Why Did L. B Johnson Win The Civil Rights Movement

Superior Essays
Politics or Principles

The next election is coming up and signing this bill could help you win or you just want to do the right thing. Johnson lived on a farm in his youth, near Stonewall, Texas. People thought that someone of his humble surrounding could never be president, they were wrong. At age twenty he became a teacher at an elementary school and then went on to teach high school. Another step in his journey to presidency was to get into politics. “In 1937 Johnson won a Texas seat in the US House of Representatives, holding the position for 11 years” ( Politics or Principal… 405). He then served in the Navy as a lieutenant commander until President Franklin Roosevelt called him back and he was elected into the senate. He next became the senate majority leader and nine years later became president after President Kennedy was Assassinated. During Johnson’s early years in congress he indirectly opposed civil rights. Then when he was president he passed the Civil Rights Act into law, the act guaranteed stronger voting rights, equal employment opportunities, and all Americans the right to use public facilities. Wanting to win the election or what he believed in: What caused L. B. J. to sign the civil rights act. Principal caused L. B. J. to sign the civil rights act of 1964 because
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People were telling Johnson that he was going lose the reelection if he did not have the south on his side. He would lose the south’s support if he signed the civil rights act of 1964, and he knew that. “If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll pay it gladly” (Dallek 415). He knew that he could possibly lose the election, but he did not care. He knew that signing the civil rights act of 1964 was the right thing to do and he had the northerns on his side. “Despite the opposition of fellow Southerners” ( Politics or Principal… 405). Johnson was being challenged by other southerners and being criticized for what he was

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