ABSTRACT

The Georgian appeared to find, particularly in Everett McKinley Dirksen’s stand, a glimmer of hope that the minority leader might be separated from his newfound civil rights collaborators. Mike Mansfield had hoped Dirksen would be fully aligned with him on procedural matters. The latter’s unexpected proposal of an alternative caught him offguard. Dirksen appealed to the Senate to send H.R. 7152 to the Judiciary Committee. Mansfield urged that it be kept under the direct control of the entire Senate. Mansfield made no immediate effort to force the issue of taking up the civil rights bill as the pending business, choosing instead to wait for the Senate to grow restless with the delay. Reluctant to discuss the matter directly with Mansfield, he asked for ideas from the secretary for the majority as to what further he might do to break the logjam. The incident in the Republican cloakroom was relayed to Mansfield, who immediately grasped the significance of the Republican’s reaction.