Lingi Havea
2015-2016
2cd/3rd Principle or Politics
Back in the fifties and sixties there were many prejudice and racist people in America. They would discriminate whoever was different or whoever they did not like. Many of those different people had their limited rights violated or infringed. So therefore in order to stop all of that nonsense, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an act to stop it. I know that the reason why Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was because of his principle. The three reasons why was because he felt compassionate for the Mexican Americans that he taught, he risked losing the election just to keep the Civil Rights Act of 1964 alive, and he felt strong about keeping the Civil Rights Bill.
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Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was because he felt compassion and love towards the Mexican American students that he taught. All of the students had respect and love for Lyndon B. Johnson too. The students of Welhausen Elementary School were discriminated and were very poor. Most of them had broken up english and President Johnson barely talked any spanish back to them . They usually went to class without having any breakfast and went to class very hungry. “My students were poor and they often came to class without breakfast, hungry”(Doc A). Lyndon B. Johnson could see the pain that the young Mexican American kids had gone through because of all the prejudice people that had not thought of their rights. “They knew even in their youth the pain of prejudice. They never seemed to know why people disliked them. But they knew it was so, because I saw it in their eyes”(Doc A). When Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 he was thinking of the little Mexican Americans and had hoped for a new beginning for the new …show more content…
Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was because he felt very strongly about keeping the Civil Rights Bill alive. Roy Wilkins was an important African American that was a leader and was very important. He was asking President Lyndon B. Johnson that if he had felt strong about the Civil Rights Bill, why did it take him until now to do something about it. “If he had felt so strongly about the issue, why had it taken him so long to act on it”(Doc E). And President Lyndon B. Johnson’s response was a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.”Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I am free at last”(Doc E). When he said that he was now talking as a normal person who is not trying to win any presidential election. He was talking from the heart and he was free from the political bonds that he had. “Johnson was describing himself as liberated from his Southern political bonds or as a man who could now fully put the national interest and moral concerns above the political constraints imposed on a Texas senator”(Doc E). He was then talking about how he truly felt and told Roy Wilkins his real
He wanted to guarantee that the rights won in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be enforced by the federal government.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 resulted from one of the most controversial House and Senate debates in history. It was also the biggest piece of civil rights legislation ever passed. The bill actually evolved from previous civil rights bills in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The bill passed through both houses finally on July 2, 1964 and was signed into law at 6:55 P.M. EST by President Lyndon Johnson. The act was originally drawn up in 1962 under President Kennedy before his assassination. The bill originated from two others, and one of which was the Equal Opportunity Act of 1962 that never went into law. This bill made up the core of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Bureau of National Affairs 18-20).
Civil Rights is important, but why did L.B.J. sign it off? On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act prohibited discrimination of voting, education, and other areas of American life like public facilities. This was a huge change in American life. As a US senator though, he helped weaken bills for Civil Rights. Did Lyndon B. Johnson sign the Civil Rights Act because of politics or principle? Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act for principle because of his first hand experience of prejudice towards his Mexican-Americans students as a teacher, his willing to lose the election in order to establish Civil Rights, and his freedom from Southern segregational political bonds.
Have you ever wondered how a Signature could change a country entirely? LBJ did just that. LBJ was born in the Hill Country of central Texas, He lived in Texas his whole life. He taught Middle School at age 20, But then after earning his teaching degree he went to go teach at Houston High School, In you guessed it, Houston. LBJ signed the Civil Rights act of 1964, Because of Principle beliefs. He strongly believed in not having segregation. If principle decisions are based on strongly-held beliefs, then Cotulla Teaching, Ignoring Southern Reaction, and Change of Heart show that President Johnson was motivated to sign by his principles.
All it took for a teacher was inspiration, a vision, and a pen on paper. President Lyndon B. Johnson was an educator that took an unexpected turn to alter history. But through the course of his legacy, people ask, why did he sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964? He signed the bill for principle reasons because of the emotions from his past career, his bravery to sacrifice, and because of his personality and background (DOC A, C and E).
According to Lawson, external factors such as the declining national sympathy and the escalation of the Vietnam War resulted in it becoming more difficult to pass legislation, hence resulting in most of Johnson’s bills being passed in a ‘short span of years’ and normally in response to a particular event. After 1965, there was a breakdown in the civil rights consensus as a result of the riots and black militancy. This can be seen as between the years 1964-66, the percentage of white Americans who felt that Black Americans were asking for too much rose from 34% to 85%. This would have had a negative impact on Johnson’s civil rights effort because it would have made it harder to push civil rights bills through Congress as it meant that there was less of a national pressure, forcing Congress to pass it.
When Johnson let the South back into the Union he helped to make all the people who had died for the right to equality for all worthless. President Johnson was from the south originally. He had been a poor white living in Kentucky, and so had learned to hate the rich, white Plantation owners. But he always felt above the slaves which later influenced his decision to let the very people he had grown up hating back in to the Union. When congress passed the 13th Amendment banning slavery many of the people in the south feared what would happen to them. Johnson, who related to the poor white folk, knew that they needed someone who they could say "at least I'm better than you" about. The only way he saw to do that was by letting the South have their lands and rights back so that they could do something about their former slaves. So the pardons started rolling out of the Round Office like a printing press. The Radical Republicans weren't happy about it but at that point they couldn't stop him. The south began to return to the way it was.
On the other hand, some historians suggest that Lyndon B Johnson was insignificant in improving Civil Rights for African Americans during his presidency due to the Vietnam War. For example, “Johnson’s insistence on American involvement in Vietnam… placed a large strain on the economy” (source 3). This suggests that Johnson’s intentions regarding Vietnam overshadowed the commitment to Civil Rights. This has the potential to be prioritised over improving Civil Rights for African-Americans and less time and money to be put
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered by some to be one of the most important laws in American history. (The Most Important Cases, Speeches, Laws & Documents in American History) This Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964 and it is a “comprehensive federal statute aimed at reducing discrimination in public accommodations and employment situations.” (Feuerbach Twomey, 2010) Specifically, it aimed at prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), and religion.” (Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2010) Additionally, it also
The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was about equal rights for communities around the country. One contributor to the movement was President Lyndon B. Johnson. A former teacher and Democratic Senator from Texas, he helped forward the fight for civil rights by signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But what made a, once pro-segregation, Senator sign a desegregation bill? Was it for political gain, or was he always against segregation? He signed the bill out of principle because of his experiences as a teacher, his hesitation to the 1957 bill, and his relief of pressure from the Senate.
Johnson, a democrat. The purpose was to extinguish poverty and racial injustice which consisted programs such as the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Criminal Justice Act. The Civil Rights Act would ban discrimination based on race or color, religion, sex, or national origin. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson which would outlaw discriminatory voting practices that were established in several southern states. Lastly, the Criminal Justice Act allowed people that would be potentially guilty to be able to have a lawyer and changed several laws that were conducted.
In my opinion, his reasons to sign the act was out of principle. His motives as to why he signed the act were because of his sympathy towards people affected by segregation, his transformation from senator to a candidate to express his ideas, and ignoring the southern wants of segregation and willingness to lose their votes. LBJ eventually won the 1964 election and tried to improve the nation thereafter through the Great Society Programs. After the 1964 act was signed, there were no more segregated, public facilities. They were one step closer to stopping segregation, and racial prejudice.
“I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help- and God’s.”- Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson filled in as president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated during his term. Johnson took on the task of the civil rights Kennedy left behind after his death. His motives for signing the Civil Rights Act is unsure if he did it for the votes or out of the purity of his heart. So, what is the authoritative reason that Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights
was becoming more strong. There was a bunch of riots that took place in the years of 1965 to 1968. Johnson ended up passing The Third Civil Rights Act in 1968, which banned housing discrimination and extended constitutional protections to Indians on reservations. Along with the breakdown of the interracial civil rights movement, the faults of some of Johnson’s programs ended up resulting in Republicans gains in the 1966 elections that took place. This started to slim down the chances of him getting Congress’ support and cooperation on down the
In the effect of these leading figures in the revolution of independence, there were dreams to create a different nation, where freedom and were the basis for right and wrong. Ideals of people have allowed for constitutional changes over the course of history. Martin Luther King, Jr., became one of the larges advocates for liberty. His credibility flowed from his pure dream with good intention. Throughout time, leaders, like him, have worked to give equal opportunity to young adults everywhere. In the more recent times, Presidents have labored to pass legislation to prohibit racism. A historian, Anne Stokely stated that “Affirmative Action in the United States dates from the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the early 1960s. After signing the Civil Rights Act into law in 1964 prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin, President Johnson went one step further”