Why Did John F Kennedy Support The Civil Rights Movement

John F. Kennedy or commonly referred to as JFK was President of the United States during a crucial time in the United States, the Civil Rights Movement. Kennedy’s Sothern Strategy will provide reason to why he did not want to give his opinion regarding the Civil Rights Movement while he was campaigning in the late 1950s. In truth, Kennedy supported the Civil Rights Movement because he promoted many African Americans to government jobs during his short time as President. Although Kennedy was assassinated before, he could finish his first term; his views on the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation were carried after his death as Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1965 through Congress in memory of JFK. Southern Strategy was a Republican vote getting strategy throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The strategy would be to affix a strong group of voters among the southern whites. They had done this because the Democrats had been winning a majority of the Southern votes whether it was through the populous vote or the electoral colleges. The Democrats used the Republicans’ strategy in events …show more content…
It first started with the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka. This case declared that any state laws regulating “separate but equal” schools for whites and blacks were unconstitutional. Kennedy recognized the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case, as it was “0the law of the land.” However, Kennedy also did some things that made it seem like he did not support Civil Rights. He voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957 when it went through the Senate and he supported the Southern move to refer the Civil Rights Act to the Judiciary Committee . Kennedy also had problems of his own in Massachusetts. Kennedy was up for reelection in Massachusetts as Senator and because Massachusetts believed in black rights, he had a tough road ahead if he wanted to be