The Republican Party and Civil Rights

Not only did Republicans more vigorously support the 1964 Civil Rights Act than Democrats, they also supported the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in higher percentages than Democrats. This Voting Rights Act's primary purpose was to prevent southern states from devising their own strategies to prevent African Americans from voting. It gave the Attorney General the power to appoint federal examiners to supervise voter registration in states or voting districts where a literacy test was used and where fewer than 50 percent of voting age residents were registered. Eight southern states were significantly affected by the act.

The Voting Rights Act received 82 percent of the Republican votes in the House and 94 percent Republican support in the House. All 17 southern Democrats senators voted against it (including Bill Clinton's political mentor J. William Fulbright of Arkansas), and 93 of 102 southern Democrats voted against it in the House. The successful Voting Rights Act was written by Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-Ill) and his staff. The Biography.com website says of Dirksen: "The high point of his career came during the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies when he delivered key Republican support for the Test Ban Treaty of 1963 and the Civil Rights acts of 1964, 1965, and 1968."

David E. Sumner, Ph.D.

Professor of Journalism

Ball State University

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