It is well-known that opponents of the 1964 Civil Rights Act warned that it would lead to racial preferences, and that these concerns were pooh-poohed by proponents. I am looking for other examples of warnings by opponents of the Act labled “extremist” or “hysterical” at the time that have been vindicated, whether in the ’64 Civil Rights Act itself or in subsequent legislation. I’m not looking for “States Rights” arguments, but arguments that, for example, the public accommodations provisions would eventually lead to the regulation of private clubs, that the list of groups covered by civil rights laws would eventually expand dramatically, etc. Is there a good book or article describing the arguments made against the Act? (I recognize that some of these arguments were insincere, as they were made by folks with a segregationist agenda, but that does not mean that they turned out not to be prescient).
A good example of what I’m looking for is Eugene’s now-famous post on how opponents of the ERA warned in the ’70s that it would eventually lead to court-imposed gay marriage.
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