An idea whose time has come : two Presidents, two parties, and the battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
"A top Washington journalist recounts the dramatic political battle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law that created modern America, on the fiftieth anniversary of its passage. It was a turbulent time in America--a time of sit-ins, freedom rides, a March on Washington and a governor standing in the schoolhouse door--when John F. Kennedy sent Congress a bill to bar racial discrimination in employment, education, and public accommodations. Countless civil rights measures had died on Capitol Hill in the past. But this one was different because, as one influential senator put it, it was "an idea whose time has come."In a powerful narrative layered with revealing detail, Todd S. Purdum tells the story of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, recreating the legislative maneuvering and the larger-than-life characters who made its passage possible. From the Kennedy brothers to Lyndon Johnson, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Hubert Humphrey and Everett Dirksen, Purdum shows how these all-too-human figures managed, in just over a year, to create a bill that prompted the longest filibuster in the history of the U.S. Senate yet was ultimately adopted with overwhelming bipartisan support. He evokes the high purpose and low dealings that marked the creation of this monumental law, drawing on extensive archival research and dozens of new interviews that bring to life this signal achievement in American history. Often hailed as the most important law of the past century, the Civil Rights Act stands as a lesson for our own troubled times about what is possible when patience, bipartisanship, and decency rule the day. "-- Provided by publisher.
The Administration. A century's unfinished business
A great change is at hand
The heart of the problem
Tell'em about the dream!
The House. A compromise between polar positions
A good man in a tight spot
A great big vote
The Senate. You listen to Dirksen!
We shall now begin to fight
Alternatives and substitutes
It can't be stopped
The law of the land.
A great change is at hand
The heart of the problem
Tell'em about the dream!
The House. A compromise between polar positions
A good man in a tight spot
A great big vote
The Senate. You listen to Dirksen!
We shall now begin to fight
Alternatives and substitutes
It can't be stopped
The law of the land.
Item details
- ISBN: 0805096728 (hardback)
- ISBN: 9780805096729 (hardback) :
-
Physical Description:
xii, 398 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
print - Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York, New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2014.
Contents / Notes
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [341]-375) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | The Administration. A century's unfinished business ; A great change is at hand ; The heart of the problem ; Tell'em about the dream! The House. A compromise between polar positions ; A good man in a tight spot ; A great big vote The Senate. You listen to Dirksen! ; We shall now begin to fight ; Alternatives and substitutes ; It can't be stopped ; The law of the land. |
Find similar items by subject
Subject: | United States Politics and government 1963-1969 United States Politics and government 1961-1963 Civil rights United States History 20th century United States. |
Currently available copies
- 3 out of 3 copies are currently available at PINES.
Holds
- 0 current holds on 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Library System: Library Branch Name
|
Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Athens Regional Library System: Athens-Clarke County Library |
NONFIC 342.7308 PURDUM (
Send Text) |
31001002746981 | NONFICTION | Available | |
Flint River Regional Library System: Griffin-Spalding County Library |
342.73 PURDUM (
Send Text) |
31022008219203 | ADULT | Available | |
Flint River Regional Library System: Peachtree City Library |
342.73 PURDUM (
Send Text) |
31022008334143 | ADULT | Available |