Existing comment:
The Smith Amendment
Representative Howard W. Smith (D-VA) (1883–1976) introduced an amendment to Title VII that added protection from employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Smith's motives were complex. As the chairman of the House Rules Committee and an opponent of civil rights, Smith often used his position to prevent or delay civil rights legislation from coming to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. Given this political legacy, it is often said that Smith may have added his amendment as a means of weakening and dividing the political coalition behind the Civil Rights Act. However, opposition to discrimination on the basis of sex had been growing even before Smith's amendment. |