Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto, formally known as the "Declaration of Constitutional Principles," emerged in March 1956 as a response to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which mandated the desegregation of public schools. Spearheaded by Southern senators including Strom Thurmond, the manifesto expressed strong opposition to the Court's ruling, claiming it lacked legal justification and criticizing the perceived overreach of judicial authority. The document received widespread support, with nineteen out of twenty-two Southern senators and eighty-one House members signing it, highlighting a significant political stance against desegregation within the South. It signaled a collective commitment among Southern leaders to maintain segregation and resistance to integration efforts, fostering a climate of defiance among segregationists. The Southern Manifesto is recognized as a pivotal moment in the broader context of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrating the tensions between federal mandates for equality and local resistance. Its legacy continues to be examined in discussions about race relations, judicial authority, and Southern identity in the United States.
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Southern Manifesto
Identification Document signed by southern legislators renouncing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision
Date Presented to Congress on March 12, 1956
The Southern Manifesto dramatically illustrated the opposition of southern politicians to the Supreme Court’s decision declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson and House Speaker Sam Rayburn , both from Texas, managed to get southern and northern Democrats to restrain themselves in response to the Brown decision. In 1956, however, some southern congressmen and senators were worried about being reelected if they did not oppose the decision. Southern senators, led by Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, met and drafted a resolution criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision. The final draft of the resolution was presented to the U.S. Senate on March 12, 1956, by Walter George of Georgia.
Officially called the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles,” the document stated that the U.S. Supreme Court had no legal basis for its decision and substituted its personal and political ideas for established law. It also criticized the Supreme Court’s abuse of judicial powers and commended states that had declared their intention to resist integration by any lawful means.
The final document was signed by nineteen of the twenty-two southern senators and eighty-one southern House members. The three southern senators who did not sign the manifesto were Tennessee’s Estes Kefauver and Albert Gore, Sr., and Texas’s Lyndon B. Johnson.
Impact
The Southern Manifesto symbolized the open defiance of the overwhelming majority of southern congressional leaders to desegregation and gave southern segregationists hope that they could successfully resist desegregation efforts.
Bibliography
Bartley, Numan V. The Rise of Massive Resistance: Race and Politics in the South During the 1950’s. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999. Details the key events and figures in the racial events of the South.
Bass, Jack, and Marilyn W. Thompson. Ol’ Strom. Atlanta, Ga.: Longstreet, 1998. Discusses Strom Thurmond’s role in the writing of the Southern Manifesto.