Honorable John Stennis
United States Senator, Mississippi, Democrat
Senator Stennis served in the U.S. Senate from 1947 to 1989. He chaired the Armed Services Committee from 1969 to 1981. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1928 to 1932. The following is from the May 3, 1965, Senate floor debate on S. 1564, the Voting Rights Act. The bill provides for a downgrading and a degrading of voter qualifications; an outlawing of some of the most vital and essential parts of voter qualifications, including one on which there should not be any real difference of opinion — that is, a simple literacy test. I…
