TheDeclaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as theSouthern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places.[1] The manifesto was signed by 19 US senators and 82 representatives from theSouthern United States. The signatories included the entire congressional delegations fromAlabama,Arkansas,Georgia,Louisiana,Mississippi,South Carolina, andVirginia, most of the members fromFlorida andNorth Carolina, and several members fromTennessee andTexas. All of them were from the formerConfederate states.[1] 97 wereDemocrats; 4 wereRepublicans.
The Manifesto was drafted to support reversing the landmark Supreme Court 1954 rulingBrown v. Board of Education, which determined thatsegregation of public schools was unconstitutional. School segregation laws were some of the most enduring and best-known of theJim Crow laws that characterized the South at the time.[2]
"Massive resistance" to federal court orders requiring school integration was already being practiced across the South, and was not caused by the Manifesto. SenatorJ. William Fulbright of Arkansas had worked behind the scenes to tone down the original harsh draft. The final version did not pledge to nullify theBrown decision, nor did it support extralegal resistance to desegregation. Instead, it was mostly astates' rights attack against the judicial branch for overstepping its role.[3]
The Southern Manifesto accused the Supreme Court of "clear abuse of judicial power" and promised to use "all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation."[4] It suggested that theTenth Amendment should limit the reach of the Supreme Court on such issues.[5] Senators in theSouthern Caucus led the opposition, withStrom Thurmond writing the initial draft andRichard Russell the final version.[6]
Three Democratic senators from the former Confederate states did not sign:
The following Democratic representatives from the former Confederate states also did not sign:
Also, none of the 12 U.S. senators or 39 U.S. House representatives from the states ofDelaware,Maryland,West Virginia,Kentucky,Missouri, andOklahoma signed the Manifesto despite all requiring segregation in their public school systems prior to theBrown v. Board decision.[7]
There were seven Republican representatives and three senators from former Confederate states. Only four signed the Manifesto:Charles Jonas of North Carolina,William Cramer of Florida,Joel Broyhill andRichard Poff of Virginia.[8]
In many southern states, signing was much more common than not signing, with signatories including the entire delegations from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia. Those from southern states who refused to sign are noted below.[1]
