Contents
In the U.S. Senate, a minority could long block legislation with endless speeches, known as filibusters. In 1964, ending one required a two-thirds majority. Against civil rights bills, that had never been achieved. How Lyndon B. Johnson overcame this wall is an object lesson in the Four Means of the Arthashastra: persuading, giving, dividing, forcing.
A bill without a majority
Situation
After the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president. Kennedy’s draft of a comprehensive civil rights bill is before Congress. The House of Representatives passes it on February 10, 1964. In the Senate, the Southern Democrats under Richard Russell are waiting, determined to stop it with a filibuster.
Link to the principle
Johnson knows the Senate inside out; he was once its majority leader. He knows that the Democrats’ votes alone will not give him a two-thirds majority. He needs the Republicans. The question is by what means he will win them over.
Persuading: an appeal to conscience
Situation
A few days after the assassination, Johnson addresses both houses of Congress. He calls for the bill to be passed in Kennedy’s honor. The country, he says, has talked long enough about equal rights. To civil rights activists he stresses the moral duty; to colleagues from the South, the political necessity.
Link to the principle
This is sama, persuasion. Johnson ties the bill to the grief over Kennedy and to the conscience of the nation. What stands out is that he tailors his argument to his audience. Persuading here does not mean telling everyone the same thing but giving each person the reason that counts for them.
Giving: Dirksen gets his share
Situation
The Democratic whip, Hubert Humphrey, manages the debate in the Senate. Following Johnson’s line, he courts the Republican minority leader, Everett Dirksen of Illinois. Dirksen has objections to individual provisions. Humphrey reworks the disputed passages with him so that more Republicans can vote for the bill. In this way, Dirksen becomes one of the bill’s authors.
Link to the principle
This is dana, giving. Here it consists not of money but of recognition and co-authorship. Dirksen gains visible influence and honor. The “Johnson treatment,” for which he was famous, combined effusive flattery with threats and argument. Gifts make it easy for the other side to say yes.
Dividing: breaking up the blockade
Situation
Majority Leader Mike Mansfield puts the bill directly on the calendar instead of referring it to the Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by the segregationist James Eastland. On March 9, the Southerners begin their filibuster. In total, the bill occupies the Senate for 60 working days, including seven Saturdays. Robert C. Byrd alone speaks for 14 hours and 13 minutes. But Dirksen wins a large share of the Republicans over to the bill.
Link to the principle
This is bheda, division. For decades, conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats had often blocked legislation together. Johnson and Humphrey peel the Republicans away from this camp. The opponents of civil rights suddenly stand alone. Dividing here does not mean stirring up hatred but deliberately dissolving a coalition.
Forcing: the vote of June 10
Situation
On June 10, 1964, the Senate votes on ending debate. Before the vote, Dirksen speaks and invokes Victor Hugo’s thought that no army is stronger than an idea whose time has come. The result is 71 to 29, with 44 Democrats and 27 Republicans in favor. For the first time ever, the Senate ends a filibuster against a civil rights bill. Nine days later it passes the bill, and on July 2, 1964, Johnson signs it into law.
Link to the principle
This is danda, force. Johnson’s personal pressure, for which he was known, is part of it, but the real force is the vote itself: it ends the blockade against the will of the minority. The order is what matters. Force comes only once the other three means have created the necessary majority.
Key takeaways
Key lessons
- Give each person the reason that counts for them.
- Recognition and co-authorship are often worth more than money.
- Peel the holdouts away from a coalition instead of fighting them all at once.
- Use force only once the majority is in place.
- A good goal does not justify every means; check each one on its own.
Summary
In the spring of 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson got the Civil Rights Act through the Senate. He persuaded with Kennedy’s legacy and moral reasons, gave Everett Dirksen influence and honor, peeled the Republicans away from the blockade and, on June 10, 1964, ended the filibuster by a vote of 71 to 29. The four means worked in the right order: force came at the end, not at the beginning.
Sources
- Kautilya: Arthashastra. Translated by Rudrapatna Shamasastry. Bangalore: Government Press 1915.
