Realizing that senators could be predicted to see that as a violation of their tradition of unlimited debate, Bayh requested a conference committee and on April 28 the House insisted on its amendments and agreed to a conference. On May 10, the…

Report comparing three major voting rights bills pending before the House of Representatives during the 89th Congress; The three bills compared are HR 7896: The Republican Bill by Mr. Ford and Mr. McCulloch, HR 6400: The Committee-Celler Bill by Mr.…

Despite direct work between Bayh and Celler and drafts of language by legal experts, it took the mediation of Lewis Powell of the American Bar Association with Celler to arrive at the final formulation of S. J. Res. 1 on June 10. On June 30, 1965,…

A letter from freshman Congressman John Conyers congratulating Claude Pepper for his support of the Voting Rights Act.

This lesson plan studies legislation passed in response to President Lyndon Baines Johnson's call for America to become a "Great Society." It is designed to assist teachers with using primary source materials to integrate Congress into history,…

On the first two points compromise was reached, but the third ran up against the Senate’s insistence on unlimited debate, and negotiations stalled.

A San Antonio businessman urges Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez to support President Johnson's increased funding requests for the Vietnam War. Rep. Gonzalez responds with luke-warm support for President Johnson's Vietnam policy, stating that he is "not…

This Delawarean, along with many other constituents, wrote to Senator Williams urging the United States government to support the Mekong Delta River project to develop infrastructure along the Mekong River in the southwestern region of Vietnam.

A letter from Convicts Anonymous in Michigan City, Indiana, requesting Senator Bayh's assistance in setting up a blood drive to benefit U.S. troops in Vietnam. A response from a Bayh staffer, Steve Lesher, notes, "I found your letter extremely…

The Senate Commerce Committee was also under intense pressure from health organizations to pass stronger legislation that would inform the public about the health hazards of cigarette smoking. For example, this resolution passed by the American…