This Week in History- Civil Rights Act is Signed into Law

On July 2nd, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the historic Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination in employment and education and outlawed segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools. Johnson relied heavily on the Party of Lincoln, the Republican Party, to get this important legislation passed. The fact that most of the support for this bill came from the Republicans has somehow been forgotten in the recent narrative. Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen and future President, Richard Nixon, both Republicans, were two of the bill's most ardent supporters. The chief opponents were Democrat Senators Sam Ervin, Al Gore Sr. and Robert Byrd. Byrd, a former Klansman, who was often called the "conscience of the Senate," filibustered against the legislation for 14 straight hours before the final vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 289 to 126, a vote in which 79% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats voted yes. The Senate vote was 73 to 27, with 21 Democrats and only 6 Republicans voting no.