An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Nixon, Richard
on black vote
on Civil Rights Act of 1957
in presidential election of 1960
in presidential election of 1968
resignation of
vice presidential office of
No Strings
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Nugent, Patrick
Obama, Barack
O’Boyle, Patrick
O’Brien, Lawrence
civil rights bill and
on Halleck
LBJ and
O’Dell, Jack
O’Donnell, Kenneth
O’Grady, Jane
Orrick, William
Paar, Jack
Parks, Rosa
Patterson, Floyd.
Patterson, John
Paul, Rand
Peabody, Mrs. Malcolm
Pearson, James
Pemberton, H. L.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Poff, Dick
Powell, Adam Clayton
Powell, Colin
“Present Crisis, The” (Lowell)
Prince Edward County
Profiles in Courage (Kennedy)
Proxmire, William
public accommodations, desegregation of
public schools, desegregation of
civil rights bill and
Eisenhower and
in Little Rock
in New Orleans
in Prince Edward County
Supreme Court on
University of Alabama
University of Mississippi
Quie, Albert
Quorum Club
Randall, Tony
Randolph, A. Philip
Rauh, Joseph
background of
Byrd and
civil rights bill and
LBJ and
on Mitchell
Rauschenbusch, Walter
Rayburn, Sam
Reagan, Ronald
Reconstruction
Reedy, George
on Dirksen
LBJ and
Reilly, John
Reporter, The
Reston, James
Reuther, Roy
Reuther, Victor
Reuther, Walter
Reynolds, Don B.
Reynolds, John W.
Ribicoff, Abraham
Riedel, Richard
Roach, Peggy
Robb, Lynda
Roberts, Juanita
Robertson, Willis
Robeson, Paul
Robinson, Jackie
Rockefeller, Nelson
Rockwell, George Lincoln
Rodino, Peter
Rogers, Byron
Rometsch, Ellen
Rooney, John
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, James
Rosenbaum, Irving
Rosenthal, Jack
Rostow, Eugene
Roth, Lillian
Royall, Kenneth
Rusk, Dean
Russell, Bill
Russell, Richard Brevard, Jr.
background of
civil rights bill and
on the Fifteenth Amendment
on Humphrey
on JFK
LBJ and
reaction to JFK’s assassination
Rustin, Bayard
Safire, William
Saigon
St. Augustine
St. George, Katherine
St. Onge, William
Salinger, Pierre
Sattefield, John C.
Saturday Evening Post
Schlei, Norbert
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr.
on Big Six meeting
on integration
on LBJ
Schoumacher, David
Schwerner, Michael
SCLC. See Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Scott, Tim
Scottsboro Boys
segregation
of buses as illegal
Plessy v. Ferguson and
in public schools
from Reconstruction era to the 1960s
in restaurants
statistics on
See also desegregation
Seigenthaler, John
Selma
Senate Commerce Committee
Senate Rule XXII
Senner, George
Senz, Eddie
sex discrimination
Shepard, Taz
Sherman, Norman
Shriver, Sargent
Sidey, Hugh
Simpson, Milward
Sinatra, Frank
Sitrin, Gloria
Small, Bill
Smathers, George
Smith, B. Julian
Smith, “Cotton Ed”
Smith, Howard W.
amendments proposed by
call for vote on civil rights bill
at debate on civil rights bill
fifth House Rules Committee hearing and
scheduling of hearings
Smith, Jerome
Smith, Margaret Chase
Smith, Peter
SNCC. See Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Somerset Club
Sorensen, Ted
civil rights bill and
JFK and
LBJ and
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Southern Manifesto
Soviet Union
Starr, Ringo
Stennis, John
Stevens, George, Jr.
Stevenson, Adlai
Stewart, John
civil rights bill and
on Dirksen
on LBJ
on Mansfield
March on Washington and
on Mitchell
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Sullivan, William
Sumner, Charles
Supreme Court
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
on discrimination in facilities used in interstate transportation
on segregation in public schools
on segregation of buses
Voting Rights Act and
Taft, Robert A.
Taft, William Howard
Taft-Hartley labor law
Talmadge, Herman
Taylor, George
Taylor, Silas
Tea Party
Teasdale, Kenneth
Thirteenth Amendment
Thomas, George
Thomas, Norman
Thompson, Frank
Thurmond, Strom
Time
on civil rights bill
Humphrey on cover of
Kennedy brothers on cover of
on LBJ
MLK on cover of
on Russell
Torn, Rip
Tower, John
Truman, Harry
civil rights initiatives of
JFK on
LBJ and
MacArthur and
Tuscaloosa
UAW
Udall, Stewart
unemployment rates
United Press International
University of Alabama
University of Mississippi
USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
USS Maddox
USS Philadelphia
Valenti, Jack
Valeo, Frank
Vance, Cyrus
Vandiver, Ernest
Vanocur, Sander
Vidal, Gore
Vietnam
Virginia
voting
in Alabama
civil rights bills and
Eisenhower and
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Wallace, George C.
on civil rights bill
in presidential primaries
resistance to integration of schools
riots in Birmingham and
Walton, William
&nbs
p; Ware, Charlie
Warren, Earl
Washington, Kenneth
Washington Post
Waters, Bernard
Wayne, John
Webb, James
Welk, Lawrence
Weltner, Charles
Whalen, Charles
White, Byron
White, Lee
White, William S.
Whitener, Basil Lee
Whittington, Geraldine
Wicker, Tom
Wilkins, Roy
on civil rights bill
Dirksen and
JFK and
LBJ and
March on Washington and
MLK and
SCLC and
at signing of civil rights bill
Williams, A. D.
Williams, Camilla
Williams, Gene
Williams, Helen
Williams, John Bell
Willis, Ed
Willkie, Wendell
Wilson, Woodrow
Wofford, Harris
Woodward, Joanne
Workers’ Education Program
Wright, Zephyr
Young, Andrew
Young, Milton
Young, Whitney
civil rights bill and
JFK and
LBJ and
Lewis and
On February 12, 1963, President John F. Kennedy held a reception at the White House to mark Lincoln’s Birthday and the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Seated left to right are Ethel Kennedy, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, and John and Jacqueline Kennedy. Behind them are some of the eight hundred black guests, who included many civil rights leaders and entertainment figures.
Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph D. Abernathy, and Martin Luther King Jr. march in work clothes on Good Friday, April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, eschewing Easter finery to protest the segregation of downtown department stores. King would be arrested and placed in solitary confinement, where he would write “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
In Birmingham in May 1963, public safety commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor’s police dogs lunge at seventeen-year-old Walter Gadsden, an image that outraged President Kennedy—and the world.
Deputy Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach wipes his face as he confronts Governor George C. Wallace at the “schoolhouse door” on June 11, 1963, over the integration of the University of Alabama.
That same evening, President Kennedy delivers a nationally televised speech proposing comprehensive civil rights legislation.
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy makes impromptu remarks to civil rights protestors gathered outside the Justice Department on June 14, 1963.
The civil rights advocate Joseph L. Rauh (left) confers with Clarence Mitchell and Roy Wilkins of the NAACP about lobbying strategy in August 1963.
Part of the interdenominational throng of demonstrators who descended on the National Mall on August 28, 1963, for the March on Washington.
Unlikely allies: Representatives William McCulloch of Ohio (left), the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and Emanuel Celler of New York, the committee’s chairman, were crucial backers of the civil rights bill, designated as H.R. 7152.
“The Ev and Charlie Show”: Senate Minority Leader Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois (seated) and House Minority Leader Charles A. Halleck of Indiana, Republicans whose support for H.R. 7152 was indispensable, conferring on the set of NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Representative Howard Smith of Virginia, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, was one of the most powerful Southern Democrats in the House and an implacable foe of the bill.
“Let Us Continue”: President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses a joint session of Congress on November 27, 1963, vowing to pass the late President Kennedy’s stalled agenda, including the civil rights bill.
Geraldine Whittington, President Johnson’s newly hired secretary, with civil rights leaders in the Cabinet Room. Left to right: James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, Whitney Young Jr. of the National Urban League, and Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
A copy of H.R. 7152, annotated by the House of Representatives’ parliamentarian upon the House’s passage of the bill on February 10, 1964.
Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, the Democratic majority whip and floor leader for the civil rights bill.
The Johnson Treatment: Lyndon Johnson lobbies Everett Dirksen.
Senator Richard B. Russell Jr. of Georgia, the indefatigable leader of the Senate’s Southern bloc through a record-setting filibuster, and segregation’s staunchest defender.
President Johnson throws out the first pitch on opening day at D.C. Stadium, April 13, 1964. During the game, a sudden quorum call would compel pro-civil rights senators to return to the Senate floor. Left to right: Everett Dirksen, Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts, Johnson, presidential aide Dave Powers, Hubert Humphrey, Los Angeles Angels manager Bill Rigney, Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana, in his office.
The bipartisan Senate coalition stands behind Dirksen and Humphrey as they celebrate the cloture vote on the civil rights bill, June 10, 1964. Among the senators pictured are Thomas Kuchel (R-California) and Paul Douglas (D-Illinois), second and third from left; Jacob Javits (R-New York) and Leverett Saltonstall (R-Massachusetts), behind Dirksen; and Joseph Pastore (D-Rhode Island) and Hugh Scott (R-Pennsylvania), flanking Humphrey.
Lyndon Johnson signs the civil rights bill into law on July 2, 1964, surrounded by (left to right): Charles Halleck, William McCulloch, Representative Peter Rodino of New Jersey, Martin Luther King, Emanuel Celler, Representative John Lindsay of New York, and others.
Acknowledgments
I owe this book to Cullen Murphy, editor nonpareil. For a long time, he urged me to find such a project, and in 2011, anticipating the anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, he came up with this one. I thank him for his wise counsel at Vanity Fair, and not least for the invaluable suggestions he offered after a careful reading of a near-final draft of this manuscript. He is a valiant prince, a true friend, and a good writer.
Paul Golob at Henry Holt and Company (backed by the generous support of Holt’s publisher, Steve Rubin) bought the proposal and then made the book a reality, with keen intelligence and critical support at every step. Having worked with Paul on another book a decade ago, I understood his amazing skills—his seemingly bottomless font of general knowledge, and his swift and sure way with a pencil. It was, nevertheless, a pleasure to be reminded what a haimish guy he is, the Steve Allen of editors. He makes hard work feel fun, and he has my enduring gratitude. My lawyer, Bob Barnett, made the project feasible in a way that would have done his fellow Waukeganite Jack Benny proud. He knows how much I owe him, and tells me, with good humor, by the billable hour. Graydon Carter and Chris Garrett have given me unstinting support at Vanity Fair, and indulged me for what amounted to a six-month hiatus. John Harris and Jim VandeHei at Politico took a chance on an aging player, and offered me a new foothold in the daily news game.
Emma Hurt, a Washington neighbor and undergraduate at Rice University, spent weeks reviewing the Congressional Record’s account of the Senate debate on the bill, producing elegant, accurate, accessible summaries of high-blown oratory and low-down dealings. I simply could not have written this book without her help.
My old friend and New York Times colleague Adam Clymer bequeathed me a singular gift early on: reams of his own research from an abandoned book project on the bill, including priceless interviews with colleagues and family members of Congressman William McCulloch, the unsung hero of the tale. Adam’s generosity was not surprising, but it was stunning all the same, and he went on to scrub the manuscript with the eye of the veteran congressional correspondent he is, catching errors and infelicities too numerous and embarrassing to mention. David Shribman kindly shared other M
cCulloch materials. Gwen Ifill, another fond friend from Times days, did me the great honor of reviewing the manuscript, and with her shrewd and discerning eye brought essential perspective. Karen Avrich, author and researcher extraordinaire, checked the facts—and so much more. To say that Karen is the class of her field is to say that Everest is a hill. I labor in her shadow, and all the mistakes are mine. Barclay Walsh gave key early research aid.
Melissa Goldstein, one of the nation’s premier photo researchers, found indelible images that brought the book’s characters to life. The design team at Holt—Rick Pracher, who conceived the striking cover, and Meryl Levavi, who designed the elegant, readable text—made the book look great. Emi Ikkanda crossed all the t’s with grace and good cheer, and Maggie Richards in marketing and Pat Eisemann in publicity always knew what to do, and when to urge an armchair flack to step back. The production editor, Rita Quintas, and copy editor, Emily DeHuff, eased the process of putting the pages between covers.
Anyone who would presume to write about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stands in incalculable debt to the late Representative Charles Whalen of Ohio, and his wife, Barbara, who wrote the pioneering one-volume account of H.R. 7152’s passage. Congressman Whalen not only knew Bill McCulloch, but interviewed many of the participants in the fight for the bill who have long since died, preserving their priceless firsthand recollections. The scholarship of Robert D. Loevy, Robert Mann, and Nick Kotz—each of whom has written or edited important works dealing with the bill—blazed the trail I followed. Mick Caouette, whose documentary on Hubert Humphrey recorded precious voices, generously shared interview transcripts. The journalist Nick Bryant uncovered riveting, little-known details about John Kennedy’s early record on civil rights in his book, The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality.
Two indefatigable diarists, one from each party, kept the most important contemporary accounts of Senate action on the bill: the late Stephen Horn, legislative assistant to Senator Thomas Kuchel of California, and John Stewart, who played the same role for Hubert Humphrey. Horn’s meticulous daily log and Stewart’s episodic but equally insightful diary entries were my constant companions in re-creating the long days of the filibuster. Horn, who went on from the Senate to become a university administrator and congressman from California, died in 2011. But John Stewart and his accomplished wife, Nancy, are very much alive. They not only answered endless questions and read the manuscript in draft, but also welcomed me as an overnight guest at their home and offered the gift of unexpected friendship.