One of Kennedy's marquee legislative accomplishments, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, prohibiting workplace discrimination against and requiring public accommodations for disabled Americans. Kennedy, who introduced the bill in the Senate, said on the 17th anniversary of its passing that the ADA succeeded in its goal of ensuring the "promise of a new and better life for every disabled citizen, in which their disabilities would no longer put an end to their dreams."
Kennedy's Top 10 Legislative Battles
For nearly five decades, Ted Kennedy was a pioneering force in the Senate. In honor of the Democrat's passing, TIME looks back at his political legacy