The federal government did not pass civil rights laws until the late 1950s because from the 1870s until the 1950s .?

The federal government did not pass civil rights laws until the late 1950s because of a long-standing commitment to states' rights and a prevailing culture of racial segregation, particularly in the South. After the Reconstruction era, discriminatory laws and practices, such as Jim Crow laws, were enacted and upheld by both state and federal courts. Additionally, political compromise and the interests of Southern lawmakers often stymied attempts at federal civil rights legislation. It wasn't until the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum in the 1950s that the federal government began to take more decisive action to protect civil rights.