Sometimes, politically powerful men do unexpected things. Lyndon B. Johnson was from Texas and after college taught children. Later, he went into politics as a Democratic Primary Texas senator. In 1960 he ran for President against JFK, and sadly lost. But then got asked to be JFK’s Vice President, and said yes! On November 22, 1963 JFK was shot in Dallas, Texas while in a parade. In a twist of fate LBJ got to be the President because of the assassination. In July 1964 Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act through Congress. But before 1964 he was against, “colored” people getting the same rights as whites. Why did he sign the Act? He signed the Act because he wanted to get re-elected, because he was free from southern strongholds, and on the principle side it was the right thing to do.
One case that proves President Johnson’s political motivation can be found in Doc B. This Doc shows in February 1964, 39% of Americans believed that Johnson was pushing integration, “About right.” This proves that more people than not, will support him signing the Act. Which will guarantee lots of votes for his running for President of the United States. Later, in April they did another poll and asked, “ Do you approve or disapprove of the way Lyndon Johnson is handling the civil …show more content…
When he became President he could follow the national interest and not just the interest for the south. In the Doc it says, “ 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.” This demonstrates that he signed the Act because he was for the majority of the vote for the whole United States. However, his principles may have played a part in this decision as
One case that proves President Johnson’s political motivation can be found in Doc B. This Doc shows in February 1964, 39% of Americans believed that Johnson was pushing integration, “About right.” This proves that more people than not, will support him signing the Act. Which will guarantee lots of votes for his running for President of the United States. Later, in April they did another poll and asked, “ Do you approve or disapprove of the way Lyndon Johnson is handling the civil …show more content…
When he became President he could follow the national interest and not just the interest for the south. In the Doc it says, “ 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.” This demonstrates that he signed the Act because he was for the majority of the vote for the whole United States. However, his principles may have played a part in this decision as