June 29, 1964: GOP passes Civil Rights Bill

Michael reminds us that Democrats Al Gore Sr. of Tennessee, and Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood against the Civil Rights Bill. However, Republicans pushed for its passage:

In the Senate, Minority Leader Everett Dirksen had little trouble rounding up the votes of most Republicans, and former presidential candidate Richard Nixon also lobbied hard for the bill. Senate Majority Leader Michael Mansfield and Senator Hubert Humphrey led the Democrat drive for passage, while the chief opponents were Democrat Senators Sam Ervin, of later Watergate fame, Albert Gore Sr., and Robert Byrd. Senator Byrd, a former Klansman whom Democrats still call “the conscience of the Senate”, filibustered against the civil rights bill for fourteen straight hours before the final vote.

Read more over at The Write Side of My Brain.