Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Dbq Essay

LBJ and The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Many people remember Lyndon B. Johnson as the 36th president of the United States and because of his famous 1964 civil rights act that he signed. Many people believe different things about his reasoning toward it, people speculate that he did it for political reasons while, others think it was for principle reasons, but which one is it? I personally believe that he did it for principle reasons for three reasons, they are because he had helped kids in Texas who were discriminated a lot, he was no longer tied to the south and because he was willing to give up the election for civil rights.

My first reason why he desperately wanted the civil rights act in place was for the kids he taught in Welhausen Elementary school. Johnson, after graduating from college, taught Mexican American students in Welhausen Elementary school in Texas (Doc A). These kids were fifth through seventh grade students that didn’t speak English that well, “My students

were poor and often came to class without breakfast” stated Johnson. He also talks about how they didn’t know it that well, but people dislike them (Doc A). They were often mistreated and segregated from everyone else because they spoke only Spanish. What made it even worse for Johnson was that he couldn’t speak Spanish, so you can tell that it was very rough for him, as well as the students. This proves that he did it for principle reasons and not for political reasons.
My second reason why I believed that he signed the civil rights act for principle reasons was because he was no longer tied in with the south.

Roy Wilkins, an important African-American civil rights leader who worked with John F. Kennedy asked why it had taken Lyndon B. Johnson so long to act upon the civil rights act and Johnson responded by quoting one of MLK’s speeches stating “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last”(Dallek E). Johnson was describing himself as being set free from the southern political bonds and could finally set away all the political pressure and could now focus on national interests and moral concerns. Basically, he didn’t have to listen to the south and could finally act on the civil rights act for personal or principle reasons. He freely expressed his feeling on the civil rights act and what he believed should of been done. He was always pressured by the south not to do anything with the civil rights act and now, nobody was there to stop

him.
My last reason as to why he signed the civil rights act of 1964 for principle reasons was because of all the support and work he put into setting up the civil rights act. My second reason talks about Johnson quoting Martin Luther King’s speech, why would he have done that if he didn’t care about civil rights. A few days after becoming president, Lyndon B. Johnson invited Senator Richard Russell to the white house to discuss the civil rights bill. They were longtime friends as well as colleagues. In their conversation Russell explains that if he wants to put the bill in order that it might cost him the south and the election. Johnson responded by stating “If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll pay it gladly”. But as we know that was not the case and he ends up better than before.
Though I believe that he did it mainly for principle reasons, there is a very great counterargument but it’s what you believe in. Lyndon B. Johnson the 36th president signed the civil rights act of 1964 not just for principle reasons but because he believed in equal rights and he thought it was the right choice. Again, this is what I believe and if you think that this is an interesting topic, search up data from both sides and decide if Johnson did it for Principle reasons or for Political reasons.