History

Standing Tall? In the past Senators would stand before congress to filibuster a measure

In the early 1900s, filibusters by southern Senators were well-organized power plays, to stop any attempt to extend equal rights to African Americans. For decades, the House would pass bills to outlaw discrimination and protect African American’s voting rights.  Only to watch those bills be killed in the Senate by filibusters. During a time when white mobs frequently lynched black people with impunity, filibusters were used to defeat anti-lynching bills in 1922, 1935, 1938, 1948 and 1949.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the filibuster became a tool of choice for Southern senators fighting civil rights legislation. The longest, single-person filibuster in U.S. Senate history, was set by United States Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina On August 28, 1957, the purpose of his extended speech was to stop the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It began at 8:54 p.m. and lasted until 9:12 p.m. the following day, for a total length of 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Now

The floor-speech filibuster has taking a different, less physically challenging form today, but the rate of use is higher than ever.  Under the current rules, any single senator – usually one in the minority party, can stop progress on a bill by a simple written threat, stating the intention of launching a filibuster.

This is enough to require a cloture vote, a vote of 60 or more senators, before any further action can be taken on the measure including debate. In a closely divided Senate, there is the ability to stop virtually any piece of legislation.