Law
Gavagan Anti-Lynching Bill (H.R. 1507)
The House passed Representative Joseph Gavagan's anti-lynching bill in 1937, but Senate filibusters and failed cloture efforts prevented it from becoming law.
Year
1937
Impact
Blocked
Status
Blocked
Party
Democratic Party
Era
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
Impact Context
Its defeat showed that even after the House passed stronger anti-lynching legislation, the Senate remained willing to preserve white supremacist violence by blocking federal punishment.
What This Policy Did
Its defeat showed that even after the House passed stronger anti-lynching legislation, the Senate remained willing to preserve white supremacist violence by blocking federal punishment.
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Sources
United States Senate • Government
Official Senate record showing failed cloture attempts on H.R. 1507 in 1937.
U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives • Government
Official House history page describing the 1937 Gavagan anti-lynching bill, House passage, and Senate failure.