The Civil Rights Movement

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Johnson: Savior of the Civil Rights Movement? The Civil Rights Movement and President Johnson are closely linked in history. Though there were many other faces to the Civil Rights Movement, Johnson’s was one of the most publicly viewed and instrumental in its passing. It was Johnson who carried the weight and responsibilities of the issue after the assassination of JFK, and it was he who would sign it. Lyndon B Johnson was the most influential forces in establishing the movement that would ensure civil rights for black americans. Johnson was a constant and unwavering supporter of civil rights. Without his supreme efforts in establishing civil rights for all, equality would never have come to pass. Lyndon B Johnson was elected president on November 22, 1963 directly after the assassination of John F Kennedy, “the elevation of Lyndon B Johnson to the office of the president of the United States was impressively smooth”(Robert E. Gilbert, 761). Prior to his election Johnson was worked closely with the US government as a member of Congress, the US Navy, and as a US Senator. From his first political position to his last Johnson had one goal, making America into a "Great Society". It was through this idealist philosophy of his that he became invested in the Civil Rights Movement. Lyndon B Johnson’s role in the Civil Rights Movement was key to its success; Johnson proved his devotion to the people and their rights when he said, "The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning”(Government Printing Office, pp. 635-640). Johnson wanted nothing more than to see the movement, in which so many fought f... ... middle of paper ... ...in government his most powerful position was that of the president of the United States, and his most powerful act, the Civil Rights Act. Johnson confirmed the progress of the country in his address at Howard University when he said, “Thus we have seen the high court of the country declare that discrimination based on race was repugnant to the Constitution, and therefore void. We have seen in 1957, and 1960, and again in 1964, the first civil rights legislation in this Nation in almost an entire century”. From the very beginning Johnson was determined to become an influential individual and make a difference in the world. He said, “No act of my entire administration will give me greater satisfaction than the day when my signature makes this bill, too, the law of this land” and he meant it. Through the Civil Rights Act Johnson was able to do just that.

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