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Senator Dirksen and Civil Rights
Carrie Dunphy Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen's contributions to the United States Congress were considerable. Running for the first time in 1932, Dirksen was a man that got out and met the people in order to make a lasting impression upon them. He bombarded the public with television commercials, newspaper advertisements, and public appearances. Dirksen's effective "people skills" are probably the main reason for his reelection term after term. In 1964 Dirksen was sixty-four years old and still in the Senate despite his many ailments. He wore a brace for a sprained back, had to have a blood transfusion for a bleeding ulcer, suffered discomfort from heart problems, and received treatment for emphysema. Despite those setbacks, he continued to make the dynamic speeches that maintained his reputation. In 1964 civil rights bills became an issue in the Senate. Dirksen supported the bills; unfortunately, many of the other U.S. senators did not. He urged many of his fellow Republican senators that it was time to pass the legislation. Some senators filibustered against the bills in order to prevent their passage. That made it necessary for Dirksen to deliver four-fifths of the Republican vote in order to silence the opposition. To cloture the fillibuster, Dirksen had to persuade six Republicans from the west and a handful of liberal Republicans from the northeast. He changed the bills in many ways to get the support of his fellow senators. He received help from many of the other senators who wanted them passed, but his office was the main headquarters for the revision of the bills. On June 12, 1963, after a sixty-seven-day delay, the Senate voted for cloture, 71 to 29. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was skillfully helped along by Dirksen, who obtained a final vote of 73 to 21 in favor of the bills. Again in 1968 additional civil rights bills were proposed and the southern Democrats began to filibuster. Dirksen was in and out of the hospital frequently that year, but he still did his best to advance the civil rights package with his western colleagues. Dirksen got to the Senate early and was the last to leave as he worked to end the filibuster. On the third attempt, Dirksen and his fellow Senators finally won the cloture, 65 to 32. Passage of the Civil Rights Act followed shortly after the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968. The enormous demonstrations that King had led focused attention on the need for civil rights legislation under consideration in the Congress. Partly as a result of those demonstrations, the Civil Rights Bill was passed. On April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the bill to make it a law. Everett Dirksen played a huge role in passing both the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Despite Dirksen's numerous ailments, he still fought for what he believed. He rose to the occasion and gave everything he had in order to pass those two important bills. That legislation is often remembered as his most important congressional work.—[From Allan Carpenter, Illinois; Neil Mac-Neil, Dirksen; Edward L. Schapsmeier and Frederick H. Schapsmeier, Dirksen of Illinois.]
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