What is the breakdown by party of who voted for and against the Civil
Rights act of 1964?

Hi david2626,

Here is the answer to your question:

House of Representatives:
Democrats for:       152
Democrats against:    96
Republicans for:     138
Republicans against:  34

Senate:
Democrats for:        46
Democrats against:    21
Republicans for:      27
Republicans against:   6


Many sources cite numbers provided by an issue of Congressional
Quarterly.  For example, on the web site of the 5th Legislative
District Republican Party for the State of Washington, they state:

"The Congressional Quarterly of June 26, 1964 recorded that in the
Senate, only 69 percent of Democrats (46 for, 21 against) voted for
the Civil Rights Act as compared to 82 percent of Republicans (27 for,
6 against). All southern Democratic senators voted against the act. 
[...]  In the House of Representatives, 61 percent of Democrats (152
for, 96 against) voted for the Civil Rights Act; 92 of the 103
Southern Democrats voted against it. Among Republicans, 80 percent
(138 for, 34 against) voted for it."

Here is a link to the page on their web site:
http://www.5ldgop.org/new_page_3.htm


Also, an article on Salon.com states:
"According to Congressional Quarterly, the Civil Rights Act of 1964
passed the House 290-130, and Republican support for the bill was much
stronger than Democratic: 61 percent (152-96) of the Democrats
supported the legislation while 80 percent (138-34) of the Republicans
backed it. These numbers were similar in the Senate -- 69 percent of
Democrats (46-21), backed the bill along with 82 percent of
Republicans (27-6)."

Here is the Salon.com article:
"Democratic bigots" by Jake Tapper, July 17, 2000.
http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/07/17/rights/


An excellent article on the CongressLink web site provides a history
of the drafting of the bill and the debates within the two houses of
Congress.  According to the article, this is how the House of
Representatives voted:
"Of the 420 members who voted, 290 supported the civil rights bill and
130 opposed it. Republicans favored the bill 138 to 34; Democrats
supported it 152-96. It is interesting to note that Democrats from
northern states voted overwhelmingly for the bill, 141 to 4, while
Democrats from southern states voted overwhelmingly against the bill,
92 to 11."

The article later states how the Senate voted:
"[...] the Senate passed the bill by a 73 to 27 roll call vote. Six
Republicans and 21 Democrats held firm and voted against passage."

Here is the CongressLink article:
"Major Features of the Civil Rights Act of 1964"
http://www.congresslink.org/civil/essay.html


Regards,
sldreamer


Search strategy:

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Request for Answer Clarification by david2626-ga on 30 Mar 2003 17:35 PST

No clarification required - just wanted to comment. Interesting how
history has been revised in public school. My son just learned in
American History that the Republicans were pro slavery and against the
Civil Rights Act.

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Clarification of Answer by sldreamer-ga on 31 Mar 2003 09:58 PST

Hi david2626,

I'm glad I was able to answer your question.  Thank you for the 5-star
rating; I appreciate it!

Regards,
sldreamer

Good answer, exactly what I needed.