Discharge Petition for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
12/12/1963
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H.R. 7152, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, faced strong opposition in the House Rules Committee. Howard Smith, Chairman of the committee, refused to scheduled hearings for the bill. Emanuel Celler, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, attempted to use this discharge petition to move the bill out of committee without holding hearings. The petition failed to gain the required majority of Congress (218 signatures), but forced Chairman Smith to schedule hearings.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.
National Archives Identifier: 12009376
Full Citation: Discharge Petition for H.R. 7152, the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 12/12/1963; General Records, 1791 - 2010; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/discharge-petition-civil-rights-act, April 27, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.