and registration records for a specified period
shortDescription U.S. federal civil rights law strengthening voting rights enforcement and federal oversight of elections
signedBy Dwight D. Eisenhower
signingDate 1960-05-06
subjectMatter civil rights
racial discrimination
voting rights
targetsProblem discriminatory voter registration practices
racial disenfranchisement of African American voters
title Civil Rights Act of 1960
tookEffectOn 1960-05-06
typeOfRemedy criminal sanctions
injunctive relief
yearOfEnactment 1960

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Civil Rights Act of 1960
hasOfficialLongTitle
Civil Rights Act of 1960
longTitle
Public Law 86-449 ("United States civil rights legislative framework")
partOf
Public Law 86-449
title

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