John F Kennedy Lbj Significance

On November 22nd 1963 the 35th president of the US (John F Kennedy) was assassinated. Previously Lyndon Baines Johnson had been vice president to Kennedy and because of this he was very aware of what Kennedy wanted to achieve. LBJ became the new president and with him came many changes, the biggest one being the civil rights movement. LBJ was a southerner from Texas and because of this he has experienced the poor treatment of African Americans at first hand. In 1963 when LBJ became president African Americans were discriminated against massively through segregation in places such as swimming pools, school, public transport, housing, toilets and many other places.
It can be argued that LBJ was significant in improving civil rights for African Americans during his presidency as he listened to the African American community and respected their point of view. This can be seen in source A where Martin Luther King (a civil rights leader) is sat down with LBJ. This was a significant move made by LBJ as it shows that he was willing to listen to the African Americans and this suggests that he was interested in helping them. Moreover MLK and LBJ are sat in the Whitehouse which demonstrates that it was an important event and was taken seriously. MLK was allowed into the Whitehouse
which presents equality. However during LBJ’s presidency there were times where he did not agree with attitudes presented by African Americans so he chose not to work with them. In April 1967 MLK made a speech ‘Beyond Vietnam’ criticizing the Vietnam War and LBJ’s support of the war which led to LBJ no longer wanting to work with MLK. This meant that LBJ was less significant in helping African Americans as many black soldiers were killed at war and LBJ refused to work with a major black civil rights leader who spoke in favour of a whole community of people including African Americans.
But it can be argued that LBJ was a significant figure in improving civil rights for African Americans as he did bring forward the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965. The civil rights act improved civil rights for African Americans as it banned public discrimination, brought equal opportunities in employment and made voting registrations the same for everyone. From source B you learn that LBJ was committed to help African Americans gain more rights, this is because he did what he thought was necessary and didn’t hold back. The fact that he has been described to go ‘further than perhaps Kennedy would have been willing to go’ indicates that he was not afraid to take action in order to get equal civil rights for all. This meant that LBJ was a very significant figure as he was not afraid to loose support from southerners who did not agree with his policies. This made him unique from previous presidents such as Eisenhower as he was not afraid to intervene and as a consequence he was able to help the African American community more than previous presidents who were afraid to do so as they did not want to cause conflict and loose votes.
On the other hand LBJ may have only carried out actions such as passing the civil rights bill to keep people who supported Kennedy on his side.
This is because from source C the passing of the civil rights bill was said to be for Kennedy. From source C you can also learn that it was Kennedy that ‘fought’ for the bill and meant that it was Kennedy who had the initial idea for the bill and powered it forward. As the bill was passed only 5 days after his death demonstrates that it was him who put most of the work in as it was passed very quickly after his death. This makes LBJ’s significance less important in helping African Americans as he only carried on what Kennedy would have done so
himself.
Moreover LBJ could be seen as a very significant figure for improving civil rights for African Americans as he did speeches in favour of African Americans to persuade others to think in the same way and to help speak up for them. LBJ did a number of speeches in favour of the African American community during his presidency. Source Di presents LBJ’s attitude in a positive way by highlighting his feelings towards how civil rights should not have to be fought for and that how you are treated should not be determined by where you live. This made LBJ successful in helping African Americans gain rights as it opened the eyes of the public to what was happening. Furthermore in source Dii positive discrimination has been used to represent the unfairness in