Introduction
The United States is depicted as the most democratic nation in the world. The aspect of democracy arises from the choices that people are presented with. The ability to determine one’s leaders, goods, services, regions and rights are some of the choice elements that the American population is presented with. Another aspect that can be associated with the United States is its diversity in regards to the ethnic groups and races; immigration has resulted in the creation of one of the most interracial communities in the world.
Nearly all races are present in America as a result of the immigration element. Peace and democracy in such a society can be the hardest to achieve. However, the American society has managed, to a greater part, to create a cohesive and integrated community despite the differences. The contemporary integration and peace within the American society can be attributed to the justice system that has over the years developed an elaborate system for guaranteeing the rights of each and every group (Schlesinger, 2002). The communities remained largely differentiated based on the law of separate but equal.
The acknowledgment of the constitution and the support of the justice system has, however, been attained through years of battles and struggle. A number of struggles would go on to define and shape the course of equality and justice for all the races. The players of the struggles were comprised of politicians, individual groups, and political parties. One such notable figure was John F. Kennedy, who later on became the President of the United States. The focus of this paper is to analyze the role that Kennedy played in the Civil Rights Movements of the United States.
John Kennedy and Civil Rights
Countless books and papers have been written about the personal and political life of John Kennedy including his achievements and failures. For generations, historians, scholars and academicians have been fascinated by his character and role in the political, social and economic aspects of the American nation. Looking at the most notable and formative years of the United States and the twentieth century, the fifties and sixties stand out conspicuously. These periods also capture the budding years of the Kennedy’s political career. Political and social upheavals formed a great part of everyday arguments and discussions (Schlesinger, 2002).
The traditional values that were held by the society at that time were being questioned even as new ones took shape. Movements for agitation of rights and freedoms were also a common occurrence. The Vietnam War, Cold War, and nuclear war threat dominated the foreign issues for the government at that time. On a domestic scale, a number of issues remained dominant and instrumental such as the civil rights which were one of the most crucial during his presidential term. The cause of the growing civil rights movements was the ongoing race inequality within the American society.
Racial inequality became one of the most crucial topics in the United States society. The fights against segregation were intensified even as the minority races struggled for equality in the United States. For the African Americans, the single most crucial goal was to ensure that they had managed to achieve constitutional rights. For numerous writers and scholars, Kennedy’s character in relation to the civil rights remained contentious. For a significant portion of the population, he was an instrumental figure in the racial equality struggle. His actions, decisions, and policies played a huge role in the assimilation of African Americans into the American society. However, for a sizable population, the performance of the president could be looked at as calculated political moves that were aimed at swaying popular opinion to his advantage. For that reason, opinion is divided about his legacy especially on his genuineness in terms of fighting for equality in the U.S.
Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic President to focus on addressing both domestic and foreign affairs that affected the American nation. The American society was experiencing two distinct occurrences; on one hand, the economy was booming because the Second World War had ended and the country was on an uphill economic trend; on the other hand, rebellion and social unrest rocked the nation. Therefore, President Kennedy came into office at a time when the country was worried about the growing discontent among specific groups of the population and for that reason his presidency would be judged on his ability to quell the fears of such groups.
John Kennedy rose to the presidency in 1961, a time when most of the African Americans denied the right to vote. The justice system ignored their plight to a great extent; they were barred from the use of public facilities and most importantly, they were denied the right to vote.
For the African Americans in the north, employment, education and housing opportunities were provided with discrimination. Kennedy’s role in the civil rights movement can be traced right from his campaigns through to his presidency. During the campaign period, the votes that mattered did not come from a single racial or ethnic group, but, rather it encompassed the entirety of the American population. To ensure that he had garnered the support of the black population, as well as members of every community, he began hosting tea parties in the African American neighborhoods (Stern, 1992). He hosted speeches at African American business clubs, and such moves were looked at as being politically instigated.
A major campaign element within his speeches was the promise to help in amending the Rule XXII, which was also known as the Cloture Rule. In regards to the civil rights issues, one of his speeches highlighted his goal; “I want to go to the Senate to join those who are really fighting for a change in the present Senate rules – which permit empty words to kill all attempts to protect the constitutional rights of minority groups of Americans. I want to go to the Senate to continue my fight for Civil Rights legislation” (Bryant, 2006, p.54).
The focus on civil rights movements and the plight of the black population proved successful as it saw him win the senatorial seat. In as much as the campaign strategy of Kennedy involved civil rights and legislative changes, he had no specific amendments that he proposed towards the alleviation of the plight of the African Americans. He failed to mention any issues or problems that the blacks were undergoing. If the President was truly advocating for the issues facing black Americans from the bottom of his heart, he would have seized the opportunity at that time. However, because it was all for gaining political mileage, he did not mention any specifics for dealing with the issue. The major concern for Kennedy as it would seem was to ensure that he had broken his opponent’s civil rights record. From this perspective, his interest in civil rights can be looked at as being politically instigated.
Years in the Senate and Presidency
One of the most controversial events that occurred during his senatorial position was the Brown v. Board of Education which was instrumental in outlawing the segregation in schools. The Supreme Court ruling provided a basis for overruling the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896. In as much the ruling allowed for the abolishment of segregation and separation of races, it failed to provide an elaborate and way and timeline within which the implementation was supposed to occur (Klarman and Rights, 2006). For Kennedy, the Brown decision was another law of the land and thus saw the need to abide by it.
However, he argued that its implementation could take a while as compared to the ruling which stipulated its implementation in deliberate speed. From the time of the ruling, Kennedy began to avoid including civil rights issues in his speeches more so within the South. For the Democratic Party, race and civil rights were among the most crucial topics that were creating polarization within the party. In January 1954, Kennedy made a speech to the NAACP organization in which he expressed the issue of the few number of civil right legislations that were being passed by the Congress (Bryant 2006). The New England economic power had been lauded as being instrumental for the national economy.
However, the racial discrimination in providing employment opportunities meant that the textile mills were facing revenue challenges in regards to competition from the south. The south readily provided employment to the black community even though it did not grant them other rights and freedoms. This resulted in a greater competitive advantage against the North. Kennedy began to call for actions that would realize an end to the discrimination that black people in the north faced in regards to employment. According to Kennedy, such a move would provide the very first step towards attaining full constitutional rights for the African Americans.
For the black population, the focus was on ensuring that their rights and freedoms had been recognized and incorporated into the constitution. They took to protesting and rioting on the streets. The increasing agitation of the African Americans saw a rise in violence against the black population more so in the south (Klarman & Rights, 2006). These actions were the impetus for the development of legislative changes. For the Democratic Party, civil rights continued to remain controversial even as the violence and stakes escalated. For the south, integration of the minor races was not readily acceptable, while the north pushed for the integration of all races.
This meant that any form of support of the civil rights would outrage people from the southern states and for that reason the unity of the party would be in doubt. In essence, one can sum up Kennedy’s interest in civil rights during his years in Congress as being politically motivated. In as much as he talked about the civil rights and their importance of developing legislations to protect the African American issues, he was not exceptionally occupied with the matter. For example, he did not offer specific solutions to the problems he wanted to be addressed. A significant proportion of his views on civil rights were neutral to protect his political career. For instance, in regards to the Brown v. Board of Education, Kennedy argued that his support of the ruling accrued from the fact that the ruling was delivered by the highest court in the land, therefore, there was no choice (Bryant 2006).
For Kennedy, it was a precarious situation in regards to his political career in the sense that in gaining the support of the South with his neutral and impartiality to the civil rights, he lost the support and confidence of the Northerners. By the year 1955, the Democrats had control of the senate house but still failed to pass any legislation in relation to civil rights and the freedoms of the African Americans. Changes in the south in regards to civil rights were inevitable in regards to increasing pressure, especially from the novel movements fighting for civil rights. The ruling of the highest court in the land also played a role in the growing pressure for equality and integration of all races.
The introduction of the Civil Rights of 1957 by the Herbert Brownell, who was President Eisenhower’s Attorney General, became a controversial issue. The bill incorporated voting rights and the removal of the state law competence for federal jurors. For the southerners, the bill received a strong opposition while in the North it was lauded and appreciated and accepted heavily. For John Kennedy, the rising racism of the south was a moral threat to the soul of America. The injustices that were being inflicted on the African Americans moved Kennedy; however, he had to make calculated moves if he was to secure the votes of the white in the south.
The introduction of the first bill to address the racial inequality was largely opposed by the South and even the Democratic Party, which was in control of Congress failed to pass it. This was the first indication of the laxity the Kennedy had towards the civil rights. The civil rights groups saw him as any other political leader whose aim was to gain political mileage. They argued that if the Kennedy was serious about the issue, he would have been in charge of the process to ensure that the bill sailed through without challenges. However, in that regard, he failed to show leadership because he did not mobilize his troops enough to vote for the bill and reduce opposition in good time. Civil rights formed a crucial factor in presidential debates of 1960, and thus Richard Nixon and John Kennedy could not avoid it. Both of the candidates sympathized with the suffering of African Americans but were limited in regards to picking sides at it threatened not only their careers but also their parties.
This meant that solutions were not readily forthcoming from most of the political leaders. The arrest of Martin Luther King Jnr. during the campaigns went on to shift the direction of the presidential election. Having been sentenced to four months of hard labour for the participation in a sit-in, Martin Jnr. drew attention of the political scene that saw helping him as a way of winning votes (Klarman & Rights, 2006). For the African Americans the greatest fear was that he would be lynched. John Kennedy seized the opportunity and called King’s wife directly to pass his sympathies while his brother worked with the judge so see his safe release.
In as much as the event drew little attention from the media, it managed to sway the support of the African Americans. King’s father who had previously endorsed Nixon went on to shift his support and allegiance. Upon entrance on the presidential scene, however, his efforts against civil rights violation intensified. At first, he was reluctant to pursue the course of civil rights issues; however, with the intensifying violence against the African-Americans, he was drawn into the struggle alongside his brother. However, towards the end of his presidential reign, he brought passion to the civil rights issue during his speech of 1963. His speech redefined his position in the civil rights struggle placing solidly on the path of equality
Conclusion
In essence, the description provided above in relation the role of Kennedy in the civil rights movement depicts an impartial and safe approach to the problem. For a greater part of his political career, his efforts were placed on ensuring that the hard support from both sides of the racial divide. In as much as he sympathized with the black population and their plight, he still needed the support of the white Americans in securing a seat in both the senatorial and presidential elections. He did not develop a specific standpoint in regards to the civil rights issue. As a matter of fact, he failed to support the Civil Rights Act of 1957 which was the first legislative reform that addressed the plight of African Americans.
In regards to the Brown v. Board of Education that saw the abolition of segregation, Kennedy’s reason for support was based on the fact that it was the law of the country. The lack of a definitive position or side in the civil rights movement makes him an impartial player. His speeches and actions were aimed at swaying the political divide and not necessarily developing solutions to the problem. In his years as a senator he failed to provide recommendations regarding the type of legislations he wished to see achieved. However, his presidential reign redefined the passion of equality among all races in America.
References
Bryant, N. A. (2006). The bystander: John F. Kennedy and the struggle for black equality. Basic Books.
Klarman, M. J., & Rights, F. J. C. C. (2006). The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Vol. 152). New York: Oxford University Press.
Schlesinger, A. M. (2002). A thousand days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Stern, M. (1992). Calculating visions: Kennedy, Johnson, and civil rights. Rutgers Univ Pr.
