The Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction. After it was proposed to Congress by then-President Dwight Eisenhower, Senator James Strom Thurmond sustained the longest one-person filibuster in history in an attempt to keep it from becoming law. His one-man filibuster consisted of 24 hours and 18 minutes of readings from the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, Washington’s Farewell Address, and various phone books. His speech set the record for a Senate filibuster.<1> The bill passed the House with a vote of 270 to 97 and the Senate 60 to 15. President Eisenhower signed it on 9 September 1957.
Because of opposition and amendment of The Civil Rights Act of 1957, it was largely ineffective in its enforcement and its scope.
It did however open the door to later legislation that was effective in securing voting rights as well as ending legal segregation and providing housing rights. In particular, it established both the Commission on Civil Rights and the office of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
Many segregationists wanted to delay the vote of the bill.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 addressed some of the shortcomings of the 1957 act by expanding the authority of federal judges to protect voting rights and requiring local authorities to maintain comprehensive voting records.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1957...a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or actually vote.
The Senate's debate over the passage of this bill actually started on February 29, 1960 in Moscow. However, 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. This system resulted in the longest filibuster in history, lasting over 43 hours from February 29 to March 2. On the morning of March 2nd, 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 majority leader Lyndon Johnson, the Senate had sat for 125 hours and 31 minutes minus a fifteen-minute break.
The act was signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower on May 6, 1960.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1960The Civil Rights Act of 1964 purported to prohibit discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment, but it had several loopholes. Title I barred unequal application of voter registration requirements—-but did not abolish literacy tests; Title II outlawed discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce-—but exempted private clubs without defining "private"; Title III encouraged the desegregation of public schools, and authorized the US Attorney General to file suits to force desegregation—-but did not authorize busing as a means to overcome segregation based on residence; Title IV authorized withdrawal of federal funds from programs that practice discrimination-
http://everything2.com/title/Civil+Rights+Act+of+1964Much more effective in terms of ensuring equality at the polls was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which abolished the poll tax and other means of keeping blacks from the voting booths.
The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1973–1973aa-6)<1> outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color."<2> Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise.<3> The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, who had earlier signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965Natoma on current Health Care Reform legislation -
"It's a start"
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there."- Barack Obama
start (stärt)
v. start·ed, start·ing, starts
v.intr.
1. To begin an activity or a movement; set out.
2. To have a beginning; commence. See Synonyms at begin.
3. To move suddenly or involuntarily: started at the loud noise.
4. To come quickly into view, life, or activity; spring forth.
5. Sports To be in the initial lineup of a game or race.
6. To protrude or bulge.
7. To become loosened or disengaged.
v.tr.
1. To commence; begin.
2. To set into motion, operation, or activity.
3. To introduce; originate.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/startprog·ress (prgrs, -rs, prgrs)
n.
1. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.
2. Development or growth: students who show progress.
3. Steady improvement, as of a society or civilization: a believer in human progress. See Synonyms at development.
4. A ceremonial journey made by a sovereign through his or her realm.
intr.v. pro·gress (pr-grs) pro·gressed, pro·gress·ing, pro·gress·es
1. To advance; proceed: Work on the new building progressed at a rapid rate.
2. To advance toward a higher or better stage; improve steadily: as medical technology progresses.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/progresspro·gres·sive (pr-grsv)adj.
1. Moving forward; advancing.
2. Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change.
3. Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership.
(more)
n.
1. A person who actively favors or strives for progress toward better conditions, as in society or government.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/progressiveper·fect (pûrfkt)
adj.
1. Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind.
2. Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
3. Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
4. Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part.
5.
a. Completely corresponding to a description, standard, or type: a perfect circle; a perfect gentleman.
b. Accurately reproducing an original: a perfect copy of the painting.
6. Complete; thorough; utter: a perfect fool.
7. Pure; undiluted; unmixed: perfect red.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/perfectend (nd)
n.
1. Either extremity of something that has length: the end of the pier.
2. The outside or extreme edge or physical limit; a boundary: the end of town.
3. The point in time when an action, an event, or a phenomenon ceases or is completed; the conclusion: the end of the day.
4. A result; an outcome.
5. Something toward which one strives; a goal. See Synonyms at intention.
6. The termination of life or existence; death: "A man awaits his end/Dreading and hoping all" (William Butler Yeats).
7. The ultimate extent; the very limit: the end of one's patience.
8. Slang The very best; the ultimate: This pizza's the end.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/end
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