Story perspectives

Study Finds U.S. House Civil-Rights Bills Grew More Partisan

8/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Study finds civil-rights legislation in the U.S. House became more polarized in the 1990s and 2010s.
Researchers examined 202,775 House bills from 1973-2022 using a language-model, finding jumps in civil-rights bill share and a 2014 surge that widened partisan gap.
Democrats raised their civil-rights bill share from 6.12 % to 13.70 % and were likelier than Republicans to sponsor bills for minorities, LGBTQ+ people and women, while support for older adults fell.

History

Historical Context

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed segregation and secured voting protections for African Americans. The legislation passed the Senate with an 88% vote and the House with 73% support, backed by the NAACP and John Lewis. Decades later, the 1994 Republican Revolution and the 2014 surge in civil-rights bills recreated a partisan divide mirrored in the 202,775 bills analyzed. This historic pattern warns that escalating polarization may stall future reforms, prompting the ACLU and Congressional Black Caucus to intensify lobbying.

1 of 2

Story summary

Study finds civil-rights legislation in the U.S. House became more polarized in the 1990s and 2010s.
Researchers examined 202,775 House bills from 1973-2022 using a language-model, finding jumps in civil-rights bill share and a 2014 surge that widened partisan gap.
Democrats raised their civil-rights bill share from 6.12 % to 13.70 % and were likelier than Republicans to sponsor bills for minorities, LGBTQ+ people and women, while support for older adults fell.

1 / 2