Lyndon Johnson & Civil Rights

By

Ally Hickey &

Carrigan Costello

Key Arguments

For the Civil Rights Bill:

• End discrimination against minority groups
• Finish what Lincoln and Kennedy started
• "The Negro fought in the war, and ...he's not gonna keep taking the s**t we're dishing out. We're in a race with time. If we don't act, we're gonna have blood on the streets."

Against the Civil Rights Bill:

• Southern States still felt African Americans should not be treated equally
• Just because a bill is passed, people will not stop being racist.
• "Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact."

Class questions

• Do you believe "The Johnson Treatment" was effective?
• Do you believe that it was right for Johnson to make such a big piece of legislation, when he wasn't elected by the people?
• Was Civil Rights the correct legislation to work on in this time period?

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last." -Dr. King

Lyndon Johnson & Civil Rights

Short-term Impact

Informal vs. Formal Powers

Formal Powers Used:

• Power to Convene Congress

Informal Powers Used:

• Power of Persuasion
• Personality and Leadership
• Legislative Proposals

Constitutional Basis

Class Discussion

• Constitution promises life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
• Johnson believed being discriminated against took away rights.
• Civil rights legislation was at the top of his agenda.

• Do you believe Johnson used his given powers to their fullest?
• What could Johnson have done to gain more power?

"One hundred years ago, the slave was freed. One hundred years later, the Negro remains in bondage to the color of his skin. The Negro today asks justice. We do not answer him- we do not answer those who who lie beneath the soil- when we reply to the Negro by asking,"Patience."...To ask for patience from the Negro is to ask him to give more of what he has already given enough."

-LBJ at Gettysburg

• Segregation ended
• Minority groups were treated more fairly
• People were still racist, and did not respect the legislation
• People were stuck in their beliefs
• A law was passed but not yet put into full affect

Long Term Impact

• Racism is almost entirely gone
• Many minority groups have equal opportunities
• The country had its first African American president in 2008

Historical Background

Vocab

Jim Crow Laws: Laws that dealt with segregation.

Segregation: The action of setting someone apart from other people.

• From a young age Johnson understood that the horrible treatment of blacks was wrong, immoral, and unsustainable.
• Johnson saw to remove Jim Crow laws.
• Since Johnson was a freshman in the House he understood how to get things done, operating better than people who had been there 20 years prior to him.
• Johnson stayed in the House for 10 years then moved to the Senate.
• 4 years in, Johnson was voted minority leader by the Democrats. 2 years later he became majority leader in the Senate.
• Johnson befriended Richard Russell and gained his trust.
• Later, Russell convinced LBJ to run for higher office, and LBJ became Kennedy's VP.

Historical Background 2

• President Kennedy had plans to create a bill to end discrimination against minority groups
• Johnson decided he would take over the bill for Kennedy when he became the new President
• Johnson was aware there was separation everywhere throughout the country
• African Americans living in the south were not given the opportunities they were promised by the Constitution
• Wanted to end segregation in the country, and finish what Lincoln started.
• Urged Congress to pass Civil Rights Bill

Presidential Power Used

Power to Persuade:

• Convinced Congressmen to vote in favor of the bill
• Johnson Treatment
• Goal of Power

The Johnson Treatment