On May 3, 1960, the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960, aiming to address racial discrimination in voting. Building on the earlier 1957 Act, this legislation introduced federal inspection of local voter registration polls and penalties for obstructing Black Americans from voting. While limited in scope, it signaled growing federal willingness to intervene in Southern states that systematically disenfranchised African Americans. The 1960 Act laid groundwork for the more powerful Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, pivotal in dismantling Jim Crow laws. It demonstrated that legal pressure and organized activism were beginning to crack the foundations of segregation.
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