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The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (July 2, 1964), in the United States was landmark legislation which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Originally conceived to protect the rights of black men, the bill was amended prior to passage to protect the civil rights of everyone, and explicitly included women for the first time. The Act transformed American society. It prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment. The "Jim Crow" laws in the South were abolished, and it became illegal to compel segregation of the races in schools, housing, or hiring. Enforcement powers were initially weak, but they grew over the years, and later programs (such as affirmative action) were made possible by the Act Legislative history Originally drafted by Republican Senator Everett Dirksen, the bill was promised by President John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11, 1963,[1] in which he asked for legislation that would provide "the kind of equality of treatment which we would want for ourselves." He then sent the bill to Congress on June 19, when it was introduced in Congress by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. Kennedy was unable to advance the bill, but after his death, the President Lyndon Johnson decided to use his power in Congress to pass it. Despite a filibuster in the Senate led by Southern Democrats and segregationists, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act, and President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964.