Which U.S. president signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law?

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law on September 9, 1957.

The act was the first major U.S. civil rights law enacted since Reconstruction. It created the United States Commission on Civil Rights and established a Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice.

The law also addressed interference with voting rights, although its enforcement provisions were weakened during the legislative process. The act’s passage reflected growing national attention to racial discrimination and the federal government’s role in protecting voting access.

The 1957 law is distinct from the stronger Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Eisenhower signed the earlier measure during the Little Rock school desegregation crisis, when federal troops protected Black students entering Central High School.