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Civil Rights Law Research

A guide to researching civil rights law and history.

Major civil rights legislation

This page contains info to help you find and learn more about major federal civil rights legislation. It is not comprehensive, but more material will be added over time.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Summary: to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Summary: to provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1960

Summary: to enforce constitutional rights, and for other purposes.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Summary: to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes.

Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act)

Summary: to prescribe penalties for certain acts of violence or intimidation, and for other purposes.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Summary: to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the General Education Provisions Act (creating a National Foundation for Postsecondary Education and a National Institute of Education), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 874, Eighty-first Congress, and related Acts, and for other purposes.

More Civil Rights Laws