ipl-logo

How Did Kennedy Influence The Civil Rights Movement

1044 Words5 Pages

President Kennedy accomplished many tasks to ensure the rights for African American citizens. Most African Americans were struggling to fight for their own individual rights as a citizen, but it was extremely hard for them because of segregation. John Fitzgerald Kennedy made a huge impact on the Civil Rights Movement and he fought as hard as he could to make sure there are equal rights for all citizens of America. Kennedy and Nixon were both debating in 1960, however, the civil rights issue could not be ignored. In 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and John Kennedy called Mrs. King about his concern. Seventy percent of African Americans voted for Kennedy, because they had high expectations for him in office. He did not focus too much on Civil Rights when he was first elected, but he appointed African Americans to high-level positions. The presidents also strengthened Civil Rights commission and spoke about school desegregation. Kennedy faced strong oppositions for wanting to desegregate America, but that did not stop him because he believed in equal rights for every citizen. Many demonstrations, marches, and speeches from African American citizens were causing …show more content…

During this time in America, things were hard for African Americans and other races that were not white. Citizens who wanted freedom made many violent protests, demonstrations, and marches. The President, John Kennedy, made sure that could happen by making a civil rights bill and hiring African Americans in high level positions. After Kennedy was assassinated, Lyndon Johnson took place as president and made sure to pass the civil rights bill in honor of Kennedy. Many people disagreed with Kennedy and Johnson, but they still kept working as hard as they could to make sure what is right

Show More
Related
83 Words | 1 Pages

I chose to write about John F. Kennedy using the his “Civil Rights Address” as my primary source. By writing this paper I hope to prove how JFK helped the civil rights movement even though his term was cut short. I’m hoping I can prove that during his term he accomplished something for this movement that had a lasting effect. Civil rights was and still is a big deal in America and I hope to find out about his contribution to that effort.

Read More
211 Words | 1 Pages

In this address, Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also shifted the focus from legality to morality. The Kennedy administration also endorsed the March on Washington. He also sent federal troops to protect the black students attending the freshly desegregated University of Mississippi. 2.

Read More
1022 Words | 5 Pages

Lyndon Johnson was a critical and notable President responsible for the juncture of the civil rights movement for African American people in the USA. He was a Texan who became president in 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Johnson didn’t just focus on legislation, like many before him, but knew it was vital to first modify the already existing preconceptions around African Americans. On account of his authentic motivation, he willingly risked his own image for the advancement of the civil rights movement. Moreover, as an authority figure, he utilised his power to implement evident and lawful change in the USA.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was a big topic and controversy with all of the United States. It was quite clear that African Americans did not get treated the same way that whites did. It had been ruled that it was constitutional to be “separate but equal”, but African Americans always had less than the whites did. For example, the schools that they had were run down, and had very little classrooms, books, and buses. Martin Luther King had a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, as did Malcolm X, and others.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

In the years 1953 to 1963 two presidents were in office; Dwight Eisenhower assumed office in 1953 and left in 1961, he was succeed by John F Kennedy in 1961 who was then assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Both Presidents are credited with some major advancements in civil rights. One way the presidents didn’t do much for civil rights was that JFK did not want to interfere in the freedom rides. In 1961 CORE organised the Freedom Rides to challenge two Supreme Court rulings on interstate travel: Morgan Vs Virginia (1946) and Boynton Vs Virginia (1960) however they were met with a lot of white backlash from groups such as the KKK.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

President John F. Kennedy handled some political issues but pushed for desegregation and fair jobs. President Lyndon B. Johnson then passed two big laws in 1964 and 1965, improving rights for African Americans. These actions show Brown v. Board of Education led to more civil rights progress under Kennedy and Johnson. President John F. Kennedy didn’t always strongly back civil rights. Initially, he wavered due to

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because of a political based decision because of the public opinion, the 1957 stumbling block, and because his questionable sincerity. The Civil Rights Act expanded the voting right, which allowed everyone to easily vote, strengthened equal employment opportunity, which gave everyone an equal shot at getting a job, and

Read More
340 Words | 2 Pages

He also got us even pain jobs. As stated in "Encounter with Martin Luther King Jr." Dr. King said "Disappointment drives our young men to some desperate lengths, That is why we must fight an win." He stopped segregation, and even though he did that, people are still racist and rude based on color. Jackie Robinson was the first African American

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not the only law that benefited African Americans and showcased their success with the uplifting movement. After the violence in Selma the government felt like they had to do something to protect their citizens, so they decided to write the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to help African Americans officially earn the right to vote (Landau). This was a major decision for the government but overall it gave the movement the recognition it deserved for creating such a powerful impact on treatment of African Americans. Thanks to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 many African Americans were able to vote and many African Americans were also put into office because of this one law (Landau 39). The United States would now have African Americans in powerful and important positions in the government instead of just whites.

Read More
159 Words | 1 Pages

during the civil rights movement there was a lot of chaos going on. People back then were treated differently due to segregation. The african american people tried fighting for their rights to have the same equality as the white people had. any african american tried making history by either going to an all white school or getting their rights to vote.

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

The Civil Rights movements in the 60’s was one of the issue that President Johnson had to deal with as President. ONe of the civil rights acts that President Johnson created was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created to help the black citizens of the US to vote. Black rights activist saw the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as just the beginning of black discrimination. President Johnson went to Congress and called for a change in the country also known as a domestic reform.

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

The term martyr, while commonly used to describe a person of strong religious affiliation who is persecuted and killed for their theological ideologies, can be applied to anyone who is willing to risk every aspect of their lives to pursue and protect their beliefs. Martin Luther King Jr. was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. His perseverance and dedication to racial equality ignited fear and hatred in the resistors of the movement. Born in the south, Dr. King was submitted to the abhorrence of bigots from birth. His life in Georgia and personal experiences with inequality pushed him to abandon all fear in the name of justice (King).

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

The bus boycott was just one example of many situations where, under King’s influence, the civil rights movement gained attention and respect. The assassination of martin Luther king was unjust because he fought for equal rights and stop nothing to make the world a better place, However some people believe he had too much power. Martin Luther king fight for equality was a vision and a motivation. Martin Luther king Jr played a leadership role as the public “face” of civil right campaign, and as such, he was careful to maintain a public image that would

Read More
914 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. did lots of things to get civil rights. One of the most famous protests was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott started when Rosa Parks got on a bus in Montgomery and was asked

Read More
3651 Words | 15 Pages

After the March on Washington, African Americans were inspired to protst and use their voice to make a change. With their voices they protestd that the Civil Rights Act didnt go far enough because it did not protect African American voting rights (Trodd). Laws were passed that allowed all races to vote after the Emancipation Prolomation. White supremisits created loopholes to keep African Americans from voting, like poll taxes, which put a high tax that had to pay before voting that most African Americans could not afford, and literacy tests, that were almost impossible and the people in charge would pass all the white people who took the test, but fail all the African Americans. The Voting Rights Act phorbid both literacy tests and poll taxes, and made sure the Justice Department would take over voting in any cities that had trouble adapting to the new law (Trodd).

Read More

More about How Did Kennedy Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Related Topics

Open Document