| Line 64: |
Line 64: |
| | ====Warren Commission==== | | ====Warren Commission==== |
| | After [[John F. Kennedy]] was assassinated, succeeding president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] appointed Russell to the [[Warren Commission]], a body established to investigate he president's death. While most members concluded on the "single bullet theory," Russell, along with [[John Sherman Cooper]], a [[Moderate Republican]] from [[Kentucky]], were dissenters of the view, believing the theory was absurd.<ref>[http://22november1963.org.uk/richard-russell-warren-report Richard Russell and the Warren Report]</ref> | | After [[John F. Kennedy]] was assassinated, succeeding president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] appointed Russell to the [[Warren Commission]], a body established to investigate he president's death. While most members concluded on the "single bullet theory," Russell, along with [[John Sherman Cooper]], a [[Moderate Republican]] from [[Kentucky]], were dissenters of the view, believing the theory was absurd.<ref>[http://22november1963.org.uk/richard-russell-warren-report Richard Russell and the Warren Report]</ref> |
| − |
| |
| − | [[File:Southern Democrat filibuster of anti-lynching legislation.png|thumb|left|280px|Segregationist senators [[Tom Connally]], [[Walter F. George]], Richard Russell, Jr., and [[Claude Pepper]] filibustering an anti-lynching bill in January 1938; at the time the picture was taken, the blockade had already persisted for twenty days.]]
| |
| | | | |
| | ====Civil rights opposition==== | | ====Civil rights opposition==== |
| | + | [[File:Southern Democrat filibuster of anti-lynching legislation.png|thumb|left|280px|Segregationist senators [[Tom Connally]], [[Walter F. George]], Richard Russell, Jr., and [[Claude Pepper]] filibustering the [[Anti-Lynching Bill of 1938]]; at the time the picture was taken, the blockade had already persisted for twenty days.]] |
| | {{anti-lynching sb}} | | {{anti-lynching sb}} |
| − | Russell, a lifelong opponent of civil rights, had led racist Southern Democrats in opposition to civil rights legislation ever since the 1930s. Democrat filibusters led by Russell included blocking Republican [[anti-lynching bill]]s during the presidency of [[FDR]], where he utilized a mastery of Senate procedural matters to block a 1935 anti-lynching bill for six days, effectively killing it.<ref>Little, Becky (January 31, 2019). [https://www.history.com/news/fdr-eleanor-roosevelt-anti-lynching-bill Why FDR Didn’t Support Eleanor Roosevelt’s Anti-Lynching Campaign]. ''History.com''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> Three decades during the 1960s, he tried to halt the [[1964 Civil Rights Act]] before the Senate was able to enact cloture. | + | Russell, a lifelong opponent of civil rights, had led racist Southern Democrats in opposition to civil rights legislation ever since the 1930s. Democrat filibusters led by Russell included blocking Republican [[anti-lynching bill]]s during the presidency of [[FDR]], where he utilized a mastery of Senate procedural matters to block a 1935 anti-lynching bill for six days, effectively killing it.<ref>Little, Becky (January 31, 2019). [https://www.history.com/news/fdr-eleanor-roosevelt-anti-lynching-bill Why FDR Didn’t Support Eleanor Roosevelt’s Anti-Lynching Campaign]. ''History.com''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> During the proceedings for the 1935 bill, Russell said that he was "willing to go as far and make as great a sacrifice to preserve and insure white supremacy in the social, economic, and political life of our state as any man who lives within her borders."<ref>Barber, Benjamin (March 24, 2021). [https://www.facingsouth.org/2021/03/confronting-anti-civil-rights-filibuster Confronting the anti-civil rights filibuster]. ''Facing South''. Retrieved June 10, 2023.</ref> Three decades during the 1960s, he tried to halt the [[1964 Civil Rights Act]] before the Senate was able to enact cloture. |
| | | | |
| | An advocate and signatory of the [[Southern Manifesto]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150926013722/http://sti.clemson.edu/component/content/article/192-general-info/790-1956-qsouthern-manifestoq 1956 "Southern Manifesto"]. ''Clemson Strom Thurmond Institute''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> Sen. Russell in 1957 successfully helped water down the [[1957 Civil Rights Act]] legislation along with then-[[Senate Majority Leader]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], who removed the stringent protections from the original [[Herbert Brownell]] text in Title III and transforming it into a far weaker version of what it originally had been.<ref>DiEugenio, James (October 7, 2018). [https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/the-kennedys-and-civil-rights-how-the-msm-continues-to-distort-history-part-2 The Kennedys and Civil Rights: How the MSM Continues to Distort History, Part 2]. ''Kennedys and King''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> Johnson had previously hatched a deal with Russell (as well as [[Strom Thurmond]], who broke it) that had the important sections of the bill be removed, he wouldn't filibuster it when it came up on the Senate for a roll call vote. It should be furthermore noted that Russell had been a mentor to Johnson.<ref>[https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/lbj-and-richard-russell-on-vietnam LBJ and Richard Russell on Vietnam]. ''Miller Center''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> | | An advocate and signatory of the [[Southern Manifesto]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150926013722/http://sti.clemson.edu/component/content/article/192-general-info/790-1956-qsouthern-manifestoq 1956 "Southern Manifesto"]. ''Clemson Strom Thurmond Institute''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> Sen. Russell in 1957 successfully helped water down the [[1957 Civil Rights Act]] legislation along with then-[[Senate Majority Leader]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], who removed the stringent protections from the original [[Herbert Brownell]] text in Title III and transforming it into a far weaker version of what it originally had been.<ref>DiEugenio, James (October 7, 2018). [https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/the-kennedys-and-civil-rights-how-the-msm-continues-to-distort-history-part-2 The Kennedys and Civil Rights: How the MSM Continues to Distort History, Part 2]. ''Kennedys and King''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> Johnson had previously hatched a deal with Russell (as well as [[Strom Thurmond]], who broke it) that had the important sections of the bill be removed, he wouldn't filibuster it when it came up on the Senate for a roll call vote. It should be furthermore noted that Russell had been a mentor to Johnson.<ref>[https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/lbj-and-richard-russell-on-vietnam LBJ and Richard Russell on Vietnam]. ''Miller Center''. Retrieved January 4, 2021.</ref> |