On July 2, 1964 citizens across the country celebrate as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed. This meant that in the country of the United States people could no longer be segregated for things such as race religion, or gender. Equality was finally becoming clear in the United States. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States, was revered for signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, many question, did Lyndon Baines Johnson sign it for his own selfish purposes, or did he sign it because it was the right thing to do?
LBJ was commonly regarded as a someone who was cold and strict, and lots say that there was no way that him signing the act could be principle. Although there is evidence to refute those claims, his soft side wasn’t shown often, but it was there all the same. Very early in his life LBJ was a school teacher in Cotulla Texas. The interesting point of this though is that it was a Mexican American school during segregation. During this time it was very rare for white citizens to teach anywhere but at a white school. Lyndon Baines Johnson however, taught there anyways. He even treated the students as equals, and he didn’t really acknowledge the gap in status between him and the students during that time. Another piece of evidence that this was principle is found during a conversation with Richard …show more content…
There is evidence for both the principal side of signing it, and there’s evidence for the political side of signing it. Both sides have been trying to come to a conclusion for a long time, and based on the information above I believe that it was more for politics. Although for all we know, he could have done it for both the fact that it was right, and for the fact that it would help him with the election. It’s always possible he signed it for both reasons. However, we’ll never know so I ask you which reason do you think he signed it