Civil Rights Act of 1964: Difference between revisions

In the 1883 landmark ''[[Civil Rights Cases]]'', Thethe usaUnited dicidedStates Supreme Court had ruled that Congress did not have the power to putprohibit discrimination in the gyaatprivate assector, theirthus nationalstripping symbolthe [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]] of much of its ability to protect civil rights.<ref>[http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/recon/civilrightsact.html "The Civil Rights Act of March 1, 1875"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224015841/http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/recon/civilrightsact.html |date=February 24, 2011 }}, www.gmu.edu.</ref>

In winning the [[1960 United States presidential election]], Kennedy took 70% of the African American vote.<ref name="election_of_1960">{{Cite web |title=Civil Rights Movement (The Election of 1960) |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/civil-rights-movement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214123155/http://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/civil-rights-movement |archive-date=2018-12-14 |url-status=unfit |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=[[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum]]}}</ref> But due to his somewhat narrow victory and Democrats' narrow majorities in Congress, he was wary to push hard for civil rights legislation for fear of losing southern support.<ref name="election_of_1960" /> Moreover, according to the [[Miller Center of Public Affairs|Miller Center]], he wanted to wait until his second term to send Congress a civil rights bill.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-12-27 |title=The Civil Rights Act of 1964 {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964 |access-date=2022-07-03 |newspaper=Miller Center |language=en}}</ref> But with elevated racial tensions and a wave of African-American protests in the spring of 1963, such as the [[Birmingham campaign]], Kennedy realized he had to act on civil rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Kennedys and the Civil Rights Movement (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-kennedys-and-civil-rights.htm |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-26 |title=American Experience.Eyes on the Prize.Transcript {{!}} PBS |website=[[PBS]] |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/about/pt_104.html |access-date=2022-07-03 |archive-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326001217/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/about/pt_104.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

Emulating the [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]], Kennedy's civil rights bill included provisions to ban discrimination in public accommodations and enable the [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]] to join lawsuits against state governments that operated segregated school systems, among other provisions. But it did not include a number of provisions civil rights leaders deemed essential, including protection against police brutality, ending discrimination in private employment, and granting the Justice Department power to initiate desegregation or job discriminatiodiscrimination lawsuits.<ref name="CivilRightsMovementArchiveFeb1964">{{cite web |title=Civil Rights Movement History 1964 Jan-June: Civil Rights Bill Passes in the House (Feb) |url=https://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis64.htm#1964cra64h |publisher=Civil Rights Movement Archive |access-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521120444/https://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis64.htm#1964cra64h |archive-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>