Dyer Bill

Jacqueline Smith-Mason

The Dyer bill, proposed in 1918 by Congressman Leonidas Dyer of Missouri, was the first major attempt by Congress to eliminate the practice of lynching. The purpose of the bill was to hold state and local governments accountable for their support of intimidation against Blacks, including lynching, which largely went unpunished by 1 aw enforcement officials during the post-Reconstruction era in the South. This entry examines the history and context surrounding the pioneering bill. In 1922, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Dyer bill. Due to a filibuster by mostly White southerners, the bill was defeated in the U.S. Senate. Some critics of the Dyer bill argued that the legislation would interfere with states' rights. Although the Dyer bill failed to pass Congress, it was a major political achievement that laid the foundation for future antilynching legislation. For example, the Costigan-Wagner antilynching bill proposed in 1935 garnered support from ...

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