Congressional Action on Civil Rights: The Fair Housing Act of 1968 Jeffery A. Jenkins University of Southern California
[email protected] Justin Peck Wesleyan University
[email protected] June 8, 2019 Abstract: After overseeing the enactment of two landmark civil rights proposals in 1964 and 1965, the Johnson administration and its allies in Congress sought to implement the third item of the broader agenda: a legal prohibition on racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. Enactment of fair housing legislation proved to be a vexing process as advocates had to win support from northern white Democrats skeptical of the policy, as well as Republicans who were often unreliable allies. Fair housing advocates failed in 1966 (89th Congress) but were successful in 1968 (90th Congress). We provide a legislative policy history detailing how, after three tumultuous years, Congress came to enact the fair housing provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. To do so, we examine the congressional proceedings, individual roll-call votes, and eventual legislative outcomes. Prepared for the Congress and History Conference, Harvard University/MIT, June 13-14, 2019 I. Introduction At the end of World War II, with thousands of troops returning home from Europe and the Pacific Islands, American political elites faced a dilemma. Having spent years fighting to win a war caused in large part by a global depression, they now confronted the very real risk of yet another significant economic downturn.1 The combined effects of high unemployment, low growth, and a restive population of returning soldiers, threated to generate dangerous political instability.