Pres. Eisenhower Signs Voting Rights Act of 1957

Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island on September 9, 1957. The act contained language aimed at strengthening voting rights for African Americans, but white politicians and civic leaders in the South quickly responded with renewed voter suppression efforts. These actions set in motion new waves of activism that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration