Lyndon B. Johnson & the Second ReconstructionHIS 265

Senator Lyndon B. Johnson

Refused to sign Southern Manifesto Got Civil Rights Act of 1957 through Congress:

Est. Civil Rights Commission & Civil Rights Division in Justice Dept.

Watered down by removing section that accelerated school desegregation & adding right to jury trials (guaranteeing acquittals for whites)

Civil Rights Act of 1960: extended life of CRC provided federal court referees to register blacks made it a federal crime to interfere with court orders or cross

state lines to commit violence

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Discrimination in all places of public accommodation outlawed (hotels, restaurants, etc.)

Required literacy tests to be administered in writing, & presumed all 6th grade graduates were literate

Attorney General empowered to bring school desegregation suits

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created

Extending African-American Voting Rights

24th Amendment (1964) ended poll tax Supreme Court ruled Congressional districts must have

“substantial equality”: Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – “one man, one vote” rule established Reynolds v. Sims (1964) applied rule to state legislatures

Voting Rights Act of 1965: Eliminates literacy tests and other such devices in states or counties

where less than 50 percent of voting-age population was registered by 11-1-64

(In 1970 all literacy tests are outlawed) Requires clearance for state and local governments seeking to change

election laws Makes it illegal to pass a measure that has voting discrimination as its

purpose

The Impact of the Voting Rights Act

Copyright 1997, Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The War on Poverty Economic Opportunity Act (1964) allocated $1 billion

Office of Economic Opportunity led by Sargent Shriver “Maximum feasible participation” outraged local politicians seeking patronage

Many programs focused on urban poverty – seen by LBJ & advisors as part of civil rights program: Job Corps – aimed at inner-city teens Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) – domestic version of the Peace

Corps Head Start – designed to prepare poor kids for school Upward Bound – designed to prepare poor high schoolers for college Legal Service to the Poor – response to Court’s extension of defendants’

rights: Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – gov’t must provide attorneys to poor Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – police must inform accused of rights

Model Cities – $1.2 billion to upgrade employment, housing, education & health

Other Initiatives Medicare & Medicaid (1965) expanded health care to elderly,

disabled and poor Medicare = health insurance for elderly & disabled Medicaid = grants to states to pay for health care for the poor

Costs split 50%/50% with states Linked to welfare until 1996 Welfare Reform Act

Elementary & Secondary Education Act and Higher Education Act (1965) required schools receiving federal money to follow federal guidelines on ending racial & sex discrimination

Higher Education Act expanded federal assistance to colleges & universities

Department of Housing & Urban Development (1965) added to president’s cabinet

Decrease in Poverty, 1960-1974

Affirmative Action in Business & Education

First endorsed by Pres. Johnson in June 4, 1965 commencement address at Howard University

Based on Moynihan Report, which blamed culture of poverty on psychological damage caused by slavery & racism, as well as single-parent homes

Executive Order 11246 (Sept. 1965) requires federal contractors to take specific measures to ensure equality in hiring (amended to apply to women in 1967)

EEOC reinterpreted its mandate in late 1960s to show broad pattern of de facto discrimination, rather than trying to prove intentional discrimination

Presidential Appointments Thurgood Marshall became first

African-American Supreme Court Justice

Robert C. Weaver became first African-American cabinet secretary (HUD)

Civil Rights Act of 1968 Riots in 130 cities following

King’s assassination left 46 dead & over $100 million in property damage

Civil Rights Act (1968) passed in response Prohibits discrimination in sale,

rental, advertising & financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex

HUD investigates & can litigate or refer to state or local agencies

Amended in 1988 to include handicap & family status

Pres. Johnson signs the 1968 Fair Housing Act