I am writing an article for Poli SCI to this question. I must make an argument that the reasons for these laws during the conference. Apart from the obvious (it was the morally correct decision), I must emphasize that what the Congress finally raised it was all over between them. Can someone help me?
Tags: 1964, 1965, civil, Congress, made, pass, rights, voting
To force the South into the 20th century.
President johnson had a good relationship with the congress so they allowed him to sign the civil rights bill… also there were lot’s of riots and problems going on because of the unequal rights black americans had… even when it was signed some white americans rejected and fought back however they allowed back americans to spread the way they got treated to all around the world by media….
They knew what was on the way.
Believe me it wasn’t just because of the Jim Crow laws of the south. De facto segregation existed in most of the US. Black Americans with the jobs, money and social standing couldn’t buy or rent homes in middle class areas. Here in the west, new housing was “restricted” – it would not be sold to a person of color. In the south, “whites only” signs peppered all public facilities even though blacks paid some of the taxes that built and supported them. Blacks had to pay poll taxes and in some states prove their literacy before being allowed to register to vote while whites were waived. The US was truly two countries: the white one and the “colored” one.
Getting these laws passed was a long, hard struggle. Lyndon Johnson was a practioner of old style personal politics. He’d spent many years in the Senate and was senate majority leader when nominated and elected to the vice presidency. He knew where all the skeletons were buried and had used the power he had as majority leader to accumulate a ton of IOUs. He’d done enough “favors” to have a huge bankroll of political capital. He was not past using his political clout when it needed to be used. When these bills came up for votes, he called in those IOUs and used his clout to basically bully and shove the votes to the “yea” side. He knew that passing these bills would spell the end of the Dems Southern alliance. He knew it would mean the end of any political influence he had in Congress but he did it anyway. If you want specifics, you’re going to have to dig for them.
You also have to remember that the Dems and Repubs in the 1960s each consisted of conservative, moderate and liberal blocks. If you look at the voting records of these bills, you’ll see both Dems and Repubs on the for and on the against sides. The US wasn’t as politically polarized as it is today. And politics was personal, not ideological.