President Lyndon Baine Johnson: The Voting Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were two symbolic laws passed by Congress in response to the nonviolent protests, boycotts, demonstrations, and sit-ins. The people were expressing their first amendments rights of freedom of speech and right to peacefully assemble. As a result, the movement managed to end separation by law in American society; however, separation among some citizens remained.

20.3- The Great Society • Johnson Takes Over o As popular as Kennedy had become to this point in his life before he died, Lyndon Baines Johnson was to become just as popular due to his motivation and drive that he exhibited in order to continue Kennedy’s legacy.  When he was young, FDR helped him progress within his political career, making him Johnson’s idol and motivated to mimic his leadership style. o This was a good decision on Johnson’s behalf as this allowed him to prove himself to both the people and Congress.

In America, there was an inequality issue between African Americans and Caucasians. As a result, one change for African Americans includes Supreme Court rulings that addressed the issue of segregation. The other changes include public support with movements and political response by the President and Congress. When problems were arising in the South with African Americans, the action of the Supreme Court, advocates, and government were necessary in order to achieve civil rights and equality. The Supreme Court’s decision on the Plessy v. Ferguson case and the Brown v. Board of Education case affected American in different ways.

Throughout the American 1960’s there was a Civil Rights Movement. This movement gained a lot of traction within a short amount of time through many people. There were two leaders with opposing tactics but had the same goal reined in the movement. One leader was Martin Luther King with the tactic of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and integration. The second leader was Malcolm X with the tactic to fight back and to have the communities better themselves by being separate.

In this paper, I will focus on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I will provide the history, the important people involved in the establishment of the Civil Rights Act, the events that led to the act, and the reactions from the people, mostly Southerners, after the act was established. In the year of 1963, Blacks were experiencing high racial injustice and widespread violence was inflicted upon them. The outcry of the harsh treatments inflicted upon them caused Kennedy to propose the Civil Rights Act.

The Civil Rights Act 1964 was first proposed by John F Kennedy. Though there was strong opposition from members of Congress, it was signed into law after Kennedy’s assassination by Lyndon B. Johnson. The Civil Rights Act banned employment and discrimination and public segregation on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. Upon signing the Civil Rights Act, Lyndon B Johnson spoke and made a speech. With this in mind, he begins by stating what the law meant.

Birmingham and the March Of Washington 1963 Birmingham and the March of Washington were main events of 1963 and played a significant role in the Kennedy administration’s move to end of segregation. The Birmingham demonstrations and the violent attacks pushed Kennedy into taking action. Media was a major eye-opening factor. It showed images from the brutal police attacks creating a worldwide concern . In response, Kennedy gave ‘The Civil Rights Address’ speech, which is seen as a turning point in Kennedy’s position towards the conflict.

My topic is the Lyndon B Johnson Civil Rights Act. I choose this topic because civil rights continue to be a relevant topic years after President Johnson signed the bill. This topic is relevant to taking a stand in history because a lot of people did not agree with Lyndon B. Johnson when he signed the bill, but he was passionate about giving black people the same rights as white people. The civil rights bill was a project years in the making, and after John F. Kennedy’s term, LBJ continued the fight for civil rights.

To accomplish social equality and justice has been a long controversial issue in U.S. history. Voting Rights Act of 1965 should be understood as a tremendous accomplishment today because it not only represent a symbol of the triumph of fighting social injustice, but also open the first gate for African American and minority to strive for more political power in order to create a “great society.”

Lyndon Johnson 's desire to build a "Great Society" came from his roots in Texas where he lived in poverty. While pursuing his studies at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1928-1929, he became a teacher at a predominately Mexican American school. He was forever impacted by the extreme poverty that his students lived in and would begin to view poverty as more isolating than racism (Lyndon B. Johnson, 2018).  This would influence his goals to end poverty and expand education. In his speech in 1964, Johnson called for America to become a "Great Society", so that no child would be hungry or uneducated, teachers would have good pay, there would be good schools, and the nation would be a place where all people had dignity and workers would have jobs (Schultz, 2014).

The President I have have chosen is Andrew Johnson. He was the 17th President of the United States serving from 1865-1869. He started out as a vice president when president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After that someone had to be elected the new president. Andrew Johnson was chosen.