Lyndon B. Johnson & the
Second Reconstruction
HIS 265
Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
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Refused to sign Southern Manifesto
Got Civil Rights Act of 1957 through Congress:
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Est. Civil Rights Commission & Civil Rights Division in Justice
Dept.
Watered down by removing section that accelerated school
desegregation & adding right to jury trials (guaranteeing
acquittals for whites)
Civil Rights Act of 1960:
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extended life of CRC
provided federal court referees to register blacks
made it a federal crime to interfere with court orders or cross
state lines to commit violence
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Discrimination in all places of public
accommodation outlawed (hotels, restaurants, etc.)
Required literacy tests to be administered in
writing, & presumed all 6th grade graduates were
literate
Attorney General empowered to bring school
desegregation suits
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
created
Extending African-American Voting Rights
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24th Amendment (1964) ended poll tax
Supreme Court ruled Congressional districts must have
“substantial equality”:
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Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – “one man, one vote” rule established
Reynolds v. Sims (1964) applied rule to state legislatures
Voting Rights Act of 1965:
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Eliminates literacy tests and other such devices in states or counties
where less than 50 percent of voting-age population was registered by
11-1-64
(In 1970 all literacy tests are outlawed)
Requires clearance for state and local governments seeking to change
election laws
Makes it illegal to pass a measure that has voting discrimination as its
purpose
The Impact of the Voting Rights Act
Copyright 1997, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
The War on Poverty
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Economic Opportunity Act (1964) allocated $1 billion
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Office of Economic Opportunity led by Sargent Shriver
“Maximum feasible participation” outraged local politicians seeking patronage
Many programs focused on urban poverty – seen by LBJ & advisors
as part of civil rights program:
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Job Corps – aimed at inner-city teens
Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) – domestic version of the Peace
Corps
Head Start – designed to prepare poor kids for school
Upward Bound – designed to prepare poor high schoolers for college
Legal Service to the Poor – response to Court’s extension of defendants’
rights:
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Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – gov’t must provide attorneys to poor
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – police must inform accused of rights
Model Cities – $1.2 billion to upgrade employment, housing, education &
health
Other Initiatives
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Medicare & Medicaid (1965) expanded health care to elderly,
disabled and poor
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Medicare = health insurance for elderly & disabled
Medicaid = grants to states to pay for health care for the poor
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Costs split 50%/50% with states
Linked to welfare until 1996 Welfare Reform Act
Elementary & Secondary Education Act and Higher Education
Act (1965) required schools receiving federal money to follow
federal guidelines on ending racial & sex discrimination
Higher Education Act expanded federal assistance to colleges &
universities
Department of Housing & Urban Development (1965) added to
president’s cabinet
Decrease in Poverty, 1960-1974
Affirmative Action in Business &
Education
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First endorsed by Pres. Johnson in June 4, 1965
commencement address at Howard University
Based on Moynihan Report, which blamed culture of
poverty on psychological damage caused by slavery &
racism, as well as single-parent homes
Executive Order 11246 (Sept. 1965) requires federal
contractors to take specific measures to ensure equality in
hiring (amended to apply to women in 1967)
EEOC reinterpreted its mandate in late 1960s to show
broad pattern of de facto discrimination, rather than trying
to prove intentional discrimination
Presidential Appointments
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Thurgood Marshall became first
African-American Supreme Court
Justice
Robert C. Weaver became first
African-American cabinet
secretary (HUD)
Civil Rights Act of 1968
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Riots in 130 cities following
King’s assassination left 46 dead
& over $100 million in property
damage
Civil Rights Act (1968) passed
in response
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Prohibits discrimination in sale,
rental, advertising & financing
of housing based on race,
religion, national origin or sex
HUD investigates & can litigate Pres. Johnson signs the 1968 Fair Housing Act
or refer to state or local
agencies
Amended in 1988 to include
handicap & family status