The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
En Español
In the 1960s, Americans who knew only the potential of "equal protection of the laws" expected the President, the Congress, and the courts to fulfill the promise of the 14th Amendment. In response, all three branches of the federal government – as well as the public at large – debated a fundamental constitutional question: Does the Constitution's prohibition of denying equal protection always ban the use of racial, ethnic, or gender criteria in an attempt to bring social justice and social benefits?
Related Primary Sources
Links go to DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.
Teaching Activities
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on DocsTeach asks students to read, analyze, and summarize Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The "Rights in America" page on DocsTeach includes other primary sources and document-based teaching activities related to how individuals and groups have asserted their rights as Americans. It includes topics such as slavery, racism, citizenship, women's independence, immigration, and more.
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain.