Lyndon B. Johnson and Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. on 4 May 1965

Transcript

Edited by Kent B. Germany, with Kieran K. Matthews and Marc J. Selverstone

After his November 1964 election, President Johnson made a voting rights bill a top priority and instructed acting Attorney General Nicholas “Nick” Katzenbach to begin developing legislation. The events of Bloody Sunday on 7 March 1965 and the ensuing struggle over the Selma to Montgomery march accelerated the White House’s plans. On 15 March, before a joint session of Congress, Johnson delivered a dramatic speech that proposed a landmark voting rights bill that would give the federal government the authority to oversee local voter registration and election procedures. The heart of the bill rested on the prohibition of literacy tests and an automatic trigger that could be used to send federal registrars into counties with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination in registration, in this case where fewer than half of eligible voters had been able to cast their ballots in the 1964 presidential election. That component would later come under attack by a failed Republican substitute bill pushed by the House minority leadership under Gerald R. “Jerry” Ford Jr. [R–Michigan] that would require 25 local complainants to activate the registrars. From early April until mid-May, the major sticking point in the Senate involved the best way to eliminate poll taxes in state and local elections. Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Virginia still used the discriminatory measure for state and local races but could not in federal races because the 24th Amendment, ratified in January 1964, had prohibited it in contests for federal positions. A key dilemma, however, was that one other state, Vermont, continued to use an old procedure requiring a $1 tax for participation in town hall meetings, although it was not for racially discriminatory purposes.

The administration supported Attorney General Nicholas “Nick” Katzenbach’s finding that banning poll taxes in voting rights legislation could cause the bill to be unconstitutional, and that the better route would seek an end through the courts. Since early April, a group of liberal senators had pushed for an amendment to the voting rights bill to ban the taxes outright. This so-called Kennedy amendment was championed by Edward M. “Teddy” Kennedy [D–Massachusetts]—and by his brother Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy [D–New York]—and on the Republican side by Jacob K. Javits [R–New York]. It also reflected the wishes of the major civil rights organizations. On 17 April, Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen [R–Illinois] announced his backing of the administration’s position. Joined on 23 April by Senate Majority Leader Michael J. “Mike” Mansfield [D–Montana], they put forward a substitute bill countering the liberal version. Demonstrating the administration’s delicate position, its own floor leader for the voting bill, Philip A. “Phil” Hart [D–Michigan], advocated for the Kennedy amendment. In the Senate, the struggle continued for several weeks. On 3 May, liberals rebuffed the Senate leadership and redoubled their fight for the ban. On 11 May, they fell short by four votes as the Senate narrowly rejected the Kennedy amendment, 49–45. The issue did not die, however, because the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by liberal Emanuel “Manny” Celler [D–New York], reported out a bill the next day that had the ban intact, and the Senate liberals persisted in opposing the administration. On 19 May, the liberals compromised to make way for a Senate bill without the ban, setting up a final resolution in House–Senate Conference Committee. All along, Johnson feared that the skirmish could give opponents a chance to weaken or delay the bill and, almost as importantly, to slow down the rest of his Great Society initiatives. The Senate passed its final bill on 26 May (after invoking cloture to shut down debate on 25 May).[+] [note 1] “Ban on Poll Tax Argued in Senate,” New York Times, 24 April 1965; E. W. Kenworthy, “Senate Liberals Agree to Fight on Voting-Bill Ban on Poll Tax,” New York Times, 4 May 1965; E. W. Kenworthy, “Ban on Poll Tax Backed in House,” New York Times, 13 May 1965.

Getting the bill through the House proved a slower process, as House Rules Committee chair Howard “Judge” Smith [D–Virginia] kept the bill from getting a rule by sending it to the floor until 1 July, taking up the full 21 days allowed by procedure.[+][note 2] Joseph Hearst, “Voting Rights Bill OK’d for House Action,” Chicago Tribune, 2 July 1965. The Republicans then offered a substitute bill by Gerald Ford and William M. “Bill” McCulloch [R–Ohio] that challenged the triggering mechanism and revivified the poll tax issue. It attracted support from segregationist southerners, but was ultimately defeated. On 10 July, the House passed a bill that fell in line with the administration’s policy except on the poll tax, forcing the House–Senate Conference Committee to opt for the court solution. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on 6 August 1965 and prepared to send in registrars to almost 15 southern counties and parishes. In March 1966, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Harper v. Virginia struck down the state/local poll tax.

The Johnson White House tape recordings during the period from April to July 1965 captured some of the negotiations that brought about resolutions to the poll tax problem and Republican opposition in the House. The tapes also documented in detail the President’s repeated statement of the Katzenbach argument, Johnson’s own history in favoring court action on poll taxes, and his not too subtle concern that Bobby Kennedy was in a conspiracy to undermine his presidency. Johnson’s concerns were not merely his own. Several journalists along the way wrote about a perceived Teddy–Bobby tag team against the administration, with one columnist declaring that the Kennedy brothers were “engaged in guerrilla action against” Johnson’s agenda.[+][note 3] Walter Trohan, “Two Kennedys Engaged in guerrilla War on Johnson,” Chicago Tribune, 24 May 1965.

In the conversation transcribed below, Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. spoke with President Johnson about the poll tax ban and his desire to include it in the legislation. Mitchell, nicknamed the “101st Senator,” was the top lobbyist for the NAACP and a key figure in the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights. On this day, Johnson was suffering from a cold, which is reflected in his voice and persistent sniffles.

Conversation ends.

Copyright 2014 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. Reproduced by permission. Original source: “Lyndon B. Johnson and Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. on 4 May 1965,” Conversation WH6505-05-7580, Presidential Recordings Digital Edition [Lyndon B. Johnson and Civil Rights, Volume 2, ed. Kent B. Germany] (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2014–). URL: http://prde.upress.virginia.edu/conversations/4005143