Bryce 1 Elijah Bryce Mr. Divelbiss U.S. History 15 April 2022 Why Did Lyndon B. Johnson Pass The Civil Rights Act? In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was faced with a critical decision that would change the history of the United States. Whether or not he would sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the past when he was a Senator, Johnson would weaken such bills because it was his belief that such domestic policies should be left to the state's decisions, not the federal government. However, facing this decision in the position of president, he defied his past actions and decided to pass this Civil Rights Act. It still remains unclear to this day whether Johnson acted upon politics or principle. Either or both could have motivated him into passing this bill, however I believe that Johnson’s principles were the primary reason he decided to pass the bill to fight discrimination across the nation. Most of the evidence provided has led me to believe that Johnson’s passing of the Civil Rights bill was acted out of principle, while his actions as Senator were acted out of politics. The biggest elephant in the room people point towards when regarding Johnson’s motives are how he acted towards similar bills in the past. This point has actually been brought up with Johnson himself, as evident in Document E. When describing why he acted differently, he states, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, I’m free at last.” Johnson elaborates stating how Bryce 2 he is finally free from his Southern political ties and his obligation to represent the popular discriminatory beliefs in the state. He could finally fight for equal rights for the entire nation, rather than cater to the politics of what would make him a likable public official in the South. From this evidence, we can conclude that Johnson’s actions as Senator were merely about his politics, and they were actually going against his own principles. Another reason why I believe Lyndon B. Johnson was acting out of principle rather than politics because, at one point in his career, he was very close and familiar with the discrimination that minority ethnic groups had to endure. During his early 20s, Johnson worked as a high school teacher in a segregated school in Texas. The school was a Mexican American school, and when describing his students he stated, “My students were poor and they often came to class without breakfast, hungry. They knew even in their youth, the pain of prejudice” (Document A). Johnson’s tone when he describes the hardships he witnessed show his compassion and his vision to fix the inequality they faced. He was forced against these policies as Senator, and only went against them to move higher up, until he could finally take a giant step for America towards equality: The Civil Rights Act. The final reason I believe Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act out of principle was because he ran the risk of losing his upcoming election by passing it. While some believe that Johnson became more popular through passing this Act, he also lost supporters in the South as well. Johnson had an encounter with a Southern Senator from Georgia, where he said, “ Russell: ‘You may do that but by God, it’s going to cost you the South and cost you the election.’ Bryce 3 Johnson: ‘If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll pay it gladly.’ ” (Document C) Johnson put his principle over his politics in this instance. Even though he was casting away the very community that had gotten him to the position, he was willing to do what was right despite what could keep him in power. Even though the Civil Rights Act might’ve been a conflicting issue for the country, Lyndon B. Johnson acted out of principle when signing it. He had experienced firsthand the segregation that minorities had to put up with, why they didn’t deserve it, and how it affected their future. He also had to fight against the policies so he could gain positional power in the government in order to be able to make this decision himself. Finally, signing this Act put his own future as president in jeopardy, which was the ultimate selfless sacrifice that Johnson could have made.
