Civil Rights
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Photograph by Cecil Stoughton, courtesy of the LBJ Library
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
Images & Artifacts
Civil Rights Act of 1964
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President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act into law at the White House on July 2, 1964, the same day as the final passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Standing, from left to right: House Minority Leader Charles Halleck of Indiana, House Judiciary Ranking Member William McCulloch of Ohio, SNCC Chairman (and future Representative from Georgia) John Lewis, Rep. Peter Rodino of New Jersey, AFL-CIO President George Meany, SCLC President Martin Luther King, Jr., Urban League President Whitney Young, Rep. Richard Bolling of Missouri, House Judiciary Chairman Emanuel Celler of New York, Rep. John Lindsay of New York, Rep. John Dingell, Jr., of Michigan, House Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts, Rep. James D. Roosevelt of California, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington, and Rep. Charles M. Mathias of Maryland.
Photograph by Cecil Stoughton, courtesy of the LBJ Library
Discharge Petition for H.R. 7152 – Page 1
After passage in the House Judiciary Committee, the Civil Rights Act languished in the House Rules Committee under Chairman Howard W. Smith of Virginia. Judiciary Chairman Emanuel Celler of New York attempted to use a discharge petition to bypass the Rules Committee and bring the measure directly to the House Floor. Unable to collect the required 218 signatures (a majority of House Members), Celler’s discharge petition failed, but it pressured Smith to hold hearings on H.R. 7152 in the Rules Committee.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
Engrossed Copy of H.R. 7152
Legislating can be messy. The engrossed, or official, copy of the Civil Rights Act shows H.R. 7152 after initial passage in the House of Representatives on February 10, 1964. Here, amendments to the bill are taped to the original text as legislation is “stitched” together during debate.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
Roll Call Vote on Final Passage of H.R. 7152
On February 10, 1964, the House passed the Civil Rights Act, 290 to 130. This roll call sheet, used by the Clerk of the House, shows how Members at the beginning of the alphabet voted on the measure.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celler of New York
Emanuel Celler of New York served as the House Judiciary Committee Chairman for more than two decades (1949–1953; 1955–1973). Celler, a liberal Democrat from Brooklyn, strongly favored federal legislation protecting civil rights in America. As sponsor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Celler guided the legislation through the Judiciary Committee and then again on the House Floor. Celler worked closely with the Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, William McCulloch of Ohio, to secure passage of the bill.
Image courtesy of the House Photography Office
Judiciary Committee Ranking Member William McCulloch of Ohio
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Bill McCulloch of Ohio played a critical role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. McCulloch struck a deal with the Justice Department guaranteeing that Republicans would receive credit for their work and that the House bill would not be weakened in the Senate. Deal in hand, McCulloch used his position as Ranking Member to shore up Republican support for the bill and served as floor manager for the Republicans during House debate.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Marching on Constitution Avenue
Demonstrators move along Constitution Avenue toward the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. The march drew an integrated crowd estimated at 250,000 to the capital city.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
Crowds Gathering
Demonstrators along Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., sing during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. To the right, D.C. National Guard trucks transport some of the 2,000 Guardsmen mobilized to help police during the march.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
Civil Rights Cartoon
This cartoon by Bill Maudlin ran in the Chicago Sun-Times on February 12, 1964, two days after the House of Representatives passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After 75 days of Southern filibuster and hundreds of proposed amendments, the Senate approved the bill on June 19, 1964. In the cartoon, the civil rights bowling ball has knocked down the House pin, but cannot budge the Senate pin, which is nailed to the floor.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Page 1
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforced the constitutional right of all citizens to vote, as conferred by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. This first page of the public law amends the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, restricting the use of literacy tests and other unfair voter qualifications.
House Judiciary Committee Record, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
Voting Rights Act of 1965
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On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. The legislation suspended the use of literacy tests and voter disqualification devices for five years, authorized the use of federal examiners to supervise voter registration in states that used tests or in which less than half the voting-eligible residents registered or voted, directed the U.S. Attorney General to institute proceedings against use of poll taxes, and provided criminal penalties for violations of the act.
Photograph by Frank Wolfe, courtesy of the LBJ Library
Congressional Delegation to Visit Alabama
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In February of 1965, following the arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr., a multiracial, bipartisan congressional delegation traveled to Selma, Alabama. Shown from left to right, Representatives Adam Clayton Powell of New York, Gus Hawkins of California, William Ryan of New York, Charles Diggs of Michigan, John Conyers of Michigan, and Joseph Resnick of New York.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
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Alabama Members Visit Selma
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In February 1965, two separate congressional delegations—one composed of four Alabama Members, and another bipartisan group composed of 15 Members from northern and western states—traveled around Selma. The Alabama delegation sought to bring attention to what they saw as an unwarranted intrusion of outside pressure on their constituents' local affairs. The Alabama group (left to right): Representatives James Martin, William Dickinson, John Buchanan, and Glenn Andrews.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
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Civil Rights Act of 1968
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 on April 11, 1968. The act prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of approximately 80 percent of the housing in the U.S. Newly elected Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts (fourth from left) attended the signing.
Photograph by Yoichi R. Okamoto, courtesy of the LBJ Library
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