An Esterbrook pen, used by President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James F.

Over a five-year span between 1865 and 1870, following the end of the Civil War, three constitutional amendments were ratified to end slavery (the 13 th), make formerly enslaved people U.S. citizens ...

Conservative critics argue that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is responsible for the many cultural, political, and legal ills that plague America today and that the act is either the cause or at least ...