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Essay On Why Did Lyndon B Johnson Sign The Civil Rights Movement

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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.
L.B.J. signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because of his personal witness of prejudice towards his students. L.B.J. was a former teacher in Cotulla, Texas for a small Mexican-American school. This school gave him an insight of the prejudice that Mexican-American children experienced. “But they knew it was so, because I saw it in their eyes”(Johnson 411). In this quote, it is referring …show more content…

Spiritually, he was driven to get this bill passed. L.B.J. wasn’t going to let anyone get in his way. “Dick, you’ve got to get out of my way”(Dallek 415). Johnson spoke this to Senator Richard Russell at their conversation over the issue. They were both also longtime friends and colleagues (Dallek 415). This shows you that Johnson won’t let anyone try to influence him or talk him out of his decision. Sometimes especially friends tend to change people’s minds, but no one will change Johnson’s. “If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll pay it gladly” (Dallek 415). Shown in this quote, is that he will take anything that comes at him in reaction of the signing of the Civil Rights bill. Johnson is hard set on getting Civil Rights passed throughout the United

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