Southern Manifesto

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The Southern Manifesto was a letter of protest against racial integration in public institutions in the United States . It was signed by 96 politicians from Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Louisiana , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas, and Virginia in the spring of 1956 .

content

Much of the document dealt with the historic landmark ruling of the United States Supreme Court on the issue of racial segregation in public schools ( Brown v. Board of Education ). The first draft was written by Strom Thurmond , with the final final draft by Richard B. Russell . It was signed by 19 senators and 77 members of the House of Representatives , including the entire congressional delegation from the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia. With two exceptions, namely the two Republicans Joel Broyhill and Richard Harding Poff of Virginia, all of the signatories were Southern Democrats. The fact that almost exclusively Democrats were involved in the drafting of this letter was largely due to the fact that the Republicans were in government from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower .

The white people of the southern states felt their traditions had been violated by the case law of the Supreme Court. The statement further fueled opposition from this group of people, including lynching . In the early 1960s , even African-American churches and children were victims of attacks .

The School Segregation Laws were among the most tolerated and well-known Jim Crow laws in the American South and some northern states.

The Southern Manifesto accused the Supreme Court of "gross abuse of judicial power". It was also announced that "all legitimate means would be used to repeal this resolution, which was contrary to the constitution, and that the influence would be used to prevent its implementation."

Core content

"The unjustified judgment of the Supreme Court in the cases of the public school system ends in the well-known result that men with unlimited power change the existing law."

“The original constitution made no mention of education. Neither the 14th addition nor any other does it. The previous debates on the submission of the 14th Amendment obviously show that there was no intention that the education system, which was supported by the states, should be influenced. "

“This unjustified exercise of power by the court, contrary to the constitution, is causing chaos and confusion in the states that are mainly affected by it. It destroys the friendly relations between the white and black races that have developed over ninety years through the persistent efforts of the benevolent of both races. The court has sown hatred and distrust where there was friendship and understanding before. "

Involved

United States Senate

Non-signatories:

United States House of Representatives

Alabama :


Arkansas :


Florida :

Non-signatories:


Georgia :


Louisiana :


Mississippi :


North Carolina :

Non-signatories:

South Carolina :


Tennessee :

Non-signatories:


Texas :

Non-signatories:


Virginia :

Web links

Wikisource: Southern Manifesto  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tony Badger: Southerners Who Refused to Sign the Southern Manifesto . In: The Historical Journal . Vol. 42, No. 2 (June 1999), ISSN  0018-246X , doi : 10.1017 / S0018246X98008346 , pp. 517-534.
  2. ^ The "Southern Manifesto" ( Memento of May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) by Carl Vinson Institute of Government
  3. ^ The Southern Manifesto . In: Time Magazine . March 26, 1956.
  4. White Rule, Black Struggle - Success and Failure of the US Civil Rights Movement
  5. Grand Expectations The United States, 1945–1974 (1996), p. 398.