Changes

Along with [[Bourke Hickenlooper]] of [[Iowa]], Bridges sought to bar Democrat [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] from taking office in the wake of racist [[voter suppression]] during the 1946 Senate election in Mississippi.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''senate.gov''. Retrieved March 3, 2021.</ref> Bilbo, running for a third Senate term, openly threatened blacks in the [[Deep South]] state during the campaign and faced calls to be blocked from taking office. Ensuing gridlock was soon broken by [[Minority Leader]] [[Alben Barkley]], who announced that Bilbo would return to Mississippi to be treated for surgery. The virulent racist never returned, dying in August 1947.

Along with [[Bourke Hickenlooper]] of [[Iowa]], Bridges sought to bar Democrat [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] from taking office in the wake of racist [[voter suppression]] during the 1946 Senate election in Mississippi.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''senate.gov''. Retrieved March 3, 2021.</ref> Bilbo, running for a third Senate term, openly threatened blacks in the [[Deep South]] state during the campaign and faced calls to be blocked from taking office. Ensuing gridlock was soon broken by [[Minority Leader]] [[Alben Barkley]], who announced that Bilbo would return to Mississippi to be treated for surgery. The virulent racist never returned, dying in August 1947.

He voted present on the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75|title=HR. 6127: The Civil Rights Act of 1957|publisher=govtrack|date=August 7, 1957|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref> though supported the 1960 version of the bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR 8601: Passage of amended bill|date=April 8, 1960 |publisher=govtrack|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref> Both measures were signed into law by [[President Dwight Eisenhower]].

He voted present on the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75|title=HR. 6127: The Civil Rights Act of 1957|publisher=govtrack|date=August 7, 1957|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref> though supported the 1960 version of the bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR 8601: Passage of amended bill|date=April 8, 1960 |publisher=govtrack|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref> Both measures, despite being gutted of their strong provisions in the U.S. Senate by Southern Democrats, were signed into law by [[President Dwight Eisenhower]].

In 1954, Bridges and his allies, [[Joseph McCarthy]] and [[Herman Welker]] of [[Idaho]], were implicated in the [[blackmail]] of Democratic colleague [[Lester C. Hunt]] of [[Wyoming]], who like Bridges was a former governor of his state. Bridges threatened to expose Hunt's son as a [[homosexual]] who was found guilty of having solicited an undercover police officer. Following the threats of Bridges and Welker, Hunt resigned from the Senate but subsequently committed suicide in his Capitol office on June 19, 1954. Bridges' involvement in the blackmail much later caused ''The Boston Globe'' to reconsider the honors afforded to Bridges, including Interstate 93 from Concord to the [[Vermont]]  is named in his honor. Along that highway was the "Old Man of the Mountain," which many in the Granite State equated to Bridges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/editorial/2012/12/29/new-hampshire-should-reassess-legacy-senator-styles-bridges/VM5ILWFhTDqsW80owDszPP/story.html|title=N.H. should reassess legacy of Senator Styles Bridges|publisher=''The Boston Globe''|date=December 29, 2012|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref>

In 1954, Bridges and his allies, [[Joseph McCarthy]] and [[Herman Welker]] of [[Idaho]], were implicated in the [[blackmail]] of Democratic colleague [[Lester C. Hunt]] of [[Wyoming]], who like Bridges was a former governor of his state. Bridges threatened to expose Hunt's son as a [[homosexual]] who was found guilty of having solicited an undercover police officer. Following the threats of Bridges and Welker, Hunt resigned from the Senate but subsequently committed suicide in his Capitol office on June 19, 1954. Bridges' involvement in the blackmail much later caused ''The Boston Globe'' to reconsider the honors afforded to Bridges, including Interstate 93 from Concord to the [[Vermont]]  is named in his honor. Along that highway was the "Old Man of the Mountain," which many in the Granite State equated to Bridges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/editorial/2012/12/29/new-hampshire-should-reassess-legacy-senator-styles-bridges/VM5ILWFhTDqsW80owDszPP/story.html|title=N.H. should reassess legacy of Senator Styles Bridges|publisher=''The Boston Globe''|date=December 29, 2012|accessdate=March 3, 2021}}</ref>