Lyndon B. Johnson's Explaination of our Fundamental Rights in “American Promise: Message to Congress”

Voting rights have been a constant struggle for most people in America. During the eighteenth century, only property owning white men were able to vote. This means that the colored individuals and women were excluded from the basic right to vote. The southern white society deeply opposed the idea of African Americans voting, creating discriminating legislations furthering the problem in a society dominated by White Americans. Lyndon B. Johnson outlines the differences between the law and justice and emphasize the fact that laws must be questioned in order for justice to be served. Laws are created for an equal platform for all citizens of America but some laws do not encompass the entire situation to serve justice.

In the “American Promise: Message to Congress”, Lyndon B. Johnson expands on the fundamental rights America was founded upon and how certain groups do not achieve those equal rights due to race and color of skin. Even after the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were passed, the underlying discrimination among the White American community continued. “Our mission is ... the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man” (Johnson 103). The American Revolution was fought for certain ideals that were set in place for all citizens, but some groups were denied these rights. These minority groups were living in America searching for freedom. America was founded on words like “Give me liberty or give me death,” and “All men are created equal.” “In their [powerful words like these] name Americans fought and died for two centuries” (Johnson 104). Americans of all class, gender, and race have been fighting for and protecting the country for the words the nation stands by. They are not jus...

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...t that to achieve equal rights, there needs to be a change in the political system. In order to provide equality of rights, the Voting Rights Act (1965) was established. The transition from the “struggle for human rights” to equality did not have any clear boundaries. Justice was not completely exercised because most laws contradicted the principles America was built upon. To move forward as a society, injustice can be remedied through challenging the laws created upon the dominant ideologies that were limited to certain groups of people.

Law and justice are two completely separate things as Lyndon B. Johnson clearly outlines in his “Special Message to the Congress.” Laws are enacted to provide equality for African Americans; however, when they are implemented, other factors such as pre-clearance requirements for each state prevent African Americans from voting.