Civil Rights Act of 1964

51094_10Civil_Rights_Act_1964.pdf

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

By Jane Runyon

When John F. Kennedy ran for President of the United States in 1960, he told the people of the country that it was time to make a change. He said he wanted to make sure that the needs of all of the people were being met. He wanted to help those in poverty. He especially wanted to help black Americans. He pointed out the fact that black Americans had been promised equality after the Civil War. They had been promised equality up until the term of Harry S. Truman. Black Americans were still waiting for that equality to come about throughout the country. There were places in the South that still kept them from voting. There were places they were still not allowed to eat or stay overnight. There were colleges they were not allowed to attend. Due mostly to Kennedy's promise to

remedy these wrongs, seventy per cent of the blacks who voted, voted for JohnKennedy in the 1960 election.

For the first two years following the election, Kennedy did little to keep his promise to black America. It wasn't

until the summer of 1963 that President Kennedy starting pushing harder for better civil rights legislation. He tried

to educate the citizens of America on the hardships that Negro citizens had to endure. A black child had only about

half the chance of graduating from high school that a white child had. There were two black adults without jobs for

every unemployed white adult. Statistics declared that a black person would probably live seven fewer years than a

white on average. Kennedy declared that something needed to be done.

Kennedy's plans were put on hold when he was assassinated in November of 1963. Civil Rights leaders weren't

sure what would happen. The new president, Lyndon Johnson, was an unknown leader to them. Would he follow

through with the plans of President Kennedy? Just days after the death of President Kennedy, the answer came.

President Johnson called for the passage of a civil rights bill to stand as a memorial to Kennedy.

Johnson knew that passing a comprehensive civil rights bill would not be easy. Southern members of the House

and Senate were vehemently against such an act. One senator went so far as to say that he and others from the

South would fight as long as it took to keep from having to mix the races in the South. In February of 1964, the

House of Representatives passed the Civil Rights Act by a vote of 290-130. The Senate was a harder sell. Southern

senators called for a filibuster. The filibuster is a technique that has long been used to try to keep a bill from being

passed. Basically, the group against the bill will start speaking and won't quit talking until the other side gives up.

President Johnson was able to reduce the effect of the filibuster and eventually cause it to be called off. He called

for every religious leader of every faith and every color to converge on the Senate and lobby the senators.

Lobbying consists of having conversations with the lawmakers trying to convince them that it is in the best interest

of themselves and their constituents to pass a bill. It worked. The Senate vote was 73-27. President Johnson signed

the bill into law on July 2, 1964.

This new law made racial discrimination in public places illegal. These public places included restaurants,

theaters, hotels, and stores. Employers had to offer jobs with equal pay to all races. Voting laws were changed in

the South. Their voting laws had to be the same as those found in the North. Anyone or any state government who

did not abide by this new law could have any funds that were paid by the federal government to the state stopped.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most complete and widespread set of laws to come from the federal

government since the founding fathers had penned the Constitution and adopted it in 1789. It had taken a long

time, but for many African Americans it was worth the fight.

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

Questions

1.John F. Kennedy wrote the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A.True

B.False

2.Why do you think African Americans were worried about a civil rights bill in 1961 and 1962?

3.What did Southern senators threaten to do if a civil rights bill was brought before the senate?

A.Veto it.

B.Filibuster against it.

C.Sign it.

D.Lobby it.

4.What were some of the rights the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guaranteed?

5.How did President Johnson break the filibuster?

A.He arrested the Senate.

B.He called in lobbyists.

C.He dissolved the Senate.

D.He passed the law without them.

6.What caused African Americans to fear that the Civil Rights Act would not be written?

A.The states changed the laws themselves.

B.The Senate refused to act on it.

C.President Johnson didn't like it.

D.President Kennedy was assassinated.

7.In 1963, how many years longer could a white man expect to live than a black man?

A.One year

B.Three years

C.Seven years

D.Five years

8.The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was first passed by the House of Representatives.

A.True

B.False

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What rights do you think all citizens should have?