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==Senate opponents block the Act==

==Senate opponents block the Act==

[[File:Joseph T. Robinson of AR.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Prominent progressive leader [[Joe T. Robinson]] attempted to defeat the Act using a motion to adjourn the Senate.]]

[[File:Joseph T. Robinson of AR.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Prominent progressive leader [[Joe T. Robinson]] attempted to defeat the Act using a motion to adjourn the Senate.]]

Due to the Senate under the control of Democrats, who swept elections nationwide in the wake of the [[Great Depression]] amid backlash against Republican policies, the battle for the bill's passage was uphill from the start. The fact that the [[Senate Majority Leader]] was [[Joseph T. Robinson]] of [[Arkansas]] only ensured the bill's defeat. Although mainstream sources mostly ignore his anti–civil rights role,<ref group=note>This is likely due to Robinson's indisputable reputation as a hardline progressive leftist among the Southern bloc; due to contemporary left-wing academics defining civil rights as a "left-wing" position and white supremacy as "right-wing," pointing out Robinson's role as an obstructor of civil rights legislation would destroy their own narratives.</ref> When Costigan asked Robinson to help pass the Act on the grounds that FDR voiced a limited level of support (Roosevelt issued a reply at a presidential news conference, the day after meeting with White, where he expressed lukewarm backing for a Senate vote), no reply was returned by the Arkansas Democratic leader.<ref>"The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935," pp. 76–77.</ref>

Due to the Senate under the control of Democrats, who swept elections nationwide in the wake of the [[Great Depression]] amid backlash against Republican policies, the battle for the bill's passage was uphill from the start. The fact that the [[Senate Majority Leader]] was [[Joseph T. Robinson]] of [[Arkansas]] only ensured the bill's defeat. Although mainstream sources mostly ignore his anti–civil rights role,<ref group=note>This is likely due to Robinson's indisputable reputation as a hardline progressive leftist among the Southern bloc; due to contemporary left-wing academics defining civil rights as a "left-wing" position and white supremacy as "right-wing," pointing out Robinson's role as an obstructor of civil rights legislation would destroy their own narratives.</ref> When Costigan asked Robinson to help pass the Act on the grounds that FDR voiced a limited level of support (Roosevelt issued a reply at a presidential news conference, the day after meeting with White, where he expressed lukewarm backing for a Senate vote), no reply was returned by the Arkansas Democratic leader.<ref name=archive,pp.76-77>"The Anti-Lynching Bill of 1935," pp. 76–77.</ref> The Colorado senator soon requested unanimous consent on the Senate floor to take up the bill as a means of bypassing sought-out approval from the chamber's leadership; the motion was denied when Southern Democrats Kenneth McKellar and Ellison D. "Cotton Ed" Smith refused consent.<ref name=archive,pp.76-77/>

In 1935, the Costigan–Wagner Act was reintroduced. The legislation was blocked by Southern Democrats in what ''[[The New York Times]]'' designated "one of the most determined filibusters of recent years."<ref name=vassar/> Mississippi senator Pat Harrison, who previously led the white supremacist congressional circle defeating the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill of 1922, proposed allowing the bill to be taken up, whereupon he would immediately introduce a motion to lay it aside. The more radical Southern Democratic proposal, consistent with their parliamentary orthodoxy, was to directly filibuster it to death.<ref name=vassar/>

In 1935, the Costigan–Wagner Act was reintroduced, particularly motivated in response to the brutal torture and lynching murder of Claude Neal.<ref name=archive,pp.76-77/> The legislation was blocked by Southern Democrats in what ''[[The New York Times]]'' designated "one of the most determined filibusters of recent years."<ref name=vassar/> Mississippi senator Pat Harrison, who previously led the white supremacist congressional circle defeating the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill of 1922, proposed allowing the bill to be taken up, whereupon he would immediately introduce a motion to lay it aside. The more radical Southern Democratic proposal, consistent with their parliamentary orthodoxy, was to directly filibuster it to death.<ref name=vassar/>

Robinson played a crucial part in killing the Costigan–Wagner Act. He introduced a motion to adjourn the Senate until the chamber would hold a debate over a separate piece of legislation, thus indefinitely stalling off passage of the Act.<ref name=vassar/> This stood in contrast to the two other proposals by anti–civil rights forces which suggested either laying it aside or directly filibustering it to death.

Robinson played a crucial part in killing the Costigan–Wagner Act. He introduced a motion to adjourn the Senate until the chamber would hold a debate over a separate piece of legislation, thus indefinitely stalling off passage of the Act.<ref name=vassar/> This stood in contrast to the two other proposals by anti–civil rights forces which suggested either laying it aside or directly filibustering it to death.