Signing of the Civil Rights Act

Date: September 9, 1957 • Location: Washington, United States

U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights bill since Reconstruction.

Dwight David Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. A member of the Republican Party, he was renowned as a World War II general who commanded Allied forces in Operation Torch and Operation Overlord. He attained the five-star rank of General of the Army in 1944.