Lyndon B Johnson Dbq Analysis

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Sometimes, politically powerful men do unexpected things. Lyndon Baines Johnson was a perfect example of this. He was a true Texan, born on a farm near Stonewall, Texas. He got a went to college and became a teacher who put everything into his work. Not too long after, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives where he stayed for eleven years. He went on to take two six-year terms as a Texas senator, and his hard work made him a majority leader. As a senator, he voted against many civil right laws that were proposed. But, when he later became President, he was the one that passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Why did L.B.J. sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964? If principle decisions are based on strongly-held beliefs, then Cotulla Teaching, Ignoring Southern Reaction, and Change of Heart show that President Johnson was motivated to sign by his principles. …show more content…

This document tells about how he taught at a Mexican-American school in Cotulla, Texas. The students there were poor, often coming to school without breakfast. They were disliked, but never knowing that it was because of their race. This may seem like not a big deal, but it is. It was right out of college, so he probably hadn’t thought about becoming a political leader yet. The only thing that would make him work there was his beliefs that these children deserved an education, even though they were colored. It would take a very strongly held set of beliefs to make him work so hard to help and teach these children. This is a clear example of the principled beliefs L.B.J. held