Changes

At the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]], the Dyer Bill elicited "a chilly reception."<ref name=waldrep,p.76>"African Americans Confront Lynching," p. 76.</ref> Newspapers reported by the end of May 1922 that every U.S. senator, save Shortridge, completely doubted the constitutionality of the bill, which languished for six months and failed to gain the support of Idaho progressive Republican William E. "Big Potato"<ref>Dray, Philip (2002). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/At_the_Hands_of_Persons_Unknown/WBqedYHYMXAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=william+borah+dyer+bill&pg=PA267&printsec=frontcover At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America], p. 267. ''Google Books''. Retrieved May 31, 2023.</ref> Borah,<ref name=blackleaders20thcentury,pp.96-97/> who remained unconvinced even after an extensive correspondence with NAACP president Moorfield Storey.<ref name=tarbert/> Despite professing sympathy with the anti-lynching movement, Borah insisted that federal legislation violated [[states' rights]].<ref>"Peaceful Revolution," p. 95.</ref>

At the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]], the Dyer Bill elicited "a chilly reception."<ref name=waldrep,p.76>"African Americans Confront Lynching," p. 76.</ref> Newspapers reported by the end of May 1922 that every U.S. senator, save Shortridge, completely doubted the constitutionality of the bill, which languished for six months and failed to gain the support of Idaho progressive Republican William E. "Big Potato"<ref>Dray, Philip (2002). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/At_the_Hands_of_Persons_Unknown/WBqedYHYMXAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=william+borah+dyer+bill&pg=PA267&printsec=frontcover At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America], p. 267. ''Google Books''. Retrieved May 31, 2023.</ref> Borah,<ref name=blackleaders20thcentury,pp.96-97/> who remained unconvinced even after an extensive correspondence with NAACP president Moorfield Storey.<ref name=tarbert/> Despite professing sympathy with the anti-lynching movement, Borah insisted that federal legislation violated [[states' rights]].<ref>"Peaceful Revolution," p. 95.</ref>

Borah's opposition was consistent in votes among the subcommittee as well as the full committee, siding with the Democratic fold in discontent.<ref name=tarbert/> His arguments against the constitutionality of the Dyer Bill, believing that no authorization was provided by the 14th Amendment for federal prosecution of civil rights violations, provided an alibi and effective excuse for lukewarm senatorial colleagues who quietly opposed the Bill—this particularly loomed to hold true for the Western bloc, which has sided with the South in thwarting civil rights efforts, most notably the previous Federal Elections Bill of 1890 defeated by a coalition of Silver Republicans and the Democratic Party.<ref name=tarbert/>

Borah's opposition was consistent in votes among the subcommittee as well as the full committee, siding with the Democratic fold in discontent.<ref name=tarbert/> His arguments against the constitutionality of the Dyer Bill, believing that no authorization was provided by the 14th Amendment for federal prosecution of civil rights violations, provided an alibi and effective excuse for lukewarm senatorial colleagues who quietly opposed the Bill—this particularly loomed to hold true for the Western bloc, which had sided with the South in thwarting civil rights efforts, most notably the previous Federal Elections Bill of 1890 defeated by a coalition of [[Silver Republican Party|Silver Republicans]] and the Democratic Party.<ref name=tarbert/>

Plummer B. Young, the editor of the ''Norfolk Journal and Guide's'', publicly predicted a reversal of the Judiciary Committee's prepared disapproval following the mass murder of nineteen white miners in Herrin, Illinois, by a white mob, noting that the (white) U.S. senators would only feel compelled to barely approve anti-lynching legislation following the massacre.<ref name=waldrep,p.76/> On June 30,<ref name=tarbert/> the committee approved the Dyer Bill "unexpectedly," validating Young's farsighted observations.

Plummer B. Young, the editor of the ''Norfolk Journal and Guide's'', publicly predicted a reversal of the Judiciary Committee's prepared disapproval following the mass murder of nineteen white miners in Herrin, Illinois, by a white mob, noting that the (white) U.S. senators would only feel compelled to barely approve anti-lynching legislation following the massacre.<ref name=waldrep,p.76/> On June 30,<ref name=tarbert/> the committee approved the Dyer Bill "unexpectedly," validating Young's farsighted observations.