The year was 1964. It was in this year that the Beatles made their first appearance in the United States, dazzling fans on the Ed Sullivan Show. President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” came into effect, and Cassius Clay became known as Muhammad Ali after his conversion to Islam. It was on July 2 of this year that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended both public segregation and discrimination in the work-place. The Senate voted 73-27 in favor of the bill, and to many leaders, it was an easy ‘yes’ vote. However, to some in Congress, the vote would determine the amount of success or backlash coming their way. Per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, courage can be defined as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” (Merriam-Webster). Born in Pulaski, Tennessee, (the home of the Ku Klux Klan), Ross Bass was one of the 73 courageous Senators who voted ‘yes’ to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bass was one of two Tennesseans’ to vote ‘yes’ (the other was Nashville Congressman, Dick Fulton), and he was the only member of Congress from the rural South who supported the bill. Ross Bass was certainly no stranger to bravery. Born on a farm in …show more content…
Kennedy, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was finally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. After Kennedy’s premature assassination, Johnson took up the cause for equality immediately. When coming into office, he was quoted as saying, “Let this session of Congress be known as the session that did more for civil rights than the last hundred sessions combined” (History). The bill was defeated repeatedly, until it was approved in the House by a vote of 290-130. It then moved to the Senate, where southern Democrats conducted a 75-day filibuster, one of the longest in United States history. Robert Byrd, a senator from West Virginia and a former Ku Klux Klan member, talked on the floor for over 14