Civil Rights Act of 1960

The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration rolls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or to vote. It was designed to deal with discriminatory laws and practices in the segregated South, by which blacks had been effectively disfranchised since the late nineteenth and turn of the twentieth century. It extended the life of the Civil Rights Commission, previously limited to two years, to oversee registration and voting practices.

The Senate's debate over the passage of this bill started on February 29, 1960. A group of 18 Southern Democrats divided into three teams of six in order to be able to create a continuous filibuster, wherein each member would only have to speak for four hours every three days. The Southern Democrats had long acted as a voting block to resist or reject legislation to enforce constitutional rights in the South. This system resulted in the longest filibuster in history, lasting over 43 hours from February 29 to March 2. On the morning of March 2, only a fifteen-minute break was allowed before the Senate sat for another 82 hours. By the time the 24-hour sessions were called off by the majority leader Lyndon Johnson, the Senate had sat for 125 hours and 31 minutes, with one 15-minute break.

The act was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 6, 1960.

Sources

• Finley, Keith M. Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938-1965 (Baton Rouge, LSU Press, 2008).