Eisenhower Administration Fact Paper Outlining Proposed Civil Rights Legislation and Voting Rights Protections (1957)

Date: March 27,1957

Created By: No Author

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, Civil Rights

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: E. Frederic Morrow Records, Box 9, Civil Rights Bill; NAID #12167051

This March 27, 1957 White House fact paper explains the Eisenhower administration’s proposed civil rights legislation and its efforts to strengthen federal protection of constitutional rights. Referencing Eisenhower’s 1957 State of the Union address, the document acknowledges progress in race relations while emphasizing that further federal action was necessary to achieve fair and equal treatment. The administration proposed four major measures: creating a bipartisan Civil Rights Commission, establishing a Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice, strengthening federal protection of voting rights, and expanding the government’s ability to seek civil remedies in civil rights cases.

The document places particular emphasis on voting rights, arguing that criminal prosecution often occurred only after citizens had already been denied the vote. The proposed legislation would authorize the Attorney General to pursue civil actions to prevent intimidation, coercion, or other interference with voting before elections occurred. It would also expand federal authority to seek preventive relief when other civil rights were threatened. The fact paper presents the administration’s case for stronger federal enforcement and outlines several proposals that contributed to the debate surrounding the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federal civil rights legislation enacted since Reconstruction.