Who was the father of civil rights?

Answer 1

The acts passed during the administration of Lyndon Johnson were the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's. However, Johnson was only the final link in the process begun by Harry Truman in desegregating the armed forces, Dwight Eisenhower in supporting school desegregation, and John F. Kennedy in Federal intervention to suppress and investigate civil rights abuses. These efforts, however, culminated more than 100 years after the official end of slavery by Abraham Lincoln.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration did the most to improve the lives for African Americans, although not unhindered by the house democrats in his administration. Without the republicans in the northern states, the Civil Rights act of 1964 would never had been passed. In fact, an overwhelming 63% of house democrats were against the bill compared to a 34% of republicans. Johnson's popularity can be highlighted by the fact that 60% of the Americans who went to pay their respects when he died were African Americans. A significant improvement for African Americans Civil Rights would be the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which abolished white racial discrimination that had previously restricted their right to vote. Further legislation which he pushed through Congress would also include the Education Act which encouraged school desegregation. His determination to improve the lives of African Americans extended to beneficial improvements in unemployment whilst those living in poverty decreased by 25%. He played a vital role in ending discrimination and segregation, particularly in the South. Compared to the other American Presidents who governed during the Civil Rights period, Johnson appears to have effectively passed laws through Congress in favour of equality for African Americans.

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There were 10 main presidents that had any affect on the legislation or attitudes towards the civil rights movement during this period. Abraham Lincoln, the first and probably the most talked about president of the civil rights movement because he issued the emancipation proclamation (this act formally ended slavery), was not entirely a president that was committed to the abolition of slavery. The proclamation only largely added to a movement which had already begun, with most of the slaves having already escaped slavery or wishing to do so. Abraham Lincoln's main idea behind issuing the proclamation was not because of the slaves but to enable the continuity and unity of the United States to rebuild as he once said:

"If I could save the union without freeing any slave, I would do it"

Andrew Johnson is another main president that had an affect on the civil rights movement, but this affect was negative as he was in favour of slavery. Despite in every case of legislation concerning civil rights, Andrew Johnson vetoed, the Freedman's bureau and the civil rights act were still able to be set up. This is mainly because of the radical republicans in congress who were in favour of civil rights.

F D Roosevelt though wasn't completely devoted to the civil rights cause was greatly interested in the economic stability of the poor , which in turn helped African Americans . In 1938 he passed an executive order 8802 creating the civil rights section of the justice department, which provided a government agency to aid southern blacks in their efforts to gain integration. Though this section wasn't that helpful towards African Americans it was the first time since the reconstruction period that a president had directly addressed the issue of civil rights.

Dwight Eisenhower passed many civil rights acts but instead of them being very effective became more of a symbol of hope that the law could be used to change southern society for African Americans. The 1957 civil rights act was the first act to pass congress since the civil war. Eisenhower was also the first president since the civil war to send federal troops to the south to aid the African American community especially in the Arkansas case where the 9 African American children were being targeted by white mobs by attending a once all-white school.

John F Kennedy employed more black people into prominent positions; however he appointed white supremacists as judges in the deeps south. He also publicised his support for racial equality by hosting more African Americans at the white house than any other president, and was indeed the most popular president for most African Americans during the civil rights movement. In response to black pressure JFK had morally committed the presidency to reform. This damaged his democratic party in the south, and it took considerable courage to compromise his own party and re-election prospects.

Lyndon B Johnson played a key role in ending legal discrimination and segregation in the south. His voting rights act transformed southern politics by giving blacks the opportunity to vote without fear and also his education act speeded up school desegregation and helped black colleges to be established. Under his presidency black unemployment decreased by 34% and the percentage of blacks living below the poverty line decreased by 25%. However many African Americans were dissatisfied with his achievements and as a result riots came about because of African Americans desire for quicker progress.

Richard Nixon had a dim view of African Americans, "there has never in history been an adequate black nation, and they are the only race of which this is true". He crushed the black panthers and attempted to revise the voting rights act in order to win the white southern support. However Nixon still set up the office of minority enterprise to encourage black capitalism and embrace affirmative action (positive discrimination) as he believed jobs were the way out of the ghetto. During his administration social security and welfare payments doubled. Evidence of this is shown in 1974 where blacks living below the poverty line decreased from 87% to 30%.

Jimmy carter appointed more blacks and Hispanics to the federal judiciary than any other previous president. The percentage of black federal judges rose from 4% in 1977 to 9% in 1981. He renewed the voting rights act and increased the justice department's power over voting rights and ensured minority owned companies received their fair share of government contacts.

Ronald Reagan, the last main president of the civil rights movement, had an incredibly positive effect on the African American population as a whole. Regan sacked the head of the US commission on civil rights, and appointed an anti- welfare conservative black republican. He successfully enacted the civil rights restoration act of 1988, which many believed was "the most important civil rights legislation in 20 years". Under Reagan's administration, the black middle class grew rapidly. The number of black businesses owned in his adminstration went up by a whopping 38% and incomes of $25,000 or more increased to 3.9 million, up from 2.6 million in 1979. Federal spending for social programs increased from $344.3 billion in 1981 to $412 billion in 1989, or 19.7% in 1982 dollars. Not only that but the poverty line decreased by 3.8 million people with unprecedented amounts entering the work force. There was also more giving during the 1980s, 55% more than in the previous 25 years.

George Bush, 43rd president of the U.S. has appointed more women and more minorities to office than any other president to date.

In conclusion though many African Americans despised Lyndon Johnson, we believe he played a key role and perhaps the most significant role in addressing the issue of civil rights.

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In response to your question "Which President did the most to promote civil rights?" we have come to the conclusion, that although a number of U.S Presidents have contributed to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement, it was President Lyndon B Johnson (1963-1969) who did the most to promote Civil Rights.

This decision was based upon a number of key factors, firstly he played a significant role in ending legal prejudice and segregation in the South which at the time was famed for it racial discrimination. Secondly, Johnson was able to instil courage in Afro-Americans to vote without fear; as previously violence had hindered them, depleting their confidence and social status.

Evidence to prove that Johnson helped increase the social status and morale of Afro-Americans can be seen through the changing statistic of unemployment of Afro-Americans to 34%. With the decline in black unemployment Johnson created official positions which were never before available to Afro-Americans, 300 Afro-Americans were now working in official positions in Mississippi, and this had not been achieved by any previous President. Johnson was also able to speed up the desegregation in schools by use of the Educational Acts, which helped break the cycle of poverty accustom to many Afro-Americans. As a modest President he acknowledged the fact that there was still a long way to go before equality could be resolved.

However, there are some faults in the leadership of President Johnson. Even though rate of Afro-American employment increased, the majority of Afro-Americans continued to live in poor housing. Although he created a number of great social reforms, this subsequently created resentment among many Americans and furthermore the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was dismissed as an empty gesture and its enforcement was questionable

Answer 2

Bilbo Baggins