where does filibuster come from

What is the filibuster and why it's important?

From the beginning, the U.S. Senate has had a tradition of allowing unlimited debate-or filibustering-which can delay or even prevent action on legislation. In theory, filibusters can help to protect minority views from the tyranny of the majority. It has been used effectively to prevent action on numerous pieces of legislation over the years.

Is filibuster good or bad?

Unfortunately for America, the filibuster still exists — and may still be used to strip people of their voting rights. In fact, the filibuster itself could be fairly described as the single worst feature of U.S. Senate procedure. It exists because of a thoughtless error and has only infrequently been used for positive ends.

Why would a Senator perform a filibuster?

The story of modern Washington is the story of the filibuster. That’s the tactic of dragging out debate in the US Senate to make it harder to get things done. Thanks to Senate rules, whichever party is out of power has the ability, through filibusters, to quash nearly everything the in-power party wants to do unless the minority party agrees.

Which most accurately describes the filibuster?

The filibuster is a powerful legislative device in the United States Senate. Senate rules permit a senator or senators to speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose, unless "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn" (usually 60 out of 100 senators) bring debate to a close by invoking cloture under Senate Rule XXII.

Who came up with the term filibuster?

One of the first known practitioners of the filibuster was the Roman senator Cato the Younger. In debates over legislation he especially opposed, Cato would often obstruct the measure by speaking continuously until nightfall.

When did the Senate adopt the filibuster?

In 1917, with frustration mounting and at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, senators adopted a rule (Senate Rule 22) that allowed the Senate to invoke cloture and limit debate with a two-thirds majority vote.

Why did the filibuster start?

Using the filibuster to delay debate or block legislation has a long history. The term filibuster, from a Dutch word meaning "pirate," became popular in the United States during the 1850s when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent action on a bill.

Can Senate get rid of filibuster?

That year, the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a procedure known as "cloture." In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate.

How many filibusters were there in 2021?

Cloture MotionsCongressYearsCloture Invoked1172021-20222571162019-20202701152017-20181571142015-20166050 more rows

What is Rule 22 in the Senate?

Forty-one senators determine what bills the Senate will take up through Rule 22, the cloture vote. Cloture is a vote to end a filibuster, and under Senate rules, requires 60 votes. Any senator can ask for the cloture vote without even coming to the floor.

How were US senators chosen before the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified?

Prior to its passage, senators were chosen by state legislatures. The Constitution, as it was adopted in 1788, made the Senate an assembly where the states would have equal representation. Each state legislature would elect two senators to six-year terms.

What was the longest filibuster in United States history?

Thurmond concluded his filibuster after 24 hours and 18 minutes at 9:12 p.m. on August 29, making it the longest filibuster ever conducted in the Senate as of 2022. This surpassed the previous record set by Wayne Morse, who spoke against the Submerged Lands Act for 22 hours and 26 minutes in 1953.

Where did the term "filibuster" come from?

The term filibuster originated from the 18th-century word “flibustier,” which referred to pirates who pillaged the Spanish colonies in the West Indies, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

When was the first filibuster?

The first successful filibuster was recorded in 1837, when a group of Whig senators who opposed President Andrew Jackson filibustered to prevent Jackson’s allies from expunging a resolution of censure against him.

How many senators can block a bill?

Efforts to halt filibusters remain challenging however, since 41 senators can indefinitely block a bill by refusing to end theoretical debate or vote for cloture. As partisan clashing came to a head in the 1990s and 2000’s, senators turned to the filibuster more frequently in an effort to thwart the majority party.

What is a filibuster nomination?

Sources. A filibuster is a political strategy in which a senator speaks—or threatens to speak—for hours on end to delay efforts to vote for a bill. The unusual tactic takes advantage of a U.S. Senate rule that says a senator, once recognized on the floor, may speak on an issue without being impeded by anyone.

Why is there no filibuster in the House of Representatives?

There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives because rules adopted in that larger legislative body strictly limit the amount of time each representative may speak on the House floor.

How many filibusters were there in the 1950s?

That number grew steadily since and spiked in 2007 and 2008 (the 110th Congress), when there were 52 filibusters.

When was Rule 22 first used?

Rule 22 was first successfully applied in 1919 when the Senate invoked cloture to halt a filibuster against the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended World War I. Even with the new cloture rule, however, filibusters remained an effective means to block legislation, since achieving a two-thirds vote is difficult.

Where did the word "filibuster" come from?

The word came to English in the 1840s from the Spanish filibustero, which literally means “ freebooter ”—that is, a pirate or plunderer. Although it likely originated from the Dutch vrijbuiter, filibuster is thought to have arrived in Spanish from the French flibustier, which itself came from the English freebooter or fleebooter.

What is a filibuster?

Filibuster is a commonly discussed word in the realm of politics, referring to the making of a long speech in an attempt to delay or prevent legislative action. Filibuster likely originated from the Dutch vrijbuiter, but came to English in the 1840s from the Spanish filibustero, meaning "freebooter"—that is, a pirate or plunderer.

Who was the leader of the filibuster?

Unsurprisingly enough, the filibuster appears to have irritated many people in the 19th century, much as it does today. Mr. Oates, of Alabama, the leader of the filibuster against the direct tax bill last session, was seen by an Associated press reporter to whom he explained his position on the matter.

When will the filibuster be broken?

The power of the filibuster will never be broken until the majority of the house is permitted to decide not only when it shall adjourn, but when it shall waste an hour in voting down a motion to adjourn. — Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), 7 Jan. 1890.

Where did the filibuster originate?

The origins of the filibuster—and how it came to exasperate the U.S. Senate. The concept of making marathon speeches to block legislation has been around since ancient Rome. But U.S. lawmakers have made this tactic notorious—and created a new form of "stealth" filibusters. Appropriately, its name comes from a Dutch word for “pirate”—because ...

When did the filibuster start?

The origins of the filibuster—and how it came to exasperate the U.S. Senate. On March 8, 1960, students in New Orleans protest an attempt by U.S. senators to block passage of civil rights legislation through the use of a filibuster. The tactic—which involves talking at length to prevent approval of a bill—became notorious during ...

What was the filibuster of the modern era?

The ‘stealth’ filibuster of the modern era. The turmoil of the civil rights filibusters opened the floodgates for all types of legislation to become subject to filibuster. But with an increasing workload, the Senate began to look for a way to handle filibusters that wouldn’t tie up other legislation.

Why did the Senate filibuster for 60 days?

Four years later, a factions of Southern senators would filibuster for 60 working days in an effort to block passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Why is the filibuster called the email?

Email. Appropriately, its name comes from a Dutch word for “pirate”—because the filibuster is, in essence, a hijacking of debate in the U.S. Senate. It’s also one of the most controversial traditions in American politics. To win approval in the Senate, most legislation requires only a simple majority, or 51 votes.

How many times did the Senate invoke the Cloture?

It was a high bar, however. The Senate would successfully invoke cloture only five times in the next 46 years—including in 1919 to defeat the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, which Wilson had negotiated to end World War I. ( This rebel lawmaker often breaks into song while filibustering in Nebraska.)

What did the Senate do to stop the filibuster?

Fed up with the Senate’s successful filibuster, President Woodrow Wilson demanded that the body adopt a rule to prevent “ [a] little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own” from hijacking future legislation . After intense negotiations, on March 8 the Senate adopted a “cloture” rule that would allow a two-thirds majority of lawmakers to cut off debate.

When was the first filibuster?

The first Senate filibuster occurred in 1837 when a group of Whig senators filibustered to prevent allies of the Democratic-Republican President Andrew Jackson from expunging a resolution of censure against him. In 1841, a defining moment came during debate on a bill to charter a new national bank.

When did filibusters become possible?

In 1789, the first U.S. Senate adopted rules allowing senators to move the previous question (by simple majority vote), which meant ending debate and proceeding to a vote. But Vice President Aaron Burr argued that the previous-question motion was redundant, had only been exercised once in the preceding four years, and should be eliminated, which was done in 1806, after he left office. The Senate agreed and modified its rules. Because it created no alternative mechanism for terminating debate, filibusters became theoretically possible.

How many votes does a filibuster require?

As the filibuster has evolved from a rare practice that required holding the floor for extended periods into a routine 60-vote supermajority requirement, Senate leaders have increasingly used cloture motions as a regular tool to manage the flow of business, often even in the absence of a threatened filibuster.

What was the purpose of the cloture vote?

This took place after a group of 12 anti-war senators managed to kill a bill that would have allowed Wilson to arm merchant vessels in the face of unrestricted German submarine warfare. The requirement for cloture was two-thirds of senators voting.

Why did the House of Representatives allow filibusters?

At the time, both the Senate and the House of Representatives allowed filibusters as a way to prevent a vote from taking place. Subsequent revisions to House rules limited filibuster privileges in that chamber, but the Senate continued to allow the tactic.

How many votes do you need to invoke cloture?

Changes to Rule XX in 2013 and 2017 now require only a simple majority to invoke cloture on presidential nominations, although most legislation still requires 60 votes. The " nuclear option " has been used on two occasions to override the 60 vote threshold for certain matters before the Senate.

What is a filibuster in the Senate?

In the United States Senate, a filibuster is a tactic employed by opponents of a proposed law to prevent the measure’s final passage. The Senate rules permit senators to speak for as long as they wish, and on any topic they choose, until "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn" (currently 60 out of 100) vote to close debate by invoking ...

What does "filibuster" mean?

filibuster (n.) 1580s, flibutor "pirate," especially, in history, "West Indian buccaneer of the 17th century" (mainly French, Dutch, and English adventurers), probably ultimately from Dutch vrijbueter (now vrijbuiter) "freebooter," a word which was used of pirates in the West Indies in Spanish ( filibustero) and French ( flibustier, ...

Who wrote the word "freebooter"?

According to Century Dictionary, the spread of the word is owing to a Dutch work ( "De Americaensche Zee-Roovers," 1678) "written by a bucaneer named John Oexmelin, otherwise Exquemelin or Esquemeling, and translated into French and Spanish, and subsequently into English (1684).".

What is the origin of the word "freeboot"?

The English word, Danish fribytter, Swedish fribytare, and German Freibeuter were formed on the model of the Dutch word, which is the source of filibuster (q.v.). The back-formed verb freeboot is recorded from 1590s. Related: Freebooting; freebootery.

Which language has the syllable "I"?

Spanish inserted the -i- in the first syllable; French is responsible for the -s-, inserted but not originally pronounced, "a common fact in 17th century F [rench], after the analogy of words in which an original s was retained in spelling, though it had become silent in pronunciation" [Century Dictionary].

Is filibustering restricted to the Senate?

Not technically restricted to U.S. Senate, but that's where the strategy works best. [The 1853 use of filibustering by U.S. Rep. Albert G. Brown of Mississippi reported in the Congressional Globe and cited in the OED does not refer to legislative obstruction, but to national policy toward Cuba.]

Why Filibuster?

Senators have used filibusters to push for changes in legislation or to prevent a bill from passing with less than 60 votes. It is often a way for the minority party to yield power and block legislation, even though the majority party chooses what bills will get a vote.

What is the purpose of filibusters?

Senators have effectively used filibusters -- or more often, the threat of a filibuster -- to change legislation or block a bill from being voted on the Senate floor.

What group of people worked together to reduce filibusters?

In 2005, a group of seven Democrats and seven Republicans - dubbed the "Gang of 14" - got together to reduce filibusters for judicial nominees. The Democrats agreed not to filibuster against several nominees, while Republicans ended efforts to rule filibusters unconstitutional.

Why do senators filibuster?

Often, senators make their intent to filibuster known to other senators to prevent a bill from being scheduled for a vote. That's why you rarely see long filibusters on the Senate floors. Bills that will not be approved are rarely scheduled for a vote.

What is the term for the Senate to delay votes?

The term filibuster is used to describe a tactic used by members of the U.S. Senate to stall or delay votes on legislation. Lawmakers have used every trick imaginable to filibuster on the floor of the Senate: reading names from the phone book, reciting Shakespeare, cataloging all the recipes for fried oysters.

How many times did Congress break the filibuster?

No session of Congress, in fact, had attempted to break a filibuster more than 10 times until 1970.

How many votes are needed to pass a cloture?

House of Representatives who have seen their bills pass in their chamber only to die in the Senate, have called for an end to filibusters, or to at least lower the cloture threshold to 55 votes.

Where did the term "filibuster" come from?

The Senate went the other way, with the orators of the mid-1800s talking so much that the colorful term “filibuster” was born, from Dutch and Spanish words describing the troublesome actual pirates of the Caribbean.

Where did the filibuster go?

The filibuster goes back. Way back, to ancient Rome. In the United States, it has been a part of democracy since day one.

How many votes do you need to get cloture?

This is the 60-vote part. To get cloture, current Senate rules require a three-fifths vote of the Senate. (Which, with 100 senators currently, is 60, Nancy.) If cloture passes, it dictates a maximum of 30 hours of debate and no more. Then there will be a vote on the actual measure the filibuster is seeking to block.

Why was the filibuster used?

According to information from the Senate Historical Office, for the first half of the 20th century the filibuster was used most prominently by Southern Democrats to oppose civil rights and voting protections for people of color.

How do senators launch filibusters?

Any senator can launch a filibuster. Senators need to give notice they intend to do this. Usually they first give their party leadership a heads up. Then the most frequent formal step is simple: The senator stands and says “I object” when other senators try to move forward on the legislation.

What does "filibuster" mean?

Filibuster. (fihl-ih-BUS’-ter). Noun. 1. Broadly, any way a lawmaker slows down or blocks someone else’s bills or resolutions from getting a vote. 2. Specifically, a powerful and sometimes wacky practice in the U.S. Senate, where senators are allowed to talk as long as they want when recognized.

How many votes do you need to pass a bill without a majority?

Some noncontroversial legislation can pass without it, by “unanimous consent.” But that requires every senator to agree and is well above the 60-vote hurdle.

The Origins of The Filibuster

See more on nationalgeographic.com

A Need For Cloture

Filibustering The Civil Rights Movement

The ‘Stealth’ Filibuster of The Modern Era