Congress rejected a civil rights bill in 1956, Eisenhower introducing a modest version the following year meant to impose an expansion of federal supervision of integration in Southern states. In an unsuccessful attempt to derail the bill's passage, Thurmond spoke for a total of 24 hours and 18 minutes against the bill, the longest filibuster ever conducted by a single senator. Other Southern senators, who had agreed as part of a compromise not to filibuster this bill, were upset with Thurmond because they thought his defiance made them look incompetent to their constituents. Alternatively, Thurmond was pressured by South Carolina Governor George Bell Timmerman Jr., an opponent of the pro-civil rights stances imposed by the Eisenhower administration, Timmerman wanting Thurmond to take part in a filibuster. By then, Thurmond had already become known as one of the most vocal opponents of civil rights legislation. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 on August 29.