Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/70624
July 2, 1964 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 First recommended by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimina- on in public places, provided for the integraon of schools and other public facilies, andmade employ- ment discriminaon illegal. Passage of the act was threatened by a filibuster in the Senate that was overcome by the efforts of Democrac Senator Hubert Humphrey ofMinnesota, with the assistance of Presi- dent Lyndon Johnson, and the persuasive abilies of SenateMinority Leader Evere Dirksen of Illinois, who convinced Republicans to support the bill. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, surrounded by its congressional supporters Senator EvereMcKinley Dirksen, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, and Speaker of the House JohnW.McCormack. August 7, 1964 THE GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION By joint resoluon of Congress (H.J. RES 1145), President Lyndon Johnson was given authority to increase U.S.military involvement in Vietnam. Only two senators,WayneMorse and Ernest Gruening, voted against the resoluon. The Tonkin Gulf Resoluon stated that "Congress approves and supports the deter- minaon of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessarymeasures to repel any armed aack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression." As a result, President Johnson, and later President Nixon, relied on the resoluon as the legal basis for theirmilitary policies in Vietnam. The resoluon was repealed by Congress in January 1971. The Gulf of Tonkin Resoluon was signed by Speaker of the House JohnW.McCormack and President pro tempore of the Senate LeeMetcalf. SUMMER 2012 THE CAPITOL DOME 7 1963 1964 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY AND THE U.S. CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION