Friday, March 18, 2011

Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill

While putting material together for the last lecture on the executive branch I came across Warren Harding's support for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill (1922) which passed the House but was filibustered succcessfully in the Senate. It would have made lynching a federal crime, but there were questions about its constitutionality. States were uninterested in prosecuting those accused of lynching, the federal government was then expected to step in to ensure that all citizens would be guaranteed the protection of their civil rights.