Francis R. Valeo Secretary of the Senate Valeo recounts the
Senate’s passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Play Audio Clip
VALEO: As you looked around the Senate (after Kennedy’s death),
there were really no changes in the membership and probably no
great likelihood of any changes in votes. So the outlook at that
point was still rather grim for civil rights. Mansfield, and
certainly I would have concurred, if I didn’t recommend it, was
persuaded there was only one way in which this issue was going
to be won and that was by getting, at that time, sixty-seven
votes, which was what was needed for cloture. That was not going
to be an easy task. You couldn't possibly do it without
Dirksen's cooperation. You had to kind of envision a line in the
Republican party in which on any issue, which again in the
context of the time would have been called a liberal issue—a
significant liberal issue—you could count on six or seven
Republicans. Well, with the Democratic majority and losses in
the South you could pass a lot o