March 12, 1956:
Worn by Southerners in the 1950s who said they would "never" agree to integration.
One hundred members of Congress from the South — 19 senators and 81 representatives (96 Democrats and four Republicans) — present a "Declaration of Constitutional Principles" that criticized the Supreme Court in its Brown v. Board of Education decision for desegregating schools and protested civil rights initiatives.
It is widely referred to as the Southern Manifesto advocating continued segregation. Nearly every leading member of Congress from the South signs it. But the organizers decide to exclude Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and House Speaker Sam Rayburn, both of Texas, because they don't want the national party to be linked to their efforts.
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