Strom thurmond s america is the best treatment yet of ol strom. Evidence suggests thurmond 24hour filibuster record is. Hes apparently known for doing these filibusters, and reportedly even read the dc phone book during one of these. Til that senator strom thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster by a lone senator. James strom thurmond december 5, 1902 june 26, 2003 was an american politician. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Strom thurmond athletics booster club january 1 at 8. The filibuster that almost killed the civil rights act.
Thurmond s 24 hours and 18 minutes on the floor broke the previous filibuster. During his filibuster, thurmond relied on the book the case for the south, written by w. Thurmond had known the author for fifteen years as workman had covered both thurmonds tenure as south carolina governor and his presidential campaign, in addition to having served in the military unit thurmond had organized in columbia, and having turned down an offer by thurmond. Using the filibuster to delay or block legislative action has a long history. Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster in senate history, during. He was trying to block the civil rights act of 1957 from passing. Senate historian emeritus dick baker recounts the story of south carolina senator strom thurmond s record setting 24 hour filibuster of the 1957 civil rights act. It also had survived a 24hour filibuster from senator strom thurmond.
The primary mission on base is to create new soldiers for the army and it is the largest and most active initial entry training center in the army. But strom thurmond read i think he read from the phonebook. Strom thurmond s famous filibuster, which by the way, is a really horribly boring thing to read i dont recommend that. Here are five of the most famous filibusters in historyall of which are hours longer.
Nprs ken rudin discusses the use of the filibuster throughout history. Strom thurmond of south carolina, who went on for 24 hours and 18 minutes in filibustering the civil rights act of 1957. Strom thurmond, a senator from south carolina, takes the cake for longest filibuster in recorded history, at 24 hours and 18 minutes. Strom thurmond talked against a 1957 civil rights bill for 24 hours and. Strom thurmond, american politician, a prominent states rights and segregation advocate who ran for the presidency in 1948 on the dixiecrat ticket and was one of the longestserving senators in u. How senators use the filibuster to stop legislation. Thurmond railed against a limited civil rights bill for 24 hours, 18. Strom thurmond read from the phone book during his filibuster of civil rights legislation in the 1950s or 1960s. He was attempting to stop passage of the civil rights act of 1957, btw. The preferred method for blocking a presidential nomination among senators today is a filibuster. Phone books are often associated with political filibusters, primarily due to the fact that strom thurmond used one in his historic longest senate filibuster 24 hours, 18 minutes. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading strom thurmond s america.
Lawmakers have used every trick imaginable to filibuster on the floor of the senate. Strom thurmond of south carolina, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the civil rights act of 1957, according to u. Paul fell more than 11 hours short of the record set by republican sen. Til strom thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster by a lone senator, at 24 hours and 18 minutes. Thats a lot of standing around and a study in endurance, and as one observer noted was all about policy no one was reading out of a phone book. Rand pauls filibuster is one for the history books.
James strom thurmond served as a city and county attorney before being elected to the south carolina state senate in 1932. Thurmond decamped to the republican party in 1964, when president lyndon b. Thompson describe the situation in their book ol strom, even though the bill was pretty much defanged, thurmond was still hellbent on. December 5, 1902 june 26, 2003 was an american general. He was also governor of his home state south carolina and a presidential candidate. A prior bill, the civil rights act of 1957, was important but it had a limited impact and it was difficult to enforce. The term filibuster is used to describe a tactic used by members of the u.
Opposed to racial equality and justice, thurmond also denounced. Strom thurmond a tribute to the last true christian senator. No congressman is yet to break the late strom thurmond s record of longest filibuster. During a senate filibuster on wednesday led by rand paul, there were repeated references to strom thurmond s record 1957 filibuster. As far as i can tell, filibusters have been portrayed in the movies, but they did not read from the phone book. How did strom thurmond last through his 24hour filibuster.
As far as i can tell, filibusters have been portrayed in the movies, but they did. From giving cooking lessons to reading the phone book and beyond. Fort jackson is located in columbia, south carolina and serves as the location for the us armys basic combat training. You might have some phone books to read aloud, too, in case you. Thurmond, who completed the longest federal filibuster in us history 24 hours, 18 minutes in 1957, took the. Some read the phone book, cite recipes for fried oysters, or read the. Strom thurmond, a senator from south carolina, takes the cake for longest. And finally at number 1, the us senator who talked for. Strom thurmond, then a south carolina democrat, set the record that still stands today. Senator alfonse damato of new york is no stranger to a lengthy filibusterhe falls just shy of strom thurmond when it comes to longwindedness, once talking for 23 hours and 30 minutes to delay. When the house of representatives civil rights bill, h. But some evidence suggests that thurmond didnt follow senate rules for his 24hour. The new york republican, who was known for reading the district of columbia phone book during his filibusters, finally ended his 15hour filibuster the morning after it began when he learned the. Strom thurmond athletics booster club home facebook.
He stayed on the senate floor speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes nonstop in opposition of the civil rights act of 1957. A look at memorable filibusters in the senate abc news. A filibuster is a political procedure where one or more members of parliament or congress debate over a proposed piece of legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision being made on the proposal. In 1957, thurmond spoke for just over 24 hours straight in an effort to block. Carlos abarca puts sheets on a cot in the strom thurmond room at the u. Five myths about the filibuster the washington post. Joseph crespino has a knack for finding revealing tales which have escaped previous historians and crafting them into a compelling whole which tells us much not just about the dixiecrat standard bearer himself but also about how those who backed then governor thurmond. Strom thurmond biography children, parents, school, son. Strom thurmond who filibustered for 24 hours and 18. Strom thurmond still holds the record for the longest uninterrupted filibuster, and for. Fiftyeight years ago, senator strom thurmond undertook a course of action that resulted in his setting a dubious record that stands yet today. As the house of representatives grew in number, however, revisions to the house.
During this filibuster, damato used the now famous trick of reading from the district of columbia phone book. Kennedy told a nationwide audience that the act was a necessity. The value of this book lies in crespinos linkage of strom thurmond s racism to his classism. In the end, thurmond persuaded no senators to change their vote on the bill. Its the longest filibuster since the civil rights era, but the important difference between pauls effort and the 24plus hours strom thurmond held court was that there was no live. This filibuster was actually successful, and kept the contract funded and damato also made the seventh longest senate filibuster of 15 hours and 14 minutes six years later. Other senators have read parts of the phone book and even sang songs. Ted cruzs company, or four famous filibusters the time. Curiosity does the walking in the phone book listen 7. Capitol on may 23, 2005 for republican senators prepared to spend all. One of the signal moments of strom thurmond s lengthy political career was his recordbreaking oneman filibuster opposing the 1957 civil. The longest filibuster in history came when us senator strom thurmond spoke from 20. Other senators have read parts of the phone book and even sang. Early thursday, senate democrats ended a nearly 15hour filibuster when.
Thurmond responded with vigor, once speaking on the senate floor for more than 24 hours straight in a filibuster to delay voting, but the first federal civil rights bill since 1875 passed anyway. Following military duty during world war ii in the pacific and european theaters, where he participated in the dday invasion of normandy and earned a purple heart, thurmond served as governor of south carolina from 1947 to 1951. On december 2, thurmond delivered an address to the arkansas american legion conference in little rock. South carolina senator strom thurmond, set a record by filibustering a.