Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English Language and Literature Michaela Lupačová John F. Kennedy and His Role in the Civil Rights Movement Master’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.
2008
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,
using only the sources listed in the bibliography.
……………………………………………
2
I would like to thank my supervisor, doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. for his help and guidance throughout my work.
3 Contents
INTRODUCTION ______6
1 PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC ______8
1.1 AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE USA ______8
1.2 THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ______10
1.3 JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY ______11
1.3.1 FAMILY BACKGROUND ______ 12
2 PART II: EARLY POLITICAL CAREER ______14
2.1 CAMPAIGN FOR CONGRESS ______14
2.2 YEARS IN CONGRESS ______16
2.3 CAMPAIGN FOR SENATE ______17
2.4 YEARS IN THE SENATE (1953 – 1960) ______20
2.4.1 BROWN V . BOARD OF EDUCATION ______ 21
2.4.2 SITUATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ______ 22
2.4.3 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957 ______ 24
2.4.4 LITTLE ROCK CRISIS ______ 27
2.4.5 CONVENTION OF YOUNG DEMOCRATS IN JACKSON , MISSISSIPPI ______ 28
3 PART III: PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ______29
3.1 EARLY CAMPAIGNING ______29
3.2 KENNEDY TEAM ______30
3.3 RELIGION ______31
3.4 WISCONSIN PRIMARY ______31
4 3.5 THE ISSUE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE CAMPAIGN ______33
3.6 WEST VIRGINIA PRIMARY ______33
3.7 FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC AFFAIRS DURING KENNEDY ’S CAMPAIGN ______34
3.8 SIT -IN MOVEMENTS ______35
3.9 NATIONAL CONVENTION IN LOS ANGELES ______37
3.10 AFTER THE CONVENTION ______38
3.11 PHONE CALL TO CORETTA KING ______40
3.12 TELEVISED DEBATES ______42
3.13 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND AMERICAN FREEDOM 44
3.14 ELECTION RESULTS ______45
4 PART IV: PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE ______48
4.1 FIRST MONTHS IN THE OFFICE ______48
4.2 DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AFRICAN DIPLOMATS ______50
4.3 VOTING RIGHTS ______51
4.4 FREEDOM RIDES ______53
4.5 ALBANY MOVEMENT ______58
4.6 INTEGRATING THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI ______61
4.7 BIRMINGHAM ______67
4.8 INTEGRATING THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ______71
4.9 KENNEDY ’S CIVIL RIGHTS BILL ______73
4.10 THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON ______74
CONCLUSION ______77
BIBLIOGRAPHY ______82
5 Introduction
Numerous books have been written about Kennedy’s political, as well as personal life, about his great achievements and his flaws. John F. Kennedy, who has become a myth, has been fascinating people of several generations. His political career was developing during the fifties and at the beginning of the sixties, which are regarded as the most remarkable decades of the twentieth century. It was the time of social and political upheaval – new movements emerged and the traditional values were questioned. The Cold War and Vietnam War were fought, Berlin Wall was constructed and the world faced the threat of nuclear war. Apart from these challenges in foreign affairs, Kennedy was also confronted with domestic issues during his career, particularly with the civil rights issue during his presidency. Racial inequality became a very controversial topic in the USA. The civil rights organizations intensified their effort to fight segregation and to achieve full constitutional rights for African
Americans. Stern confirms that “civil rights and race relations were the most passionate, obstinate and irrational issue in American history and politics” (“Eisenhower and
Kennedy” 4).
Kennedy’s character with regard to civil rights has been discussed by numerous scholars and writers. While some see Kennedy as a key figure in the struggle for racial equality, who contributed significantly to the integration of African Americans into the
American society, others criticize his performance for lack of action and they see his contributions as mere political calculations. There are arguments supporting both views.
In my diploma thesis I am going to analyze the role of John F. Kennedy in the
Civil Rights Movement. Did Kennedy play such significant role as his supporters
6 claim? Was his contribution to the racial problem so substantial or was it merely motivated by his political needs? The thesis is divided into four parts.
In the first part, I am going to introduce the topic of civil rights, the roots of racial inequality in the USA. I will briefly describe the development of the Civil Rights
Movement and I will provide background information about John Kennedy, his family and his early life. In the second part of my thesis I am going to focus on Kennedy’s early political career and his approach to the problem of civil rights during his years in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. I will focus on his early political campaigns and his voting record in the Congress.
The third part is going to deal with Kennedy’s presidential campaign. I am going to analyze his speeches and acts regarding civil rights, particularly his telephone call to
Mrs. King which is believed to have contributed significantly to his victory. In the fourth part I am going to examine Kennedy’s record on civil rights during his years in office. I am going to outline President’s relation to racial injustice and civil rights issues and its development. I am going to discuss individual events which occurred during
Kennedy’s presidency and analyze Kennedy’s role in them. The aim of this thesis is to find out whether John Kennedy contributed to racial equality in the USA, how significant his contributions were, and what were the motives for his acts.
7 1 Part I: Introduction to the Topic
1.1 African Americans in the USA
The first Africans arrived at the Continent of North America in 1619 as indentured servants. Trans Atlantic trade brought millions of Africans to America and new social order based on skin color was gradually established in the colonies.
Although according to the Declaration of Independence (1776), all men were equal, blacks were owned by white masters as slaves, primarily but not exclusively in the
South of the United States where they worked on tobacco, rice and cotton fields. The
Civil War (1861 – 1865) brought an end to slavery. Emancipation Proclamation issued in 1863 freed all slaves in the states of Confederacy. During the so called
Reconstruction era 1 three amendments 2 were passed. These amendments aimed to modify the social position of black population. However, during the period of
Reconstruction, new groups and organizations arouse and their main aim was to threaten African Americans and prevent them from trying to exercise their rights.
Southern states started enacting the so called Black Codes, laws limiting civil liberties of former slaves which helped establish segregation.
In 1896, the Supreme Court announced in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson that separate facilities for white and colored people were legal as long as they were of equal quality, which legitimized racial segregation and enabled it to become an inherent part of the American society. Segregation was present at all spheres of public life – schools,
1 Reconstruction (1865 – 1877) was a period following Civil War during which the United States planned to reconstruct the South. 2 13 th Amendment from 1865 abolished slavery, 14 th Amendment, passed in 1866, guarantees citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States; and according to the 15 th Amendment, the right to vote cannot be denied “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude” (“The Constitution”).
8 restaurants, accommodation and transport facilities were all segregated. As Morris claims: “Racial segregation was the linchpin of Jim Crow,3 for it was an arrangement that set Blacks off from the rest of humanity and labeled them as an inferior race” (517).
Desegregation became one of the main goals of the civil rights advocates. During the
First World War, African Americans were given the opportunity to “serve their country” (Rosenberg 17), however, despite this new achievement other changes regarding racial equalization did not occur between the First and the Second World
Wars. With the beginning of the Second World War African Americans were provided new opportunities in the economical terms due to the increasing number of factories.
Large numbers of African Americans moved from the Southern states to the North of the USA. In terms of economical conditions, the Second World War brought certain changes to black population in the USA. The Second World War was a war fought against fascism, racist regime, and the USA were one of the countries fighting against this regime, however, their military forces were still segregated. According to Dudziak,
“World War II marked a transition point in American foreign relations, American politics, and American culture” (7). In the 1950s, a decade after the Second World War, decisions made by the Supreme Court in a series of successful cases brought more liberties to black Americans and they also helped to develop The Civil Rights
Movement.
3 “Jim Crow era in the American history dates from the late 1890s, then Southern states began systematically to codify (or strengthen) in law and state constitutional provisions the subordinate position of African Americans in society“ (Davis 1).
9 1.2 The Civil Rights Movement
The modern Civil Rights Movement, which started in 1954 by the Supreme
Court decision in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outlawing segregation in public schools, “sought to force the U.S. social system to live up to its ideology of equality for all under it” (Bush 6). However, a lot of effort had been made by African Americans previously to this period in order to abolish racial discrimination and achieve legal equality.
One of the first landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement was the Montgomery
Bus Boycott, which lasted almost one year,4 and which encouraged African Americans and inspired them to a series of other protests. Martin Luther King, who led the boycott, soon became a spiritual leader of the whole movement. The key element of the Civil
Rights Movement was nonviolence, as King and other civil rights leaders – James
Farmer (CORE), Bayard Rustin (principal organizer of 1963 March on Washington),
James Lawson (significant theoretician of nonviolence) and Glenn Smiley (civil rights advocate) followed Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence. The forms of protests against economic, educational and social disadvantages of the black people included boycotts, sit in demonstrations, marches and also legal challenges.
The civil rights demonstrations intensified and due to the expansion of modern media they also became more visible to the Americans, as well as other nations. The
March on Washington, which took place on August 28, 1963, was the climax of the
Movement. The March attended by more than 250,000 people “was the largest demonstration for human rights in United States history...” (Lloyed par. 1).
4 From December 1, 1955 to November 1956.
10 The African American church played an important role in the Movement. It did not only provide the spiritual support to the people, but it was also a meeting place for them. It also played a key role in the organizing of nonviolent protests and in the spreading of the civil rights advocates’ leadership. As Lafayette describes, “...the church represented the freedom that the movement participants sought. It was a facility in the community beyond the control of the white power structure” (3). The music helped to unite the masses of people in their protests. The most famous song “We shall overcome” became a symbol of the Movement.
1.3 John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Kennedy was the thirty fifth President of the United States, the first Roman
Catholic President and the first American President born in the twentieth century.
Unlike Eisenhower, who represented rather a passive leadership, Kennedy “believed that most of the progress in American history, in both foreign and domestic affairs, had been initiated by Presidents” (Heath 7). On one hand the fifties and sixties were the years of prosperity – the economic boom, which began during the Second World War, continued. People were earning more money, the average adult achieved a high school education, and television began to have a great impact on the society. On the other hand, these were also the years of social unrest and rebellion. Many Americans strongly disagreed with the war in Vietnam. Cultural values and social and economic systems of the country were questioned. Kennedy had to deal with the domestic issues but also with the situation at international political scene, which was rather unstable and complicated therefore the President was constantly preoccupied with foreign affairs.
Some of the acts performed by Kennedy during his presidency and his political career
11 have been questioned, however, Heath believes that Kennedy and Johnson “did more to end racial injustice that did any previous President” (12).
1.3.1 Family Background
John F. Kennedy, often called Jack by his family members, was born on May 29,
1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts into a family of Irish Catholics (“John F. Kennedy” par. 4). He grew up in very favorable conditions regarding education, as well as economic and social environment. “Jack and his eight siblings enjoyed a privileged childhood of elite private schools, sailboats, servants, and summers homes” (“John
Fitzgerald” par. 3). During his childhood John F. Kennedy often suffered from different illnesses,5 and health problems continued also later throughout his life.
In 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard University following “the path of his father and brother...” (Kenney 12). During the time 6 his father served as the U.S.
Ambassador to Great Britain, Jack visited Europe a few times and on one occasion he stayed there for seven months in order to travel and gather information for his final thesis. After he returned back to the USA, he worked on his Harvard senior thesis, which was later amended and published under the title Why England Slept . The thesis examines the response of British government to Hitler’s rise to power.
Kennedy entered the American Navy in 1941, and two years later he became a hero when his motor torpedo boat PT 109 was sunk by a Japanese destroyer. According to Dallek, Jack “was a unifying example of American egalitarianism” (Unfinished Life
5 The most serious were scarlet fever and diphtheria. He suffered from different allergies. During his studies at Choate school, private boarding school, he often missed several months of school due to his health problems. During his adulthood, Kennedy suffered from Addison disease. 6 Joe Kennedy served as Ambassador to Great Britain since 1938 to 1940.
12 98). He was an example of a privileged child from a rich family who decided voluntarily to risk his life in the name of nation. Kennedy used this story of heroism well to his own benefit in his first political campaign to Congress in 1946, as well as later in his other campaigns. During the Second World War, the Kennedys lost their oldest son Joe, a navy pilot, who was killed in Europe on August 12, 1944. Joe was the one who had been supposed to follow the political career and become an influential politician one day. It was only after Joe died when the family political hope was passed to Jack. As John Kennedy explained: “I never thought at school or college that I would ever run for office myself. One politician was enough in the family, and my brother Joe was obviously going to be that politician” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 117).
At the end of the war, Kennedy was not determined to pursue a political career.
He was considering a career of a journalist or a diplomat. In 1945, John Kennedy was offered a job as a journalist at the United Nations Conference in San Francisco.7 He also later covered Potsdam Conference as a journalist; however, eventually he decided for the political career which was appealing to him more than journalism because in
Congress one “is able to participate to some degree in determining which direction the nation will go...” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 120). According to Kennedy’s friend James
MacGregor Burns, Kennedy “did have political views, and strong political views, but for his own psychological reason he wished to hide them from his family, friends, and perhaps even from himself” (Schwab 59). Joseph Kennedy, Sr., who made a lot of money in the stock market, saw a useful occupation as “the only acceptable goal” for his children (Dallek, Unfinished Life 112). In 1946 John F. Kennedy made a decision to candidate for the U.S. Congress.
7 This was the founding conference of the United Nations.
13 2 Part II: Early Political Career
2.1 Campaign for Congress
John Kennedy announced his intention to run for the U.S. House seat in 1946
(Kenney 25). He was campaigning for the Massachusetts Eleventh Congressional
District, which was inhabited by “liberal and conservative Harvard intellectuals” but most of its citizens were dockworkers, fishermen and blue collar workers living in quite poor housing conditions in the industrial areas of the District (Silvestri 17). The District was inhabited by a variety of ethnic Americans of different descent, mostly Irish and
Italian but also Greek, Jewish and East European. Some of the neighborhoods had a negative reputation due to high crime rates. Although Kennedy did not live in the district, his family had “deep roots in the Eleventh” (O’Brien 192). John “Honey”
Fitzgerald – John’s maternal grandfather – served three terms as a mayor of Boston and also three terms in Congress (Kenney 27).
An important element throughout Kennedy’s political career was his family’s wealth, influence and prestige, and his first campaign was not an exception. Barnes confirms, that “money was certainly indispensable to Kennedy’s success” (25). Joe
Kennedy Sr. “handled all money matters” (Silvestri 18). He did not only provide money for administrative costs connected with campaigning but also for all sorts of advertising including billboards, direct mailing and radio advertising. “People saw Kennedy, heard
Kennedy, ate Kennedy, drank Kennedy, slept Kennedy...” (Lasky 98).
Nine other candidates were running for the seat (O’Brien 194), however, young
Kennedy was putting a lot of effort into his campaign. He started earlier than his opponents and it became a standard for his other campaigns as well, he was meeting a
14 lot of people face to face, campaigning door to door, delivering a lot of speeches, and walking in neighborhoods, visiting different public places. Kennedy’s team organized numerous house parties and receptions, where his sisters 8 and his mother, Rose
Kennedy, often participated as well. His campaign was very well organized in terms of personnel. He had a lot of volunteers from lines of veterans and students working for him. JFK’s war record, which he stressed throughout his campaign, certainly increased his popularity with veterans. The main topics of Kennedy’s campaign were economical issues – higher minimum wage, better housing conditions which were especially important to working class people.
Many perceived Kennedy as “...millionaire’s son from Harvard trying to come into an area that is longshoremen, waitresses, truck drivers and so forth...” (Dallek,
Unfinished Life 127). Some of his opponents called him a carpetbagger 9 and although many of them liked to point out how young and inexperienced Kennedy was, he won the primary election on June 18, 1946. He earned forty percent of votes (Silvestri 24).
On November 5, 1946, Jack won the election against his Republican opponent, Lester
Brown (O’Brien 205).
Although Kennedy did not focus on the rights of black Americans during his campaign for Congress, he made his first public statement regarding racial injustice at that time. He complimented on the heroism of African Americans during the Second
8 JFK had five sisters: Rosemary (institutionalized in a hospital for mentally handicapped), Kathleen Agnes (died in a plane crash in 1948), Eunice Mary, Patricia and Jean Anne, who served as Ambassador to Ireland. 9 Carpetbagger – this term refers to someone who is trying to gain political success and in order to achieve so he/she moves to a different place, to which he/she had previously no connection (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ).
15 World War, and apart from that he called for the abolition poll tax 10 and “new fair employment laws aimed at eliminating workplace discrimination” (Bryant 15). Even though he stressed the war records of blacks and he emphasized the need to abolish poll tax, he did not criticize the situation in the South in connection with racial issues explicitly. It is quite certain that he was just trying to appeal to black minority as he also tried to other minorities because they constituted a high percentage of his voters. To attract the interest of Italians, Kennedy liked to point out that his grandfather Honey
Fitz, who had been Boston Mayor, “had appointed the first Italians to city office”
(Barnes 65).
2.2 Years in Congress
Kennedy served three terms in the House of Representatives.11 His attendance records in Congress were quite low which may be explained by his health problems,12 however, Barlett claims that his role in House of Representatives “failed to fascinate him” (3). “His prospects for impact in major legislation were close to zero” (Barnes 77).
Later in his career he said about Congress: “We were just like worms in the House – nobody paid much attention to us nationally” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 136).
Congressman Kennedy often voted in favor of the underprivileged. Despite his privileged childhood, Kennedy was always a supporter of “equal opportunity and fairness for all Americans, and his congressional votes favored civil liberties” (Silvestri
242). He supported issues such as health care, subsidized housing, rent control, school
10 Poll taxes enacted in Southern states between 1889 and 1910 had the effect of disenfranchising many blacks as well as poor whites, because payment of the tax was a prerequisite for voting. 11 Kennedy was reelected in 1948 and 1950. 12 “...while traveling in England, Congressman Kennedy suffered a physical collapse, a result of Addison’s disease” (Kenney 28).
16 lunch program, which were crucial for the voters in his district, as most of them belonged to a low income social class. However, Kennedy certainly did not have a reputation of a civil rights advocate during his years in Congress. Most sources suggest that he did not pay much attention to the civil rights and race related issues early in his career. The reason may have been the fact that he had little experience with African
Americans and he was hardly aware of the reality they had to face, particularly in the states of the Deep South. He grew up in a wealthy Irish Catholic family in Boston.
Bryant suggests that Kennedy “would link the fight for equality to the struggle against communism” (31). Depending on the issue, Kennedy was sometimes conservative, sometimes liberal, however, when voting on important issues, he was in mostly agreement with liberal Democrats from the North.
2.3 Campaign for Senate
John Kennedy decided to candidate for the office of United States Senator in
1951. His rival candidate in this election was Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.13 Kennedy’s senatorial campaign was very innovative and very well organized. His family “played a critical role, not only in terms of financial support but also with Robert Kennedy as campaign manager and the Kennedy sisters along with Rose Kennedy hosting a series of tea parties throughout the state...” (Kenney 28). Kennedy again, as in the previous campaign, stressed his heroism during the Second World War. The main campaign topics were anticommunism, Massachusetts economy, government spending, and
Kennedy started to deal with the civil rights issues. The reason might have resulted from
13 Lodge was at that time a respected politician who had served three terms in the Upper House (Dallek, Unfinished Life 169). In 1916, Kennedy’s grandfather John F. Honey Fitz campaigned for Senate against Lodge’s grandfather (Bryant 34).
17 the growing struggle of civil rights advocates for the equality of African Americans in all spheres of life, but also the fact that wanted to beat Senator Lodge and therefore he certainly needed the support of black voters.
The crucial members of Kennedy’s team were: Joshua Guberman, a lawyer with close ties to Boston black community; Harold Vaughan, assistant to Boston Mayor who had excellent organizational skills and valuable contacts in the city of Boston (O’Brien
242); and Herbert Tucker, NAACP activist, whose main task was to secure black votes
(Bryant 38). Kennedy’s slogans were directly appealing to black voters. Advertisements with the slogan: “Kennedy has done and will do more for more of us” were targeting directly black voters in Boston Chronicle 14 (Bryant 38). They used mail shots, voter registration drives and also the word of mouth in black communities. Kennedy was addressing business people from black neighborhoods – he had a speech at the
Professional and Businessmen’s club, where he “addressed over a hundred black businessmen” (ibid.). In addition, Kennedy’s campaign team decided to organize one of
Kennedy teas in Roxbury (a black neighborhood in Boston), which proved to be a great success followed soon by other tea parties in African American neighborhoods (Bryant
40).
Kennedy’s campaign team did not target only ethnic voters 15 but also women – tea parties and receptions were targeted on women mostly. As O’Brien explains: “They were often staged at an elegant local hotel; women guest got new hairdos, dressed themselves...” (249). Kennedy needed to secure votes from the all segments of the society, therefore the tea parties in black neighborhoods and speeches at African
14 Boston Chronicle was the widely read black newspaper (Bryant 35). 15 JFK gained support from different ethnic groups – Albanians, Greeks, Italians, Irish, Polish, and Jews. His advertisements were also placed on foreign language newspapers (O’Brien 245).
18 American business clubs can be seen as mere political acts motivated by his ambition. I would not link these efforts to fight for civil rights of black Americans, but rather to the political strategy which Kennedy followed.
An important element in Kennedy’s program was the proposal to amend the
Rule XXII, the so called Cloture Rule. 16 In one of his first speeches concerning civil rights issues, Kennedy claimed: “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 36). His tactic to focus on the civil rights issues and the idea of paying special attention to black voters proved to be successful because Kennedy defeated Lodge by victory of 70,000 votes
(Kenney 30). As Bryant confirms, “never before had a senatorial candidate pursued black voters so aggressively nor drawn together such an accomplished campaign team to help” (42). In 1952, ninety one percent of Massachusetts voters went to the polls, “an increase of more than seventeen percent from the Senate contest in 1946, with most of the greater voting occurring in ethnic districts” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 175). Even though, Kennedy expressed a certain interest in the civil rights act and he emphasized the need for legislative changes, he did not propose any particular amendment or measure to be taken in order to improve the situation of African Americans. He did not mention any particular problems related to the injustice the African Americans were
16 The Cloture Rule originally required a supermajority of two thirds of senators “present and voting.” The so called filibuster was particularly used by senators from the Southern states to block civil rights legislation. It was first applied in 1919. In 1975, “the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two thirds to three fifths, or sixty of the current one hundred senators” (“Filibuster and Cloture”).
19 still experiencing. He was rather concerned with his opponent’s civil rights record and the emphasis on civil rights issues could have been the tactics how to obtain more votes.
2.4 Years in the Senate (1953 – 1960)
Kennedy was sworn in as senator on January 3, 1953 (“Kennedy John
Fitzgerald”). During his years in the Senate, Kennedy’s private life was changing. He got married to Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953 (“John Kennedy” par.3). He went through back operations and during his convalescence, which was five months longer than he had expected – seven months in total (Silvestri 54), he worked on his book Profiles of Courage 17 which was later very well received by the critics. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957 (Kenney 31).
Kennedy continued to support the same issues as in the House. He was mainly interested in the economical issues of New England. He was in favor of minimum wage increase, and he also favored industrial projects that aided New England. First, Kennedy and his team wanted to fulfill the task set during the campaign – “...to do more for
Massachusetts than his predecessor” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 181). Kennedy was particularly active in the economic issues of Massachusetts. He initiated regular meetings of New England senators in order to discuss and deal with the region’s economical issues more effectively.
Two controversial issues arose during Kennedy’s senatorial years – St.
Lawrance Seaway Project and McCarthy case. St. Lawrance Seaway 18 was a highly debated project strongly opposed by businessmen from New England who were afraid
17 The book is about courageous acts performed by members of the Senate through history. 18 St. Lawrence Seaway is a system of canals which enables ocean vessels to pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
20 of the competition from Midwest. Kennedy was the only Senator from Massachusetts in the history of this project who voted for its realization. Although Kennedy originally disagreed with the project during his senatorial campaign, later he decided to put national interests over regional interests.
McCarthy case was another remarkable issue during Kennedy’s senatorial years.
Joseph McCarthy was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin (1947 – 1957) who accused some government officials of being Communist and Soviet spies, however, he was unable to prove his claims and therefore he was censured in December 1954
(“Preserving Senatorial Traditions” par.2). Kennedy was the only Democrat who did not vote for censure of McCarthy. In December 1954, when the Senate decided in the vote sixty seven to twenty for McCarthy’s censure, Kennedy was recovering from the back operation; nevertheless he did not express his position on this issue even later. “His family’s relations 19 with McCarthy were certainly an important factor,” that might have contributed to his silence. (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 12).
2.4.1 Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, The Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka – a landmark which overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson decision from 1896 which set the precedent of “separate but equal.” Although the Brown decision outlawed segregation in schools, it did not specify the time until which it was to be realized. On May 31, 1955, the Supreme Court ruled that desegregation needed to be implemented with “deliberate speed” (Williams 93). Most Southerners in the Senate denounced the Brown decision determined not to “allow race mixing” (Stern,
19 Joe Kennedy favored McCarthy and he had invited him to Hyannis Port – residence of the Kennedys.
21 Calculating Visions 130). The so called Southern Manifesto, a document which opposed racial integration, was signed by most of Southern senators.20 John Kennedy supported the Brown decision because he perceived it as the law of the land; therefore he felt obliged to follow it. However, he admitted that its implementation would take time by which he supported the notion of “deliberate speed.” Kennedy generally tried to avoid the topic of civil rights and racial issues in his speeches, particularly in those delivered in the South but the topic became more important when the school desegregation, which was much opposed by the Southern states, was enacted. Kennedy expressed his support for Brown decision in his speech before the New York Young Democratic Club in
1956, however, his speech was very general and he did not suggest a way to enforce desegregation (Golden 128). The issue of race and civil rights was strongly polarizing the Democratic Party and therefore it was a very sensitive topic.
2.4.2 Situation in the Democratic Party
In January 1954, Kennedy delivered a speech to the country’s preeminent civil rights organization, NAACP,21 and he acknowledged in his speech that there were “very dim prospects of any suitable civil rights legislation being passed by this Congress...”
(Bryant 45). He called for actions which would end racial discrimination in employment because he saw it as a way to protect New England textile mills against unfair competition from the South, and also to improve America’s image abroad. Kennedy saw the strategy of supporting such reforms, which would “validate” full constitutional rights of African Americans, as highly effective (Dallek, Unfinished Life 215).
20 A hundred and one senators signed the Manifesto and three did not. Among the three who refused to sign it was Lyndon B. Johnson. He refused to “place himself in opposition to the law of the land” (Stern, Calculating Visions 131). 21 NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the American civil rights organization which was challenging racial discrimination since the beginning of the twentieth century.
22 The problem of frequent protests 22 initiated by African Americans and increasing violence 23 against black population, particularly in the South, signaled a need for new legislation and legislative changes. The issue of civil rights was highly controversial in the Democratic Party. O’Brien explains, that “taking a stand on civil rights was a painful decision” (368). Any support to civil rights issues would have outraged the Southerners and therefore threaten the unity of the Party.
Kennedy’s interest in the civil rights during his years in the Congress seemed
“more political than moral” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 217). Although he was in favor of the civil rights issues, he certainly was not occupied with this issue exceptionally. There were other civil rights advocates 24 in the Senate who were leaders in the field of civil rights. On July 1 (four weeks before the Chicago convention), Kennedy was on CBS political talk show Face the Nation where he was interviewed mostly on the issues of civil rights. Most of Kennedy’s responses were rather evasive and neutral. He said that it was unnecessary for “the Democratic platform to endorse Brown,” however; he explained that he accepted that decision because it was the law of the country and therefore he was obliged to accept it (Bryant 56). Kennedy confessed that he was against the so called Powell Amendment.25 The 1956 Democratic National Convention
22 Montgomery Bus Boycott was fighting the segregation on buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks – NAACP activist refused to give up her seat to white man. King’s philosophy of non violence proved to be successful in this case – in November 1956, the Supreme Court declared segregation on public buses unconstitutional (Williams 59 – 89). 23 In 1955, several blacks were killed in Mississippi by white men. Mississippi was the most segregated state in the USA “and racially motivated murders were not new to the state” (Williams 39). The most striking case was the murder of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old boy who came from Chicago to visit relatives in Mississippi. The story was covered by media all over the country and the American people were shocked at the cruelty of killing. It is often seen as a turning point in the struggle of African Americans for their civil rights. 24 Among the well known civil rights supporter was Senator Huber Humphrey of Minnesota and Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois (O’Brien 367). 25 Powel Amendment suggested cutting federal funding in the states which had refused to integrate schools.
23 was the first one to be fully covered by television and so “Kennedy’s charm, youth and charisma” influenced a lot of people and “Kennedy for vice president boom started”
(Schwab 81). Despite the fact that Kennedy gained support from Southern delegates because his opponent, Estes Kefauver from Tennessee had openly supported civil rights
(he was one of the three senators who refused to sign the so called Southern
Manifesto 26 ), Kennedy narrowly lost the nomination of vice president in Chicago against Kefauver. However, the support from Southerners “damaged Kennedy’s civil rights image in the North” (O’Brien 368).
Since 1955, Democrats had been in control of the Senate, nevertheless, all civil rights legislation was prevented from reaching the floor. In the course of the fifties, it was becoming more obvious that due to the pressure from civil rights groups and due to the Supreme Court decisions on desegregation 27 of schools, legislation changes regarding race relations in the South were inevitable. In 1956, Herbert Brownell,
Eisenhower’s attorney general, presented Congress a draft of civil rights bill. All civil rights bills sent to Congress by President Truman (1946, 1947 and 1948) had been blocked.
2.4.3 The Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Eisenhower’s civil rights bill included four main provisions: “the creation of a Civil Rights Commission, the addition of an assistant attorney general, the further protection of voting rights and the elimination of the requirement that federal jurors be competent as such under the state law” (Winquist 625). The bill was strongly opposed
26 Southern Manifesto was a document denouncing the Brown v. Board of Education decision. 27 On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka by interpreting the 14 th Amendment.
24 by most Southerners, particularly outraging was Title III (sometimes also called Part III) which entitled attorney general with the right to protect all civil rights, including school integration and voting rights. These four provisions were highly prioritized issues by civil rights leaders in 1957. Johnson convinced Southern senators not to use filibuster.28
His main argument was that it would “hurt the American image abroad and aid communist propaganda depicting blacks in the United States as only half free” (Stern,
Calculating Visions 135). In return he promised to ensure that Title III would be removed and jury trial amendment would be added to Title IV.29
Great debates on whether the bill should be sent to Judiciary Committee 30 were held in the Senate. The Southerners believed that if the bill had got to Judiciary, it would have been killed there and therefore they strongly supported this idea. Kennedy was well aware of the fact that no matter which position he had taken, he would have always turned one wing of the Democratic party against himself (Democratic party was composed of civil rights opponents as well as civil rights advocates). Kennedy did not participate much in the debates; however, he opposed the proposal to avoid Judiciary
Committee, because “he wanted the bill to be considered ‘on its own merits,’ using normal procedures...” (O’Brien 370). On July 24, 1957, it was decided that Title III would be eliminated from the bill. Kennedy received a lot of criticism for his standpoint regarding the Judiciary Committee issue from civil rights advocates.
28 Filibuster means to “delay or block legislative action” (“Filibuster and Cloture”). 29 Part IV would increase the power of the Justice Department to seek injunctions against actual or threatened interference with the right to vote (“Civil Rights” par.4) 30 According to the rules, the civil rights bill passed by the House would go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by James Eastland, Senator of Mississippi – “hated symbol of Southern racism” (Golden 129).
25 The next controversial provision of the bill was the proposal of jury trial amendment, which was favored by the Southerners because juries in the South were composed of white citizens mainly and as Stern explains: “it would be all but impossible to get such a jury to convict a white person for violating the voting rights of a black person” (Calculating Visions 137). In this case Kennedy again voted with the
Southerners – in favor of the amendment. Kennedy’s decision might have been influenced by legal scholars 31 whom he had consulted before the vote. The bill passed with majority of fifty one to forty four (Bryant 76). Kennedy again came in for a lot of criticism from civil rights leaders and advocates. Numerous newspapers criticized
Kennedy for supporting freedom to African nations, but refusing to support full constitutional rights to African minority in the States. Most black periodicals condemned his performance as purely political decision.
The Civil Rights Act was passed on September 9, 1957, ninety one years after the previous civil rights act. The final version of the 1957 Civil Rights Act did not satisfy the civil rights leaders because it did not achieve enough of their objectives. It did not improve lives of African Americans in a significant way. The Act included Title
IV and it also created the Federal Commission on Civil Rights which had the right to hold hearings and call witnesses. Kennedy was afraid of losing his popularity in the
North as well as South and as O’Brien explains, Kennedy’s standpoint was strongly
“motivated by his political ambition” (373).
31 “Mark De Wolfe Howe, renowned civil libertarian and leader in Americans for Democratic Action; Paul Freund of Harvard Law School” (O’Brien 371) advised Kennedy to support the amendment because “weakened bill was better than no bill at all“ (Bryant 74).
26 2.4.4 Little Rock Crisis
Although “from mid forties to mid fifties, blacks in Little Rock made dramatic gains” (Williams 92), in 1957, four years after the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation, nine black students (often referred to as the Little Rock Nine) were prevented from entering Little Rock Central High School. Governor Orval Faubus 32 called in the Arkansas National Guard to support the segregationists. The crisis gained attention throughout the USA but also abroad. After the troops were called off, African
American students were attacked by an angry mob of white people. Riots broke out and
Eisenhower was forced to send 101 Airborne Division paratroopers to Little Rock to protect the black students and restore order and enforce rulings of the Supreme Court.
The President originally tried to avoid expressing his stand; however, he was eventually forced to act due to the escalating situation. He had never thought he would have to approach to a solution like that. In July, 1977, Eisenhower said: “I can’t imagine any set of circumstances that would ever induce me to send Federal troops...into an area to enforce the orders of a Federal court...” (Stern, “Eisenhower and Kennedy” 2). The nine
African American students finished the school year under the protection of federal troops. All high schools were closed the following year in order to force black students out of school. The schools reopened again in 1959 (Williams 118).
According to Bryant, Kennedy commented on this issue in October, 1957, saying that he disapproves of “mob violence“ and “defiance of lawful court orders“
(83). He briefly supported the action of President but he also admitted that “there could be disagreement over President’s leadership on this issue” (Brauer 22). As previously,
32 Orval Faubus served as governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967. During his administration only nine out of four hundred and ten school districts were desegregated (“Politics” par.7 10).
27 Kennedy did not mention any particular reasons which had led to the situation, nor did he propose any solution to the problem. He only disapproved of violence and denial of court decision which was very general.
2.4.5 Convention of Young Democrats in Jackson, Mississippi
Although Kennedy was discouraged from visiting Mississippi during the Little
Rock Crisis, he refused to cancel his speech which he had promised to give at the
Convention of Young Democrats in Jackson, Mississippi. Kennedy, however, was in a difficult position due to the growing interest in the solution to the civil rights issues.
Thinking about his presidential campaign already, he was careful not to alienate
Southern supporters or Northern liberals and therefore he intended to avoid speaking about the crisis in Little Rock. But as soon as he arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, he was
“publicly challenged” to express his views on integration by Wirt Yerger, Mississippi’s
GOP state chairman (O’Brien 375). Kennedy realized that he could not avoid speaking about the subject; therefore he revised his speech before the performance.
Kennedy stated: “I have accepted the Supreme Court decision as the supreme law of the land. I know that we do not agree on that issue – but I think most of us do agree on the necessity to uphold law and order in every part of the land” (Bryant 85).
His statement was very general, and as many times before he only emphasized the fact that it was necessary to accept the law of the land as legally binding. Kennedy shifted from the issue of “North versus South” to “Democrats versus Republicans” which was very clever (ibid.). He certainly proved to be a speaker with wonderful skills to attract the audience, because despite the initial tensions Kennedy received a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
28 3 Part III: Presidential Campaign
3.1 Early Campaigning
Numerous speculations about Kennedy’s presidential nomination occurred towards the end of the 1950s, but Kennedy himself remained silent for long time, however, he did survey the situation months before he officially announced his candidacy. Since the 1956 election to the Senate, Kennedy traveled throughout the USA delivering numerous speeches at universities, various business and public organizations, seeking support from both the general public and from politicians. Kennedy was achieving great success with media because he attracted their attention very easily.
According to O’Brien, “the media and the public found him fascinating” (328). Many newspapers and various magazines (Time, Life, American Mercury and others) covered
Kennedy. Apart from his political standpoints, they were also interested in his personality, his social and family life.
In 1958, when Kennedy ran for his second term in the Senate and won by
875,000 votes (“the greatest margin up to that point in Massachusetts history”), his chances of becoming the presidential nominee enhanced considerably (Schlesinger,
Thousand Days 11). John F. Kennedy officially announced his candidacy for the
Democratic presidential nomination on January 2, 1960. In his speech he stressed that he had been in “the service of the United States” for eighteen years emphasizing his numerous trips to foreign countries and his experience in that field (Kennedy,
“Statement of Senator Kennedy Announcing His Candidacy” par. 6).
29 3.2 Kennedy Team
Kennedy surrounded himself with a very qualified team – loyal advisers and organizers. Heath suggests that “Kennedy’s campaign organization may well have been the most efficient in American political history” (39). Robert Kennedy gave up his job and became John’s campaign manager. According to O’Brien, Robert Kennedy’s strength was the ability to “address specific situation,” choose the right staff that were devoted to do their jobs and to inspire them to great performances (428). Robert was responsible for the entire campaign except for speechwriting, which was the responsibility of Ted Sorensen. Robert Kennedy played a key role in decisions made by
John Kennedy during his presidency when Robert Kennedy was appointed attorney general. He was highly committed to civil rights and during the crises which erupted in the USA during 1962 and 1962 Robert Kennedy was one of the closest advisors to the
President. Harris Wofford, a former Civil Rights Commission attorney, was appointed as the Campaign Civil Rights Coordinator, and in certain situations he had been very influential. Wofford advised Kennedy to call Coretta King and express his support for
Martin Luther King when he was arrested in October 1960. Wofford also advised
Kennedy to strongly support civil rights movement in his first TV debate with Nixon and he prepared the statistical data about the disadvantages a black child has to face during his childhood compared to a white child which JFK presented during the debate
(Bryant 171 – 174). In 1961 Wofford was appointed as Special Assistant to the
President for civil rights. Wofford contributed largely to Kennedy’s image of civil rights advocate.
30 3.3 Religion
Kennedy’s weakest point during the campaign was his religion. Roman
Catholicism was a very prominent issue in the USA. The majority of Americans were afraid that the Roman Catholic Church did not recognize the separation of church and state and that a Catholic president might be influenced by Rome. A massive anti
Catholic campaign was organized throughout the USA. Anti Catholic materials were distributed by Protestant and Fundamentalist groups throughout the country. There had never been a Catholic president in the history of the USA. A Catholic candidate for presidency in 1928 Governor Alfred Smith (the first Catholic to run for president) suffered a crushing defeat. He was a target of numerous groups’ attacks, including the
Ku Klux Klan (Barnes 42).
Kennedy originally intended to avoid the question of religion and ignore the
Catholic issue all together but he was forced by circumstances to cope with the religious bigotry. He had been discussing the issue since 1956 and he constantly assured
Americans that he believed in the constitutional separation of church and state.
However, his religion was a matter of doubt even among liberal Democrats. The suspicion “of divided Catholic loyalties between church and state” had been deeply rooted in the American society (Dallek, Unfinished Life 232).
3.4 Wisconsin Primary
“The first important test” in Kennedy’s campaign was Wisconsin with Hubert H.
Humphrey from Minnesota as his opponent. Apart from the fact that Wisconsin was a predominantly Protestant state, Humphrey was popular with farmers, unlike Kennedy
31 who had voted against higher supports to farmers during his years in the Senate. 33
Kennedy did not focus much on the civil rights issues during the primaries because none of the major primaries were taking place in the South. Both candidates rather focused on the economical issues, nevertheless Humphrey was known for fighting in support of civil rights and New Deal 34 social programs during his years in the Senate where he served since 1949 (Dallek, Unfinished Life 244), unlike Kennedy who supported the Southerners during the key votes on civil rights issues in 1957.
In order to improve his chances in Wisconsin, Kennedy decided to devote himself to promoting civil rights, even though the African Americans counted only for a very small percentage of the Wisconsin population. In his speeches Kennedy often linked the problem of racism in the United States to the Cold War and the necessity to deal with it not only because it was morally wrong but also in order to avoid criticism from the Soviets. Apart from that, he frequently pointed out the fact that discrimination against minorities, particularly African Americans, in the USA, could play an important role in the international politics regarding “the newly emerging African and Asian countries” (Barnes 3). Eventually Kennedy won the primary election in Wisconsin receiving fifty six per cent of the vote (Dallek, Unfinished Life 250). Kennedy certainly was aware of the discrimination against blacks and he was convinced that it was morally wrong, however, he was not familiar with the subject, because he did not encounter any particular problems regarding racial discrimination and therefore he probably did not feel the urge to deal with it.
33 Kennedy voted against continuing farm price support in 1952, 1954 and 1956. He voted for reduction of funds for the Agriculture Conservation Program in 1953. (“John F. Kennedy’s Voting Record” p. 3) 34 New Deal was a series of programs organized under President Hoover with the aim to recover the economy of the USA after Great Depression.
32 3.5 The Issue of Civil Rights in the Campaign
Kennedy delivered a few powerful speeches on civil rights. One of them was at the Jewish Reception Center on March 23, 1960. In this speech he stressed the importance of voting rights and the necessity to speed up school integration. He assigned a great responsibility to Congress, calling for their leadership in the matter of civil rights (Bryant 116 – 117). During his speeches regarding the issue of civil rights,
Kennedy often criticized President Eisenhower for his lack of leadership in the field of civil rights. On August 2, 1960, Kennedy announced that the Civil Rights Section for his campaign had been established in order to focus “on the issue of civil rights – and working on all the problems involved in that field will be a representative group of people of all races and creeds from all section of the country” (Kennedy, “Statement of
Senator John F. Kennedy on Civil Rights Section” par.1).
3.6 West Virginia Primary
West Virginia, a rural state with high unemployment and low average income, was another important test for Kennedy. As the West Virginia primary approached, it was clear that Kennedy’s Catholicism was a very influential issue in this state. When he found out he was losing votes due to his religion, he decided to deliver a speech regarding his religion on television, in which he emphasized that nobody was concerned about his religion when he served the country in the Navy during the Second World
War. Kennedy’s arguments proved to be influential because eventually he won the primary election in West Virginia. He beat Humphrey “receiving over sixty per cent of the votes” (O’Brien 455). It was a decisive victory for Kennedy because Humphrey withdrew from the contest and Kennedy believed that the issue of his religion had been dealt with “once and for all” (Kenney 42). His victories in West Virginia and Wisconsin
33 “reduced his party’s fears about the political liability of his religion” (Brauer 30). The issue of race was not discussed much during the West Virginia primary.
3.7 Foreign and Domestic Affairs During Kennedy’s Campaign
The American Soviet relations deteriorated considerably when Nikita
Khrushchev announced on May 5, 1960 that an American U 2 spy plane had been shot down over Soviet airspace. This initiated one of the biggest crises of the Cold War. It also had an impact on the presidential election in the USA. Foreign affairs became the most prominent issue and there were other candidates – Lyndon B. Johnson, William S.
Symington and Adlai E. Stevenson – who were favored in this field more than John
Kennedy. On July 2, former President Truman called on Kennedy and asked him to once again consider his candidacy. Truman stated that due to the complicated situation in the international political scene he would favor a more “mature” and “experienced” president (Dallek, Unfinished Life 260). Apart from Kennedy’s Catholicism, his previous silence during the McCarthy affair and his voting on civil right issues, his youth was also another obstacle Kennedy had to overcome. He defended himself publicly. In his memorable speech he named significant American presidents 35 who, despite their young age, had achieved great things.
Kennedy was in a difficult situation regarding the civil rights issues because he was under pressure from the Southern Democrats who strongly opposed any changes regarding segregation but on the other hand, African Americans and civil rights advocates were calling for firmer actions on civil rights. Kennedy was well aware of the
35 Kennedy named presidents under the age of forty four (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison) who made significant contributions to the American nation (O´Brien 461).
34 fact that his chances in the South were quite weak, especially with the growing popularity of Lyndon B. Johnson, who was from Texas.
Kennedy needed to obtain support from black Democrats, most of whom were quite “suspicious” about Kennedy (Bryant 127). In the speech delivered in Baltimore on
May 13, Kennedy criticized Eisenhower for his “failure of a firmer moral leadership on civil rights” (ibid.). He promised equal opportunities to all Americans if he became president. In the speech performed at the National Democratic Club in New York on
June 17, 1960, Kennedy proposed the “idea of using executive order to enact a reform.
He called for a presidential action in education, voting and public accommodations and federally funded housing” (ibid. 130).
Harris Wofford arranged a private breakfast between Kennedy and Martin
Luther King. Kennedy and the civil rights leader met for the first time face to face on
June 23, 1960. During their conversation, Kennedy confessed that “it was only in recent months he had come to comprehend fully the true moral force of the civil rights struggle” (Stern, Calculating Visions 25). Afterwards, King expressed his confidence in
Kennedy’s morality regarding civil rights issues. He described him as “having definite concern but not deep understanding” (Silvestri 243).
3.8 Sit-in Movements
On February 1, 1960, four black students were refused service at a whites only lunch counter at Agricultural and Technical University in North Carolina. The so called sit in movement was started and it spread across the country throughout eleven cities in two weeks. White people also participated in the movement, mostly in Northern cities.
On May 10, six lunch counters in Nashville started serving African Americans,
35 however, sit ins continued and by October they had been organized in a hundred and twelve Southern cities.
Kennedy made his comments on the movement on March 23, 1960, at the
Democratic Midwest Conference. He supported the protestors, pointing out the fact that the opportunities were not equal for all Americans. He stated: “We have not yet secured for every American, regardless of color, his right to equal opportunity...and that includes equal opportunity at the polls, in the classroom, in the five and ten cent stores and at the counter” (Bryant 118). Kennedy said that “it was in the American tradition to stand up for one’s rights – even if the new way was to sit down” (Brauer 33). Many members of the Kennedy’s team were worried that these words would outrage white
Southerners; however, Kennedy decided to make this statement. Even though King expressed his positive opinion about John F. Kennedy (In a letter to his friend he wrote:
“I was very impressed by the forthright and honest manner in which he discussed the civil rights question. I have no doubts that he would do the right thing on this issue if he were elected President” (Stern, Calculating Visions 25)), there were still many others who were having doubts about Kennedy’s interest in the rights of African Americans.
For instance, Roy Wilkins of NAACP said: “It is very difficult for thoughtful Negro voters to feel at ease about the endorsement of Senator Kennedy by Governor John
Patterson 36 ... Anything with an Alabama odor does not arouse much enthusiasm among
Negro citizens” (Williams 140).
Kennedy beat another candidate, Wayane Morse, in Maryland and Oregon, but a few days before the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Los Angeles
36 John Patterson was Governor of Alabama. He was a supporter of segregation in the South. He played an important role during Freedom Rides in 1961.
36 from July 11 to July 15, another opponent came to the scene Lyndon B. Johnson announced his candidacy. He started to publicly attack Kennedy by pointing out his frequent absences in the Senate and he kept calling for public evaluation of Kennedy’s health. Out of 4,509 Democratic delegates attending the Convention, only eighty nine were black; however, they were important because they represented such states which were necessary for Kennedy’s victory. The night before the convention Kennedy spoke in front of the NAACP (6,700 members) and he promised that “as president he would deliver 'moral, political, legislative and, above all, executive leadership in civil rights'.”
(Bryant 142). Kennedy expressed his support for sit in movements and he also pointed out that the solution to racial issues in the USA was important for the American image abroad. Media differed in their description of how Kennedy’s speech was accepted.
Some suggested that the audience accepted his speech very positively and his performance was a success but others stated that although he received applause it was only polite (ibid. 140 – 143).
3.9 National Convention in Los Angeles
John Kennedy was nominated the Democratic candidate for President at the
National Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. He narrowly won the nomination on the first ballot. His position was strong in all regions apart from the South. Despite a certain disagreement in Kennedy’s team, Kennedy offered Lyndon B. Johnson to run for vice presidency with him. Kennedy was well aware of the fact that running together with a Texan would certainly increase his chances in the South. In addition, Kennedy needed someone more mature than him and someone with a different religion. Johnson was older than Kennedy, he was a Protestant and he was from the South.
37 In his acceptance speech, delivered in Los Angeles on July 15, 1960, Kennedy insisted on a strong civil rights plank in the party platform, which was adopted by the
Democrats. Apart from enforcing voting laws (by eliminating literacy tests and payments of poll taxes as requirements for voting) and supporting federal actions to end discrimination at schools and in housing, the plank stressed the need to amend congressional procedures – reforms of filibuster and House Rules Committee (Kennedy,
“Address of Senator John F. Kennedy”). Democrats in their platform claimed: “The time has come to assure equal access for all Americans to all areas of community life, including voting booths, schoolrooms, jobs, housing, and public facilities” (Wooley sec.
85). In addition, the Democratic platform stressed the need for “strong, imaginative, and persuasive leadership by the President” (ibid.). Kennedy expressed his disapproval with the performance of the Eisenhower administration in the speech. He said: “...it is time for a new generation of leadership – new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities” (Kennedy, “Address of Senator John F. Kennedy”).
3.10 After the Convention
The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon a candidate for the presidential office at the Republican Convention in Chicago. Nixon was a member of the House of
Representatives since 1947 and in 1952 he was elected Vice President of the United
States. Henry Cabot Lodge 37 was nominated as the Republican candidate for the Vice
Presidential office. On one hand Kennedy and Nixon had much in common. They had been active on the American political scene for about fourteen years. Both had been elected first to the House of Representatives and then to the Senate. They were both
37 Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S Ambassador to the United Nations, had been defeated by Kennedy during the 1952 contest for U.S. Senate seat.
38 fairly young – Kennedy was forty three and Nixon forty seven. On the other hand, they were very different in their appearance. Kennedy gave the impression of a young energetic man who loved sports, socializing; he enjoyed communication with media unlike Nixon who did not seem to have any desire for sports or socializing.
Kennedy’s nomination revived the Catholic issue again. According to the
National Conference of Citizens for Religious Freedom, “Roman Catholic Church with its dual role as both a church and a temporal state, made Kennedy’s faith a legitimate issue in the campaign” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 282). Kennedy decided to confront the issue of religion again. He agreed to talk in front of a group of Protestant ministers in
Houston on September 12, 1960. Despite his advisors’ objections, he also agreed to answer any questions without a previous preparation. At the beginning of his speech,
Kennedy emphasized that although religion was “the chief topic” of the discussion, there were “far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election” (Kennedy, “Speech of
Senator John F. Kennedy, Greater Houston”). He named the problem of spreading
Communism, problems with poverty and health care in the USA and the struggle to keep pace with the Russians – there was a general fear that the United States were falling behind the communist countries in technology and science. He asked to be judged on the basis of his “record of 14 years in Congress” instead of judging him on the basis of pamphlets and publications which were launched against him (ibid.). All the questions asked by the ministers were answered by Kennedy with “confidence and poise” (O’Brien 477). According to O’Brien, this speech was one of the most
“powerful” and important in his career and it even led to certain positive changes (478).
Christian Century (Christian magazine based in Chicago) became neutral and did not oppose Kennedy any more. Christianity in Crisis (journal focused on modern theology) even became supportive.
39 Kennedy’s opponents often emphasized that Kennedy had very little experience in the foreign affairs and Republicans kept pointing out that Kennedy was unsuitable for the White House due to his young age. His wife Jacqueline was also in their eyes “too young to be the First Lady” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 281). Kennedy decided to use his youth as a benefit. In many of his speeches he stated that a new, more energetic generation was needed to govern the country in order to deal with numerous domestic and foreign affair issues.
3.11 Phone Call to Coretta King
Many historians see the phone call to Coretta King, in October 1960, as one of the key moments of the campaign. On October 22, Martin Luther King was arrested for violation of a parole agreement during a sit in demonstration. He had been arrested for driving with an Alabama driving license while being a resident of Georgia. He was sentenced to four months of hard labor in a rural jail. King’s wife, pregnant at that time, contacted Harris Wofford worrying about her husband’s life. Kennedy’s top advisor,
Louis Martin, suggested Kennedy should make a gesture to express his concern about
King. Wofford and Shiver, one of Kennedy’s aids who supported the movement, made a plan. Shiver, who was at that time staying with Kennedy in Chicago, suggested that he call Coretta King. However, he intentionally chose a moment when no other advisors were present because Shiver and Wofford were well aware that other campaign aides would have certainly disagreed with this suggestion. Kennedy agreed and called Mrs.
King immediately. He promised her that he would “keep an eye on her husband’s situation” (Williams 142).
Kennedy later commented on his action saying: “She is a friend of mine and I was concerned about the situation” (Kennedy, “Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy
40 on Telephone Call”). Robert and other aides strongly disapproved of Kennedy’s action when they found out. They were afraid of losing votes from white conservative
Democrats. However, Robert Kennedy changed his opinion a day later and called Judge
Oscar Mitchell (who had sentenced Reverend King) in Atlanta. Robert Kennedy strongly criticized the judge for not allowing King to pay bail. King was released on bail the day after Robert Kennedy’s call. According to Stern, Louis Martin contacted
Robert Kennedy and told him that Nixon was about to call a press conference in order to criticize King’s arrest and subsequent punishment by several Democrats who were members of the judiciary (Calculating Visions 35).
O’Brien states that this is the official version; however, there are some other
“important facts” to be mentioned (487). According to him, John Kennedy contacted
Ernest Vandiver, Governor of Georgia, and asked him to take an action in favor of releasing King. The governor refused any public action but he contacted the judge of
DeKalb County who eventually agreed to release King. Then John Kennedy told his brother to call the judge in order to cover up the Vandiver’s involvement. Regardless of the sequence of events, John F. Kennedy’s phone call to Coretta King and Robert F.
Kennedy’s phone call to the judge influenced Martin Luther King and he publicly changed his endorsement from Nixon to Kennedy. He appealed to other voters to do so as well. He said: “It’s time for all of us to take off our Nixon button” (Williams 143).
King also praised Kennedy for “moral courage of high order” (Stern, Calculating
Visions 36).
John Siegenthaler, Robert Kennedy’s administrative assistant during the campaign, noted that “suddenly civil rights was a crucial part of that 1960 campaign...”
(ibid. 35). Popular newspapers in African American communities devoted a lot of space
41 to Kennedy’s action. Kennedy’s campaign staff had copied and distributed two million copies of a pamphlet 38 describing the phone calls. Kennedy’s advisors on civil rights did not see it as propaganda but rather as “just reporting what had been said” (ibid. 37).
According to Brauer, Kennedy’s phone call “demonstrated sensitivity to the black political temper that was missing in Nixon campaign” (51). Nixon did not get involved in the affair. Although Kennedy expressed his concern over the injustice and he did not hesitate to express his support in this matter, he used it very well to his own profit by publicizing the case in media. The publicity which was given to this case was certainly encouraged by his team.
3.12 Televised Debates
Various historians agree that another key moment in the 1960 election was the first televised debate. Schlesinger sees it as the “turning point” in the campaign
(Thousand Days 69). Both presidential candidates agreed to four debates on TV. Nixon had been better known to the nation than Kennedy because he had been vice president for eight years. O’Brien states that, in 1960 forty six million Americans already owned televisions (480). The first radio television broadcasted debate39 was carried by all networks and the debate provided great opportunity for voters to see their candidates and as Allen states: “the visual contrast was dramatic” (par.2). “The camera contrasted a handsome, well groomed, articulate Kennedy with the poorly dressed and badly made up Nixon” (Rorabaugh 17). Nixon had previously injured his knee and at the time of the first debate he still looked quite exhausted and very pale whereas Kennedy looked very
38 The pamphlet cover read: “’No Comment’ Nixon versus a Candidate With a Heart, Senator Kennedy: The Case of Martin Luther King” (Brauer 50). 39 It was the first ever televised presidential debate (Allen par.1).
42 confident and relaxed. The visual image was certainly very influential because according to TV viewers, Kennedy won the first debate, however, the radio audience agreed that Kennedy was defeated by Nixon.
The first TV debate, which helped eliminate the issue of Kennedy’s youth and inexperience from the campaign “in one stroke” was focused on domestic issues
(Schlesinger, Thousand Days 69). In his opening statement, Kennedy stressed the importance of supporting education and science in order to keep up with the Soviet
Union. He said that the direction in which the world would move depends much on “the kind of society” the Americans will build (“Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice
President Richard M. Nixon First Joint Radio Television Broadcast”). Kennedy then moved to the topic of the civil rights and talked according to the memorandum prepared for him by Wofford. 40 Kennedy claimed that he would not be “satisfied until every
American enjoys his full constitutional rights. If a Negro baby is born ... he has about one half as much chance to get through high school as a white baby. He has one third as much chance to get through college as a white student. He has about a third as much chance to be a professional man, and about half as much chance to own a house. He has about four times as much chance that he will be out of work in his life as the white baby” (ibid.) Kennedy addressed the American people also in his summary, unlike
Nixon who used both, the opening as well as the closing statement, “to draw contrasts between himself and Kennedy” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 285).
Although the main topics of the next three debates were US involvement in
China and American relations with Cuba, the candidates were asked to “sum up their
40 Wofford urged Kennedy to express his support to civil rights movement. He saw it as a chance to show the civil rights plank – “the Democrats´ strongest asset” (Bryant 171).
43 intentions in the field of civil rights” (“Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President
Richard M. Nixon Second Joint Radio Television Broadcast”). Kennedy emphasized the importance of “equality in education in schools” (ibid.) He also promised to
“establish a moral tone and moral leadership” to solve the question of equality in education in all sections of the United States if he became the president (ibid.). Kennedy promised to end the discrimination in federal housing “by a stroke of the President’s pen” (ibid.).
Nixon, who improved his image in the subsequent three debates, said that
Federal Government should assist districts which would like to integrate their schools.
Nixon stated that it was necessary to “do something about” segregation but he did not say what exactly should be done and how it should be reached (ibid.). Nixon closed his reply by accusing Kennedy of not speaking about civil rights during his visits to the
South. Regarding civil rights issues discussions in the TV debates, Kennedy was certainly more successful than Nixon because he expressed his awareness of the fact that African Americans still could not exercise their full constitutional rights and he also implied his intention to deal with this problem whereas Nixon’s comments were very general and did not suggest Nixon’s particular interest in the topic.
3.13 National Conference on Constitutional Rights and
American Freedom
Wofford suggested organizing a conference with the aim to bring together senior
Democrats and civil rights leaders in order to discuss the implementation of party platforms into government policy. The National Conference on Constitutional Rights and American Freedom took place in Park Sheraton Hotel in New York on October 12,
1960 (Bryant 176).
44 It was agreed that the country needed a president who would not only speak about civil rights issues but who would also “act on them ahead of time” (ibid.).
Kennedy delivered his speech, in which he spoke about executive leadership and executive action. He emphasized that it was not only about legislation and he assured that the new Democratic administration would “press for executive leadership and action” (Kennedy, “Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, National Conference” par.7).
He briefly mentioned the necessity “to create the conditions in which compliance with the constitutional requirements of school desegregation takes place” (ibid. par.9). The participants of the Conference agreed that it was necessary to press for the fulfillment of commitments regarding civil rights set in the Democratic platform. Johnson did not attend this conference. He stated: “...the administration of Jack Kennedy and Lyndon
Johnson will be an administration which will protect the constitutional rights of all
Americans” (Bryant 176). He did not express any particular support to civil rights issues, but he implied that he would denounce any policy that would not be in compliance with the Constitution.
3.14 Election Results
In 1960, seven million more people voted in the election in comparison to previous presidential election. Almost sixty four percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
Kennedy received 303 electoral votes compared to Nixon who received 219 electoral votes. However, Kennedy won the election by the smallest popular vote margin in the twentieth century. He earned 49.7 percent compared to Nixon’s 49.6 percent (O’Brien
495).
Kennedy’s personal attractiveness, campaign style and the phone call to Coretta
King, as well as the first televised debate contributed to his victory. Kennedy won the
45 crucial states such as Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York due to the African American vote. Nixon’s campaign was missing “black political temper”
(Brauer 51). Although civil rights were not a crucial part of Kennedy’s campaign, he promised the African Americans “a wide range of Presidential action on their behalf”
(Stern, Calculating Visions 39).
Religion played an important role in the South, however, Southern states were traditionally mostly Democratic which helped to reduce the importance of religion.
Among the reasons which contributed to Kennedy’s victory might also be “the faltering economy in the election year, anxiety about the nation’s apparently diminished capacity to meet the Soviet threat...” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 295). Johnson on the ticket proved to be quite important because it is believed that he helped Kennedy win some Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Texas) (ibid.).
During the year of 1960, international tensions were escalating and therefore the national safety and the technical progress were key issues in the presidential election.
Both candidates, Nixon and Kennedy, were occupied with the cold war and none of them really focused on civil rights in their campaign. Media did not press either candidate on the issues of race or civil rights either. It was very effective for Kennedy and Johnson to “divide their campaign along the Mason Dixon Line.”41 Kennedy rarely visited the South during his campaign and if he did, he usually managed to avoid the topic of civil rights. Johnson was campaigning in the South. He traveled in his “LBJ
Victory Special locomotive” (Bryant 169).
41 The term Mason Dixon Line is used to refer to cultural differences between the North and South of the USA.
46 Although Kennedy devoted some speeches to civil rights, he still used rather general expressions. In his civil rights statements he often spoke about protecting constitutional rights but he rarely addressed a specific issue directly. He never explicitly criticized Southern officials for failing to comply with the Constitution, for denying the
African Americans their rights. In his statements Kennedy often criticized Eisenhower for failing in many categories, including civil rights. Kennedy particularly criticized the
President for “allowing the Little Rock Crisis to explode” (O’Brien 603). It still seemed that Kennedy advocacy of civil rights was highly influenced by political needs rather than his moral obligation. Heath believes that “no single factor decided the 1960 election. Instead, a combination of many and a measure of good luck as well made John
F. Kennedy President (47).
47 4 PART IV: Presidential Office
4.1 First Months in the Office
Civil rights advocates and activists were full of hopes when John F. Kennedy won the presidential election in 1960. Kennedy’s campaign was full of promises regarding changes in all spheres of Americans’ lives. He promised better economical situation, improvements in education and health care and fair chances for African
Americans. But during Kennedy’s presidency no civil rights act, for which the African
Americans had hoped so much, was passed. Civil rights did not seem to be a high priority for the new president. The first two years of Kennedy’s presidency were rather disappointing for civil rights supporters. He was mostly preoccupied with the worldwide situation – the threat of spreading Communist influence and the threat of nuclear confrontation. Bryant, however, admits that at certain circumstances “when he did not feel bound by political constraints” Kennedy could be “sensitive to black aspirations” (212). As an example he mentions the President’s annoyance when during the inaugural parade there was not “a single black cadet” among the members of Coast
Guard Academy (ibid.). Kennedy saw it as unacceptable which suggests that he had a personal interest in the integration of African Americans into the society.
Kennedy was not hostile to the situation of black minority; however, apart from the escalating tension at the international political scene, there was the issue of strong
Southern influence in the Congress. Kennedy was aware of the fact that there was a very slight chance that new civil rights legislation might be passed in 1961 because
48 Southerners held key positions 42 in the House and the Senate. Schwab suggests that
“almost all Southern Congressmen could be counted on to oppose any program which benefited blacks” (141). Although Kennedy administration did not propose any strong legislation regarding civil rights, they pursued the desegregation in federal employment practice. Kennedy appointed African Americans to new government positions. “During his first two months in office he selected ... forty Negroes for important posts” (Brauer
68). The most notable was the appointment of Thurgood Marshall (who was famous for advocating civil rights at the Supreme Court, especially in Brown v. Board of
Education ) to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York (ibid. 69).
“He also enlarged and strengthened the implementation and enforcement powers of the Equal Employment Opportunities Committee... 43 which covered 20 million federal employees” (Silvestri 244). The act regarding desegregation in housing was postponed because Kennedy knew that he could not turn Southern delegates against himself because he needed them in order to enforce other policies. ”Kennedy clearly aimed to win Southern Democratic support for his legislative program” (Brauer 87).
Schwab suggests that “during Kennedy Administration the black rebellion of the
1960’s came into its own.” 44 The Civil Rights Movement was certainly intensifying and due to the advancement of modern media it was also largely publicized. The President
42 “Of the twenty standing committees of the House, ten were chaired by Southerners; nine of the sixteen standing committees of the Senate were chaired by southerners” (Stern, Calculating Visions 40). 43 Kennedy established by the executive order a Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity on March 7, 1961, and it replaced two existing but according to Brauer “largely ineffectual” committees (79). The aim of the committee was to “undertake specific plans for progress involving recruitment, training, hiring and upgrading of Negro employees” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 383). Kennedy nominated Lyndon Johnson the chairman of the committee. According to 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Committee was transformed to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 44 The number of protests (demonstrations, sit ins, prayers) increased considerably at the beginning of the 1960. The civil rights activists organized a lot of protests aware of the fact that they might turn into a violent demonstration. However, they anticipated that it would give them a legitimate reason to demand reactions from government officials, particularly president administration.
49 and his aides wanted to avoid any direct confrontations because confrontations regarding racial discrimination usually attracted a lot of attention not only inside the
USA but also worldwide. During his campaign Kennedy criticized Eisenhower for lack of action with regard to racial discrimination in federally aided housing and stated that if elected, he would do so “by a stroke of pen” (“Stroke of the pen” par.1). When the civil rights supporters saw that the President did not pursue any new housing legislation, they started to send pens to the White House to remind Kennedy of his promise.
4.2 Discrimination against African Diplomats
The fact that discrimination was present at all spheres of life was proved in the spring of 1961 by an affair regarding discrimination in public accommodation in
Charleston, South Carolina, where black members of National Civil War Commission were denied the hotel services on the basis of the color of their skin. Southern delegates strongly criticized Kennedy for “unauthorized intrusion into the actions of a privately owned hotel” after the President contacted General Ulysses S. Grant III in order to request “equal treatment for all commission members” (Dallek, Unfinished Life 382).
The authorities could not force any hotel to integrate; therefore they decided to arrange a different place for the banquet – at the US naval base outside Charleston. The
Southerners liked to point out that even though the President called for desegregation, the Navy still segregated the personnel. This incident clearly demonstrates that segregation and discriminatory practices were still widely used a hundred years after the
Emancipation Proclamation.
The difficulties regarding public accommodation and restaurants were also frequently experienced by African diplomats. The year of 1960, when Kennedy was elected, is often referred to as “the Year of Africa” (Dudziak 153). Former colonies
50 were becoming independent states – “between January and November of that year, seventeen African nations achieved independence” (ibid.). With the increasing number of newly independent countries, the number of African diplomats in the USA also increased and they often encountered discriminatory practices in housing and public accommodation.
The racial discrimination in the USA might have had great influence on the relationships of the USA with newly independent nations in Africa. Especially when tensions with Soviet Union were increasing, the USA needed support of the newly emerging countries, as well as, within the United Nations. Kennedy was concerned about the image of the USA during official visits of African diplomats. Bryant acknowledges that Kennedy “ordered an investigation after a presidential honor guard for the visit of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah included only three black soldiers”
(212). The administration initiated “a highly organized and partially successful drive to desegregate” public places in certain states (Maryland, Virginia) in which the diplomats often traveled (Holder 32). Angier Biddle Duke, chief of the Protocol, proposed the creation of a special section – New Nations Division – with the responsibility to “help foreign African diplomats in Washington – and to prevent incidents that would provoke ill will” against the USA (ibid. 33).
4.3 Voting Rights
The Justice Department focused on the voting rights during the first year of
Kennedy administration. They saw voting as “the keystone in the struggle against segregation” (Dudziak 156). They believed that the more African Americans would go to the polls, the more the politicians would have to take their views into consideration.
Burke Marshall, Assistant Attorney General, was in charge of negotiations with the
51 officials from the Southern states. Kennedy administration wanted to negotiate with local officials to give “full respect to the federal system and full opportunity for local self correction” (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 934). During ten months, Marshall’s office “launched fourteen voting rights suits” (Bryant 249). By 1963, forty two suits were filed (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 935). Proving discrimination required a lot of analyses and it was usually a very long process. Attorneys from Justice Department went to the Southern states in order to analyze the situation – they examined witnesses and studied FBI reports. Brauer claims that, “despite the considerable efforts that the
Justice Department put into voter suits, they had little immediate impact on Negro registration” (119).
It seems that even though Kennedy contributed to the improvements of the
African Americans’ situation, he did not like to point it out too much. The reasons might have been that he did not want to outrage the Southerners because he needed their support. He seemed to be willing to act in favor of African Americans to the point where it came to a possible confrontation with some senators or congressmen from the
Southern states. School desegregation and desegregation in public accommodation would have required such confrontations and that may have been the reason why
Kennedy administration focused mostly on voting rights and fair employment opportunities. O’Brien explains that “legal authority on voting rights was stronger
(though still limited) than any other civil rights field” (593). Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 guaranteed federal government rights to investigate whether law had not been violated. It also entitled general governor to file suits on behalf of persons whom the right to vote had been denied.
52 4.4 Freedom Rides
In December, 1960, The Supreme Court of the USA outlawed in the case of
Boynton v. Virginia segregation at interstate bus terminals. It extended the Supreme
Court decision from 1947 45 when segregation on interstate buses was declared unlawful.
The Freedom Ride was a project of CORE (the Congress of Racial Equality), particularly of James Farmer, 46 its executive director. CORE sent an interracial group of travelers down to the Deep South in order to test the situation there – to test whether
Southern states complied with the laws of the country. In his letter to President, Farmer explained that it was “designed to forward the completion of integrated bus service and accommodations in the Deep South” (Kenney 99). They were well aware of the fact that violent reactions from white segregationist might occur and they hoped in such cases to be able to demand response from the White House. As Bryant explains, the aim was to
“provoke crisis ... so that the federal government would be compelled to act” (262).
Although the Supreme Court declared segregation in all interstate travel facilities unconstitutional, many African Americans were harassed or even jailed if they moved freely at bus facilities or sat in the front seats of buses. The CORE informed the officials in advance about their plan in writing. They sent letters to President Kennedy; Attorney
General Robert Kennedy; J. Edgar Hoover, the Chairman of Interstate Commerce
Commission; then to the president of Greyhound Corporation and the president of
Trailways Corporation (bus companies) and to the FBI. According to Farmer, there was no response from any of the institutions (O’Reilly 206).
45 The CORE organized “Journey of Reconciliation” in 1947 after the Supreme Court outlawed segregated seating on interstate buses and trains. At that time they traveled only through the Upper South, however, they were attacked during the journey and eventually arrested in North Carolina for “violating the segregation laws of the state” (Williams 147). 46 James Farmer was black civil rights activist, one of the founders of CORE in early 1940s. Farmer as well as Martin Luther King studied and advocated the Gandhi philosophy of nonviolence.
53 The Freedom Riders (13 demonstrators seven black and six white) left
Washington D.C. on May 4, 1961, and their plan was to travel through Virginia, North and South Carolina and finish in New Orleans on May 17 – the anniversary of Brown decision. The Riders managed to travel without much trouble through Virginia, however, in South Carolina and in Alabama they were attacked by segregationists. In
Anniston (Alabama) they were forced to leave the bus as it was firebombed and then they were beaten up by members of Ku Klux Klan who used iron bars. Violent attacks took also place in Birmingham, where the Riders were awaited by segregationists. The police offered no protection to the Riders. The next day the pictures of burning bus carrying Freedom Riders and the attacks at Birmingham Magic City Terminal were on the front pages of numerous newspapers, not only in the USA but also abroad.
The pictures of African Americans being harassed by angry white mobs while trying to exercise their rights guaranteed to them by the US Supreme Court were in sharp contrast with the image of “beacon of freedom and democracy” as the USA tried to present themselves in the world (Rosenberg 31). President Kennedy called
“emergency meeting” with the members of Justice Department (Williams 148). As
Dallek confirms, “the Freedom Riders caught the Kennedys by surprise” (Unfinished
Life 384). The President and his aides worried about the image of the USA in the world, especially after the debacle of Bay of Pigs Invasion and before the upcoming meeting of
Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. 47 “Kennedy... saw the headlines as another blow to America’s international prestige” (ibid.)
47 The meeting with Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna was scheduled for June 3 4, 1961.
54 The President and the Attorney General agreed on sending federal marshals to
Alabama if necessary, however, Robert Kennedy perceived the protection of Freedom
Riders as a responsibility of local police, even though he was aware of the fact that there was certain evidence that Eugene Connor (police official in the city of Birmingham)
“had facilitated the Birmingham violence” (Bryant 264). According to Rorabaugh, FBI had the information proving that Connor “had agreed to give the Klan 15 minutes alone with the Freedom Riders” (82). The Justice Department and the President administration could have (and according to their critics should have) acted more promptly on the account of such information, however, they postponed any intervention until later.
The Kennedys sent John Seigenthaler, a Justice Department aide, to Birmingham in order to monitor the situation for them. Seigenthaler had a meeting with John
Patterson, Alabama Governor, who promised to “protect all people in Alabama, visitors and others, whether on the highways or elsewhere” (Brauer 100). When a new group of
Freedom Riders left Birmingham on May 20, their bus was accompanied by a plane flying over and state patrol cars were along the highway between Birmingham and
Montgomery. When the bus arrived in Montgomery, “Riders exited the bus into the middle of an angry, howling mob of 500 – 1,000” (Rorabaugh 82). The Riders were severely beaten and so were the crews from NBC News and Life (ibid.) When
Seigenthaler, who had been following the bus, tried to help two female Riders he was
“knocked unconscious and left lying in the street for nearly half an hour” (Williams
155). Martial Law was declared in Montgomery and Robert Kennedy sent four hundred federal marshals there (Rorabaugh 83).
55 Despite the attacks, the Riders decided to continue in their journey and on May
24, 1961, they left Montgomery and headed for Jackson, Mississippi. No violence occurred in Jackson because the Freedom Riders were awaited by the police, arrested and sent to jail. Robert Kennedy had made an agreement with James Eastland,
Mississippi Senator, that the Freedom Riders were guaranteed the protection under the condition that upon their arrival in Jackson they would be arrested. Burke Marshall,
Assistant Attorney General, later admitted that “the arrests ‘were unconstitutional...without any question’” (Stern, Calculating Visions 60). However,
Robert Kennedy wanted to avoid the crisis so desperately that he “agreed” with the imprisonment of the Riders (Silvestri 244). After the Riders entered Mississippi,
Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, issued his first public statement on the crisis. In his speech “he praised state authorities for protecting the riders” and he also “appealed to the patriotism of the riders and rioters” (Bryant 276), however, he drew the attention to the upcoming meeting of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna and stated that anything that “brings or causes discredit on our country, can be harmful to his mission” (ibid.). In other words he told both sides that they had certain responsibility for the crisis.
President Kennedy issued his first public statement regarding Freedom Rides and the crisis it provoked on May 20, 1961. Kennedy expressed his belief that all the responsibility of maintaining peace and order is the responsibility of local authorities.
He claimed: “I call upon the Governor and other responsible State officials in Alabama, as well as the Mayors of Birmingham and Montgomery, to exercise their lawful authority to prevent any further outbreaks of violence” (Kennedy, “Statement of the
President Concerning Interference”). He also declared that he hoped that “any persons, whether a citizen of Alabama or a visitor there, would refrain from any action which
56 would in any way tend to provoke further outbreaks” (ibid.). By saying this the
President called upon the Freedom Riders and other civil rights activists to stop any further protests in order to keep peace and order.
According to Stern, Harris Wofford and Burke Marshall tried to convince the
President that he should say “a few stout words of support for the riders” but Kennedy refused (Calculating Visions 61). He also refused to see the Riders when asked by
CORE and Southern Christian Leadership Conference. During the summer of 1961, more than sixty different Rides went through the South and “by the end of summer over
300 were behind bars in Mississippi” (Anderson 53). On September 22, 1961, the
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) banned segregated interstate transportation facilities so it is possible to say that the objective of the Freedom Rides was met. Apart from that they also managed to provoke the administration into action. The order of ICC was initiated by Robert Kennedy. “Under heavy pressure from Robert Kennedy, the
Interstate Commerce Commission brought an end to all segregation signs in railroad and airport, and bus terminals” (O’Brien 591).
During the crisis, President remained silent most of the time, however, on July
19, during the President’s News Conference he claimed that: “... everyone who travels...should enjoy the full constitutional protection given to them by the law and by the Constitution” (Kennedy, “President’s News Conference of July 19, 1961” p.3).
Dallek points out that Kennedy believed that he had “done more for civil rights than any
President in the American history” (Unfinished Life 387). Nevertheless, it was not
“enough to keep up with the determined efforts of African Americans to end two centuries of oppression” (ibid.). The fact that Kennedy administration eventually managed to keep law and order was viewed positively, as well as the fact that they
57 refused to accept racial mob violence. However, they were criticized for not interfering with local police, who in many cases were members of Ku Klux Klan and approved of violence. 48 The President and his administration were “pushed into acting where it had refused to act earlier,” nevertheless they managed to cope with the situations and enforce new rules regarding racial discrimination (Schwab 151).
4.5 Albany Movement
Albany, a farming town in Georgia with the population of fifty six thousand people, became the venue of the next civil rights crisis. Forty percent of Albany population were African Americans (Anderson 66). Segregation was still very widespread: schools, despite Brown decision, still remained segregated and a very low percentage of African Americans were registered to vote. Public facilities – library, buses, parks and swimming pools were still strictly segregated as well. At the beginning of the new decade, the civil rights organizations intensified their struggle considerably.
In the summer of 1961, members of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 49 arrived in Albany in order to fight against segregation in an organized, effective way.
Later that year in November 1961, Albany Movement 50 was formed with the aim to organize activists. The members of Albany Movement complained to the Justice
Department about the situation of African Americans in Albany, however, the only response they received was that “federal government had no authority to intervene”
(Bryant 315). All efforts for desegregation were blocked by the city officials who rather
48 According to O’Reilly, FBI had information that members of Ku Klux Klan were planning an attack on Freedom Riders and provided this information to the local police, however, nothing was done to prevent the attack. It was also the case of Birmingham (206 207). 49 The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a civil rights organization which was established in 1960. It played important role during sit in demonstrations and Freedom Rides. 50 The Albany Movement was an umbrella organization which included Ministerial Alliance, the Negro Votes League, and the Criterion Club (Williams 167).
58 chose to close all public parks instead of taking further steps toward desegregation.
Campaign which aimed to desegregate public buses also led to suspending of bus services.
In mid July, 1962, Martin Luther King came to Albany for a trial in which he was sentenced to forty five days 51 in prison for organizing a march in February of 1962.
According to Bryant, the Kennedys saw the imprisonment of Martin Luther King as very inconvenient because it was before the Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial Primary and they hoped that “racial moderate” Carl Sanders would win the primary (316).
King’s imprisonment always attracted media attention and it was very likely that it would encourage voters to support the segregationist candidate. King was released from the jail upon a bail payment, which was provided by a contributor whose identity was not revealed. However, it was a day after Burke Marshall called Coretta King to express her support of Kennedy administration. He told her that “the Department was trying to secure her husband’s release” (Brauer 168). Until now, it has not been clarified who secured King’s release, whether it was a result of the Department’s intervention or whether there really was an anonymous donor. Dr. King decided to stay in Albany in order to organize street protests, but on July 21, District Judge J. Robert Elliot (who had been appointed by Kennedy) issued an official order which banned demonstrations.
Despite the ban on demonstrations, protests increased and large numbers of protesters were arrested. The mass meetings and demonstrations continued for next six months. On July 24 (only four days after Judge Elliot issued his order banning demonstrations), “U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Atlanta ruled that
51 M.L.King was sentenced together with his aide Ralph Abernathy for forty five days in jail or a 178 USD fine. Both of them chose jail.
59 Elliot’s ban on demonstration was illegal” (Bryant 319), and that inspired further protests and marches. King was again arrested after he went to the City Hall and demanded a meeting with Mayor Kelley.
Despite the fact that the incidents attracted the attention of national press and the events in Albany became a national issue, city officials repeatedly rejected the civil rights leaders’ requests for negotiations. President Kennedy criticized the Albany authorities’ approach at the News Conference held on August 1, 1962. He said: “…I find it wholly inexplicable why the City Council of Albany will not sit down with the citizens of Albany, who may be Negroes, and attempt to secure theme in a peaceful way…” (Kennedy, “News Conference 40” p.2). The President also pointed out that federal government is going to make every effort “to provide a satisfactory solution for the protection of the constitutional rights of the people of Albany…” (ibid.).
On August 8, 1962, the Justice Department legally intervened by issuing a statement in which they declared that “the court should not consider the injunction because the city did not have ‘clean hands,’ since it continued to enforce segregation in public facilities” (Brauer 175). As Bryant confirms, it was “a clear signal to the City
Commissioners in Albany and, implicitly, to other southern segregationists that they could not longer treat blacks unlawfully” (324). A week later, on August 15, 1962, the
City Commission finally agreed to meet with the civil rights leaders, but their meeting did not bring any satisfying results for the civil rights advocates. The street protests continued, however, Albany African Americans were losing interest and the attendance at mass meetings was gradually declining.
Although the Albany Movement did not bring about any changes (schools remained segregated and other public facilities were closed) and as Stern confirms,
60 “civil rights activists suffered one of their most bitter defeats,” it provided the civil rights organizations with great experience of organizing mass meetings and demonstrations (76). In comparison with the previous civil rights crisis Kennedy’s approach changed considerably. While during the Freedom Rides he refrained from criticizing the Southern officials, during the Albany events, he criticized explicitly the city officials. Bryant suggests that Albany together with other events of that year
“marked a shift” in Kennedy’s language regarding civil rights issues (328). The events
“galvanized him to speak out against segregation in America in more forceful terms than he ever had before” (ibid.). During the News Conference held on September 13,
1962, when he was asked to comment on the situation he said: “The United States
Constitution provides for freedom to vote, and this country must permit every man and woman to exercise their franchise” (Kennedy, “President’s News Conference, Sept.13” p.2 ). He condemned the attacks against civil rights activists as “cowardly as well as outrageous” (ibid.). At both news conferences (Sept. 13 and Aug. 1, 1962) the President spoke very directly about the issues of civil rights. He even expressed clearly his own point of view and criticized directly city officials when he said that he does not understand why city officials of Albany are so unwilling to negotiate with activist when
“the U.S. Government is involved in sitting down at Geneva with the Soviet Union”
(Kennedy, “News Conference 40” p.2).
4.6 Integrating the University of Mississippi
Mississippi was one of the poorest states in the USA and also the state with the highest percentage of African American population. Forty five percent of
Mississippians were black, but only five percent of black population were registered to vote (Williams 208). Lynching, beating and other violent acts were frequent practices
61 used to prevent African Americans from registering to vote or other attempts to exercise their rights. In some counties of Mississippi there was not a single black voter registered and eighty six percent of African Americans lived in poverty (Cozzens 1). Very high percentage of college graduates was leaving the state which led to lack of doctors and lawyers. At certain places it was still quite common that children worked in fields instead of going to school. Mississippi had much fewer bookstores and libraries than any other state.
Schools in Mississippi were still strictly segregated and the University of
Mississippi, commonly known as Ole Miss, was not an exception. Therefore when
James Meredith, twenty eight years old air force veteran and native Mississippian, applied for admission in January 1961, 52 he was rejected solely on the basis of his skin color. Meredith contacted Medgar Evers, NAACP 53 field secretary, for legal assistance
(O’Brien 603). On May 31, 1961, NAACP and James Meredith filed a lawsuit at the
Federal Court in Meridian, Mississippi. (“Integrating Ole Miss”). Kennedy administration intervened in the case for the first time on August 31, 1962, when the
Justice Department asked the Supreme Court Judge to put aside stays issued by Judge
Ben F. Cameron. 54
After a series of court contests, on September 10, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith. Three days later, on
September 13, Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett expressed his strong stand against the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in a statewide television and radio speech. He refused
52 James Meredith claimed that he was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech. 53 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – one of the most influential civil rights organizations in the USA. 54 Judge Ben F. Cameron was a member of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals who kept postponing the injunction of ordering integration of Ole Miss by issuing four separate stays (“Integrating Ole Miss”).
62 to ever allow the integration of a single school. In his proclamation he said: “We must either submit to the unlawful dictates of the federal government or stand up like men to tell them no” (Barnett par. 6). He also encouraged the people of Mississippi to fight against integration by claiming that he had no doubts that “the overwhelming majority of loyal Mississippians…will never submit to the moral degradation, to the same and the ruin which have faced all other who have lacked the courage to defend their beliefs”
(ibid).
Although publicly Barnett strongly opposed the idea of Meredith’s enrollment, he had been negotiating with Attorney General Kennedy. On September 15, 1962
Robert Kennedy called Governor Barnett to seek a solution to the crisis and since then until September 28, they had over twenty phone conversations (Dallek, Unfinished Life
514). According to Williams, Barnett suggested in one of their phone calls that
Meredith was led to school by army troops. Such situation would have suggested that
Barnett was forced to allow his enrollment. He did not want to be blamed by
Mississippians for allowing integration of Ole Miss, He did not want to “appear to capitulate to the federal government” (Kenney 104). However, his suggestion was rejected by Robert Kennedy. They did not reach an agreement and Barnett personally blocked Meredith’s second attempt to get registered.
When President Kennedy came to realize that the peaceful way (telephone conversations with Governor Barnett and actions at courts 55 ), in which they were trying to solve the problem was not efficient, he federalized the Mississippi National Guard on
September 30, 1962. James Meredith was escorted to the campus, where he stayed
55 Barnett was found guilty of civil contempt and “ordered to purge himself by following Tuesday or face arrest and a fine of ten thousand U.S. dollars per day” (Schlesinger 943).
63 overnight guarded by twenty four federal agents (Williams 216). President Kennedy delivered a speech on nation wide television, in which he announced that Meredith had been “in residence on campus of the University of Mississippi” (Kennedy, “President
Kennedy’s Speech with notes” p.1). He stressed the importance of law as “eternal safeguard of liberty” and he also stated that “Americans are free…to disagree with law but not to disobey it” (ibid.). During the President’s speech, the situation at Ole Miss deteriorated considerably. A large crowd protesting against Meredith’s enrollment had gathered at campus and violent rioting broke out. At approximately eight o’clock, when
Kennedy was beginning his speech, French journalist, Paul Guihard, was murdered.
Later that night, Kennedy ordered twenty three thousand troops “to proceed to
Oxford” (Rorabaugh 102). The President had no other possibility than to order the
Army to Oxford because gunfire spread and the situation at the campus became very violent. Government officials worried about Meredith’s life and his security. Nicholas
Katzentbach, Deputy Attorney General, who was present at the campus, demanded the troops in order to get the situation under control. The U.S. Army soldiers arrived in
Oxford on October 1 between two and three a.m., which was rather late after the order was issued. Army officials later provided numerous explanations for their delay.
Nevertheless, at this point the relations between the White House and Pentagon sank very low. Kennedy and his team were deeply disturbed by the Army’s indifference to presidential orders. “The Kennedy brothers and their advisors sensed something sinister in the military’s farcical incompetence” (Talbot 155).
On October 1, 1962, James Meredith was escorted to Lyceum Hall for registration. He was followed by marshals everywhere he went in order to protect him from physical violence. During the rioting two people died, three hundred and seventy
64 five were injured, including a hundred and sixty six federal marshals (O’Brien 608).
Two hundred people were arrested (Kenney 107).
The Mississippi Crisis was followed very closely by media in foreign countries.
Most of their reactions to the presidential response were positive. A Swedish newspaper claimed: “There is hardly to be found a corresponding example in the world of a
Government so powerfully protecting the rights of a minority. In the midst of tragedy, this is a victory for American democracy and for the ideas upon which it rests”
(Dudziak 164). Most media abroad, even in Africa, praised Kennedy administration for the way in which he handled the crisis. The manner in which the federal government handled the crisis positively affected the image of the USA abroad.
President’s solution to the problem seemed to have more supporters than opponents in the USA. The Ole Miss crisis did not hurt Kennedy politically. Brauer confirms that “Mississippi confrontation did not seriously hurt Kennedy’s standing among white Southerners” (201). In addition Schlesinger reports that “in the fall election the Democrats won more Negro votes than ever” (948). The Kennedy’s stance was regarded by Americans as a sign that the President was willing to support the rights of all Americans citizens, including African American minority, even though it might have weakened his popularity.
However, the Democratic Party members were not in an agreement about
Kennedy’s conduct. According to Talbot, the Mississippi Crisis “drove a permanent wedge between the Kennedy administration and the white South” (158). He also suggests that Kennedy realized that “the attempt to reach some sort of consensus with
Southern states, with its congressmen and senators” was at its end (159). Kennedy expressed clearly that regardless of the problems inside the Democratic Party, he was
65 determined to carry out the duties expected from president. When a reporter asked
President Kennedy whether he believed that Ole Miss Crisis would have an impact on enforcement of his administrations programs in Congress, Kennedy explained that he believed that “the majority of southerners recognized that his duty is “to carry out the court order..” (“Transcript of Interview”).
Integrating Ole Miss was a great achievement for the civil rights leaders and it gave African Americans hope and belief that there was a certain possibility they might be able to receive the support from federal government in their struggle for equal rights.
However, some civil rights leaders were not satisfied with the manner in which the
Kennedy administration handled the crisis. For instance, Martin Luther King criticized
John F. Kennedy for failing to praise Meredith in his speech. According to Dr. King,
Kennedy only summoned “the nation to obey law” (O’Brien 608). The fact is that
Kennedy did not express any support to James Meredith, he did not appeal directly to the consciences of the Southerners as he did during the Albany crisis, however, he expressed much stronger support to civil rights than in any previous case.
John and Robert Kennedy both tried to avoid the use of troops as long as it was possible. They had been criticizing Eisenhower for letting the crisis in Little Rock grow to such an extent that ordering federal troops was the only possibility to resolve the crisis. They perceived the use federal troops as a great failure. Stern explains that John
Kennedy as well as Robert Kennedy “had a real conviction that it was wrong to send troops in…” (“Eisenhower and Kennedy” 4). It was also the reason why Kennedy kept persuading the Governor he wanted to avoid using federal troops; he wanted to persuade Barnett to take steps leading to Meredith’s registration without violence and particularly without the necessity for federal troops. Kennedy certainly did not consider
66 delaying of Meredith’s registration at Ole Miss, as Burke Marshall pointed out during his discussion at JFK Library in September, 2002. Kennedy was presented with a very difficult situation and there was not much he could do. Robert Kennedy claimed that he had never seen his brother “so angry” (Talbot 155). He himself regarded the night when the battle of Ole Miss was fought as the “worst night” he had ever spent (ibid.).
The Ole Miss crisis certainly marked a shift in Kennedy’s approach to the civil rights and in his views of the South. During this civil rights battle Kennedy experienced the manner in which Southern representatives dealt with federal government officials and how easily they ignored a Supreme Court decision. Therefore he could easily picture what sort of treatment the African Americans must have been experiencing for many years. Apart from the fact that the Ole Miss crisis “stirred doubts within JFK’s inner circle about how firmly the president was I control of his own army, it also contributed to the conviction that “the South was a hostile territory” (Talbot 162).
4.7 Birmingham
Birmingham was the most segregated of large cities in the whole country.
Fleming described Birmingham as the “symbol of segregation” (82). The population of the city was 350,000 people and 140,000 were African Americans (Brauer 230). Martin
Luther King and his SCLC wanted to challenge the segregation in Birmingham by launching protests in March 1963, soon after the municipal election. However, the first round of the election did not produce a majority for any of the candidates.56 Albert
Boutwell, who was preferred by city’s black population, won the election by a small
56 The candidates were both segregationists – T. Eugene “Bull” Connor – police commissioner and Albert Boutwell, who was the more moderate of these two. He was also more preferred by African Americans (Brauer 230).
67 margin on April 2, 1963, but his opponent T. Eugene “Bull” Connor immediately disputed the result and initiated court proceedings and as a result of that Birmingham had two administrations until the case was settled.
Dr. King started his protests by boycotting shops in downtown and by sit in demonstrations at lunch counters, but on April 12, 1963, many protestors, including
Martin Luther King were arrested for organizing a march. Coretta King, Reverend
King’s wife, called the White House to ask for help of the administration. Robert
Kennedy promised “to do all he could to have her husband’s situation improved”
(Brauer 232). The Kennedys’ intervention probably influenced the manner in which Dr.
King was treated. Brauer describes that the conditions of King’s imprisonment improved considerably after the administration intervention (ibid.). During the imprisonment, Reverend King wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in which he responded to a statement issued by white clergymen from Alabama, according to whom it was not correct to fight against injustice in the streets. In his letter King explained that direct actions were important because so far no civil rights would have been achieved without them. He explained that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (“Letter from Birmingham Jail”).
After Dr. King was released on bond, he knew, based on the Albany experience that jails were large enough to take a lot of black adults and that was the reason he decided to “recruit” schoolchildren for his peaceful protests. During their first march, on
May 2, 1963, nine hundred children were arrested (Bryant 234). The next day, when another group of young students marched, Eugene Connor did not hesitate to order firemen with hoses and police dogs to break up the demonstrations. Governor Wallace sent sixty troopers to assist the local police. Some groups of African Americans
68 responded to the brutal violence against demonstrators, many of whom were children and women, by violent rioting in the city. Kennedy administration was denying their right to intervene, however, Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall was sent to
Birmingham in order to negotiate with both sides – white city officials and black civil rights leaders in order to come up with a solution. The members of Kennedy administration were working also from Washington. Robert Kennedy called Dr. King and tried to persuade him not to use children in his protests. The administration also initiated negotiations with companies whose subsidiaries were located in Birmingham to contribute to a settlement of the crisis. President Kennedy started his News
Conference, on May 8, 1963 with the Birmingham situation. He stressed that he had
“made it clear since assuming the Presidency that [he] would use all available means to protect human rights, and uphold the law of the land” (Kennedy, “News Conference 55” p.1). Kennedy explained that his administration had been focusing on settling the problem “in a peaceful fashion” (ibid.).
As a result of negotiations it was announced on May 10, 1963, that Birmingham merchants had agreed to desegregate lunch counters and employ more African
Americans. Connor responded by urging whites to boycott stores whose owners agreed to integrate. Soon after the announcement, Ku Klux Klan rallied and the house of
Reverend A.D. King, Martin Luther King’s brother, was bombed and so was the motel where M.L.King resided. The events in Birmingham attracted not only national media but also media abroad. The pictures of children being attacked by police dogs were published all over the world. “A Nigerian newspaper accused ‘the USA of becoming the most barbarian state in the world’” (O’Brien 835). President Kennedy’s concern about the image of his country abroad might have also contributed to the active role his administration assumed in order to resolve the crisis.
69 Robert Kennedy was afraid that violence might spread into other big cities in the country and Williams reports that therefore he “convinced his brother to send in federal troops” (194). Most of the objectives, set by the civil rights activists, were fulfilled and as Brauer confirms, “the message of Birmingham to the nation’s blacks was quite clear: street demonstrations could win tangible gains” (238). Kennedy emphasized in his televised speech on May 12, 1963, that “the federal government would not permit ‘a few extremists’ on each side to sabotage the settlement (Dallek, Unfinished Life 598).
The Supreme Court ruled that Mayor Boutwell and new council were legitimate representatives of Birmingham. The crisis was resolved; however, Robert Kennedy had a survey conducted, and it revealed that about thirty Southern cities “might explode in violence during the summer” (ibid. 599). The Birmingham events certainly inspired
African Americans in other cities to peaceful protests. In April and May of 1963, 758 demonstrations were organized (Shattuck, “On Kennedy and King” 7). During the summer following Birmingham crisis, fourteen thousand African Americans “were arrested in the states of the old Confederacy” (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 964).
Birmingham crisis was a certain landmark with regard to two different matters.
First, I believe that it is possible to say that white Americans started to change their attitude towards the problem of racial inequality. The television spots picturing black children being attacked by police dogs brought the American citizens to reality. It accused the conscience of white America in terms which could not longer be ignored.
But the awakening was so belated that it could hardly claim moral credit” (Schlesinger,
Thousand Days 960). The white Americans slowly came to understand the fact that they could no longer regard the South as a rather separate part of their country and ignore its problems. Secondly, the administration adopted a different approach to the situation than it had previously. They exercised their influence in different spheres of the city life
70 which proved to be successful because they managed to persuade business leaders to desegregate lunch counters by which they contributed to the setback of Eugene Connor.
4.8 Integrating the University of Alabama
Since 1962, the President “moved from crisis to crisis” (Bryant 417). Alabama
University was the last segregated state university in the nation. Governor George
Wallace promised during his campaign in 1962 “to stand in the schoolhouse door and bar any black student from entering the University of Alabama” (O’Brien 836). On May
21, 1963, Federal District Court ordered the enrollment of two black students, Vivian
Malone 57 and James Hood who had attempted to register at the University of Alabama.
Governor Wallace personally blocked the entry of the students when they came to register, although he knew that there was not much he could do in order to prevent the desegregation. His intention was focused on the opposition to the federal government.
He aimed to oppose “federal intrusion in state affairs” rather than prevent integration of the University (Dallek, Unfinished Life 602).
Kennedy administration was much better prepared this time since they had learned a lesson from the mistakes made at Ole Miss. Administration officials were in touch with the President of the University of Alabama and they also contacted Alabama businessmen and community leaders from different public spheres to support integration. As a result of that, “over two hundred Tuscaloosa 58 civil officials signed a petition urging Wallace not to ‘carry out [his] denounced intention of personally and physically interfering with the order of the United States Court’” (O’Brien 837).
57 Vivian Malone became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Alabama. 58 Tuscaloosa is a city in central Alabama where the University of Alabama is located.
71 President Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard after Nicholas
Katzenbach, Deputy Attorney General, was confronted with Governor Wallace at the
University campus on the day when the students were supposed to enroll. When the federalized National Guard arrived, Governor Wallace stepped aside without any further resistance. The students were admitted later that afternoon. Everything was carried out without any violence or rioting. That night, on June 11, 1963, President Kennedy delivered his speech on the civil rights, despite the discouragement of his advisors. In this memorable speech Kennedy stressed that the Americans were “confronted primarily with a moral issue…as old as the scriptures and …as clear as the American
Constitution” (Kennedy, “Radio and Television Report”). The President also appealed to Congress and to all citizens of the USA in his speech. He stressed that the civil rights issues and the injustice the African Americans were experiencing was a matter concerning every American citizen. He insisted that they face “a moral crisis as a country and as a people” and that “it is time to act in Congress, in your State and local legislative body, and above all in all of our daily lives” (ibid). It was a very remarkable speech. It was the first time that president of the United States acknowledged that it was a “moral issue” (Leff, “Integrating the University of Alabama” p.19).
Bryant explains that Kennedy realized that “he could take a more proactive role in shaping public opinion” (421). Many critics see the President’s awakening as a very belated action. However, Schlesinger emphasizes that it was the perfect timing for a speech like that explaining that “if he had made his June speech in February, it would have attracted as little attention as his civil rights message that month” (966). Mr.
Katzenbach explained in his interview for John. F. Kennedy Library Oral History
Program that the speech was “enormously courageous” (Leff, “Integrating the
University of Alabama”). The reason why it was so courageous was that it was certain
72 that it would threaten the unity of the Democratic Party. Kennedy was aware of the consequences his speech would have. The Southerners were outraged. The most critical remark came from Senator Richard Russell of Georgia who accused Kennedy of stepping toward communist (Bryant 424).
4.9 Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill
On June 19, 1963, a week after the President’s historic speech on civil rights was delivered, Kennedy sent his civil rights bill to the Congress. He claimed: “the time has come for the Congress of the United States to join with the executive and judicial branches in making it clear to all that race has no place in American life or law…”
(Sorenson 199). Kennedy’s bill prohibited discrimination in public accommodation facilities, in restaurants, and shops and in any federally assisted programs. It empowered the attorney general with the right to initiate school desegregation suits. The bill proposed the establishment of a Community Relations Service which would assist individuals in racial disputes. The bill also included proposal for new fair employment programs.
As Kennedy and his aides predicted, the reaction of Southern was outraging.
Senator James Eastland “described the bill as a ‘complete blueprint for the totalitarian state’’ (Bryant 428). The Southern opponents tried to delay the bill for as long as possible, however, on October 29, 1963, “The Judiciary Committee approved it … and reported it to the House on November 20” (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 973). The Civil
Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964. According to
Stern, “Johnson played a crucial role in the fight to achieve a strong civil rights bill … he helped secure several critical votes for cloture and kept pressing the civil rights forces to maintain the integrity of the House proposal” (Calculating Visions 184).
73 However, there certainly was a certain shift in the character of the United States politics resulting from Kennedy’s assassination which undoubtedly contributed to the passage of the law.
4.10 The March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, civil rights activists and religious leaders organized the largest civil rights rally in the American history – the March on Washington. The idea of a march in the capital city was originally proposed by A. Philip Randolph 59 in the
1940s. In 1963, civil rights organizations felt they needed to express their strong request for effective civil rights legislation and influenced by Randolph they united themselves and agreed to organize the “largest demonstration for human rights in the United States history” (Lloyd par.1). Their aim to organize a massive demonstration in the capital city was announced on June 11, 1963. The President met the Big Six 60 of civil rights at the
White House and he tried to persuade them to call the march off but the civil rights activists refused. Therefore Kennedy decided that his administration would express their support to the March and would help to its peaceful realization. During the News
Conference on July 17, the President said that expressing “their strong views … is in the great tradition … we want citizens to come to Washington if they feel that they are not having their rights expressed” (Kennedy, “News Conference 58” p.5).
59 A.Philip Randolph, President of the Negro American Labor Council, together with Bayard Rustin and A.J.Muste planned a march in 1941 to protest against segregation in army and unfair employment opportunities for African Americans. To forestall the march President Roosevelt issued the so called Fair Employment Act (The Executive Order 8802) – the first federal action against racial discrimination practices in employment. 60 The Big Six were representatives of the largest civil rights organizations: M.L. King (SCLC), J.Farmer (CORE), J. Lewis (SNCC), R. Wilkins (NAACP), Whitney Young (Urban League) and A.P. Randolph (Silvestri 256).
74 The objective of the March was to support the civil rights bill which Kennedy administration sent to Congress on June 19. It was seen as an opportunity to stress the need for “unity, racial harmony, and, especially a cry to ‘Pass the Bill’” (Williams 198).
Over 250,000 people 61 from all over the United States came to Washington,
D.C. in order to attend the March. The large group of demonstrators marched from the
Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where civil rights leaders performed their speeches. Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech I Have a Dream.
Popular musicians and Hollywood celebrities 62 expressed their support by performing or by their attendance. Civil rights leaders met with the Congress members before the
March and later that day with the President at the White House. Kennedy welcomed all the leaders saying: “You did a superb job in making your case” (Bryant 436). Bryant confirms that Kennedy was “obviously relieved that the march was performed in a very peaceful way” (ibid.).
Not only the Kennedy administration members were afraid that the March could turn into a violent demonstration, but there was general fear that one little incident might spark into a great violent riot; therefore security was a very important issue. FBI conducted a number of surveillance operations in order to monitor the number of activists coming to Washington in order to attend the rally. FBI also monitored whether there was any connection with communist organizations. Special measures were taken
Police, National Guard and Army were all prepared to intervene if necessary.
61 Figures referring to the number of participants differ from 200,000 to 300,000 people depending on the source. 62 Among the celebrities who expressed their support to civil rights issues at the March were Marlon Brando, James Garner, Paul Newman, Bob Dylan and many others (Lloyd)
75 Media across the country and also international media covered the March extensively. Great international interest led to sympathy demonstrations in a number of
European cities, but also in Tel Aviv, Burundi and other places (Dudziak 192 – 193).
Williams considers the March so remarkable for the fact that it was the first time when black and white people were marching together. This fact demonstrates certain change in the society. The perception of the civil rights issue had certainly changed and the nation came to understand the need for comprehensive civil rights legislation. However, the Congress did not react swiftly. Committee meetings focused on the Kennedy’s civil rights bill during the summer and autumn and the civil rights bill was finally passed in
March, 1964 “with Johnson’s strong presidential leadership” (Silvestri 257)
76 Conclusion
Although many writers and journalists focused on emphasizing his flaws and his weaknesses, Kennedy has certainly become a legend, a symbol of his time. He still remains one of the most popular presidents of the United States, admired even among young generations. With regard to the civil rights Kennedy has been viewed very controversially. While some historians and writers view his leadership on domestic issues, particularly on civil rights, as superb, others strongly criticize him for his approach to this issue.
Despite the fact that Kennedy delivered several positive speeches 63 regarding civil rights issues during his early career, he certainly cannot be regarded as a civil rights advocate. During his years in Congress, he viewed civil rights and racial injustice as a political problem and he tried to distance himself from it. He often linked the problem of racial injustice to the Cold War. He worried about the negative image of the
USA in the world. In addition, he voted with the Southerners on key civil rights legislation.
Kennedy certainly did not have much knowledge of the subject. He was raised in a wealthy family in Boston, he always attended prestigious schools, therefore he had limited opportunity to meet African Americans and become acquainted with the problems they faced. Even though he touched the problem during his years in the
Congress, he mostly used very general, rather defensive language.
63 Although a lot of speeches during his campaigns for Congress were motivated by political reasons – he needed to win the votes of African Americans, Kennedy delivered a courageous speech at NAACP meeting very shortly before the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles in 1960.
77 During his presidential campaign Kennedy promised a presidency based on proactive, flexible, energetic leadership which certainly attracted many voters because at the beginning of the 1960s, the United States citizens were prepared for a change, they were “ready to move” (Shattuck, “The Presidency of JFK” 11). Kennedy supported a fairly strong civil rights plank during his presidential campaign and he promised to end discrimination in housing with a stroke of pen. However, during his presidency, no significant legislation was passed. Many African Americans were disappointed by
Kennedy’s poor performance on civil rights issues, particularly by little effort in legislation. During the first two years in office, President Kennedy was very cautious with regard to racial problems and he did not propose any comprehensive civil rights legislation. His civil rights bill, which he sent to the Congress on June 19, 1963, was viewed as his belated action resulting from growing pressure from civil rights leaders and increased civil disobedience across the United States. Even his supporters agree that
Kennedy should have pursued the civil rights legislation earlier in his presidency.
Certain arguments can explain Kennedy’s rather delayed actions in the field of civil rights.
Firstly, Kennedy lacked the support of Congress for any far reaching civil rights legislation. He was elected in 1960 – that year the Democratic Party lost twenty seats and the so called Dixiecrat Coalition 64 was formed. Committee chairmen were mostly white Southerners who strongly opposed any civil rights legislation. The Democrats needed Southern electorate to be able to enact their other legislation. The President knew that if he had sent any major civil rights legislation, it would have probably been
64 The term Dixiecrat refers to Southern Democrats who refused to allow federal government to change the traditional Southern way of life.
78 blocked and in addition, it would have outraged Southerners who would have blocked all other important legislation 65 Kennedy was going to propose. According to Alan
Brinkley, Kennedy never managed to “develop an effective working relationship with the Congress on domestic issues” (Shattuck, “Presidency of JFK” 18).
Secondly, the South seemed to be separated from the rest of the USA. Robert
Dallek confirmed during a debate at the J. F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that the “the rest of the USA saw the South as sort of the crazy aunt you kept in the attic” (Dallek, “Robert Dallek on John F. Kennedy” p.25). And such were also the attitudes of most American politicians. During his visit to Alabama (when he arrived to meet Governor Wallace in 1963), Robert Kennedy said: “It’s like a foreign country”
(Dallek, Unfinished Life 599). On his arrival at Alabama State Capitol General
Attorney Kennedy saw state troopers wearing helmets with the signs of Confederate flags. Racism was an indispensable part of the Southern states’ culture and therefore it was not possible to achieve racial equality over a night. In addition, the Southerners were determined to defend their way of life even by means of terror and violence.
Bryant explains that there was a significant difference between the objectives of African
Americans living in the North and in the South. While those living in the North “had already achieved a degree of financial success and longed primarily for social acceptance,” the Southern blacks represented socially weak segment of society missing
“basic civil rights – access to jobs, education, voting booths” (464).
It is also very important to understand that the responsibilities of president are far reaching and very diverse. The end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties was
65 His bills regarding domestic issues were related to economical issues – tax cuts, medical care system and educational system.
79 the time of great rivalry with the USSR and the time of growing tensions at the international political scene, therefore Americans were not focused primarily on domestic issues. The Bay of Pigs operation was not only a great failure of Kennedy administration, but it also contributed to concerns about “trusting CIA … and military
(Dallek, “Robert Dallek on JFK” p.17). Kennedy had to handle the problem of the threat of nuclear war, which he managed to avert. He dealt with numerous other problems in
Asia, Latin America and with the Berlin crisis in Europe.
It was clear that racial problems were not among the top priorities for John
Kennedy but ordinary American citizens were not concerned much with the issue either.
Nevertheless, his approach to the civil rights issue certainly evolved during his political career and Kennedy eventually did assume a more proactive role. His rhetoric regarding racial problems changed considerably during his political career, particularly, during his presidency. He became the first American President to speak openly about civil rights.
His vocabulary switched from “protecting constitutional rights” and poor image abroad to “moral issue” and open criticism of Southern officials. The shift in President’s stance was certainly influenced by increasing tensions escalating into violent riots in 1962 and particularly in 1963. The events in the South required government intervention.
Kennedy had no other possibility than to send federal troops during some of the crises despite his previous criticism of President Eisenhower.
There was certainly a shift in the U.S. society’s perception and the changing situation abroad also contributed to President’s stance. Television played an important role in forming people’s opinion. Television coverage helped to change the image of black people. The whole nation was familiar with the peaceful demonstrations organized by civil rights organizations brutally suppressed by Southern officials using
80 police dogs and fire hoses. The March on Washington contributed to a shift in the perception of the civil rights issue as well. People began to sympathize with the African
Americans. Kennedy with his rhetoric, which had previously been associated mostly with civil rights leaders, certainly helped to change the national picture of blacks and the attitude toward them. With the newly independent nations in Africa and the recently defeated fascism the world was becoming more concerned about human and civil rights so there undoubtedly was the influence of changing world situation which contributed to Kennedy’s more active role.
To sum up, Kennedy might not have done enough but he certainly did more than had been done previously and he contributed to a different perception of the racial problem in the United States even though the shift in his stance was rather belated and undoubtedly resulted from the growing pressure of civil rights advocates and increasing violence in the cities of the USA. His leadership and later also his assassination contributed largely to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although Kennedy
“had only a small record of accomplishment in civil rights,” he had made it “fashionable not to be racist” and therefore contributed largely to racial integration of African
Americans in the American society (Bryant 463).
.
81 Bibliography
Allen, Erika Tyner. “The Kennedy Nixon Presidential Debates, 1960.” The Museum of
Broadcast Communications . 15 Aug. 2008.
Barnes, John A. The Lessons and Legacy of a President John F. Kennedy on
Leadership . New York: Amacom, 2005.
Barnett, Ross. “Governor Ross Barnett’s Proclamation to the People of Mississippi.”
J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 26 Sept. 2008.
Brauer, Carl M. John F. Kennedy and the Second Reconstruction . New York: Columbia
University Press, 1977.
Bryant, Nick. The Bystander. John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality .
New York: Basic Books, 2006.
Bush, Rod. “The Civil Rights Movement and the Continuing Struggle for the
Redemption of America.” Social Justice 30.1 (2003) : 42+. Questia Media
America, 16 July 2008.
“Censure of Joe McCarhy.” Time . 4 October 1954. 17 July 2008
promoid=googlep>. “Civil Rights Act of 1957.” AfricanAmericans.com . 17 June 2008. < http://www.africanamericans.com/CivilRightsActof1957.htm >. 82 Converse, Philip E., et al. “Stability and Change in 1960: A Reinstating Election.” The American Political Science Review 55 (1961): 269 280. JSTOR, 10 Aug. 2008. Cosman, Bernard. “Presidential Republicanism in the South, 1960.” The Journal of Politics 24 (1962): 303 322. JSTOR, 22 July 2008. Cozzens, Lisa. “Mississippi and Freedom Summer.” African American History . 21 Jan. 2008. Dallek, Robert. John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917 1963 . Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 2003. . “Robert Dallek on John F. Kennedy in His Own Words.” Recorded Interview by Bruce Schulman, 6 November 2006. John F. Kennedy Library . 10 Oct. 2008. D708AC28671B/33492/RobertDallekonJFKinHisOwnWords.pdf>. Davis, Ronald L. F. “Creating Jim Crow.” The History of Jim Crow . 20 June 2008 < http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm >. “Federal Jurisdiction and Procedure. Civil Rights Act of 1957.” Virginia Law Review 48. 2 (1962) : 390 398. JSTOR, 30 July 2008. “Filibuster and Cloture.” United States Senate . 14 June 2008. htm>. Fleming, Harold C., and Virginia Fleming. The Potomac Chronicle, Public Policy and Civil Rights from Kennedy to Reagan . Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996. 83 “Freedom Rides.” King Encyclopedia. 16 Sept. 2008. freedom_rides.htm>. Glyne, Maldava E. Within the Limits of Our Authority . New York: Universe, Inc., 2006. Golden, Harry. Mr. Kennedy and the Negroes . Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1964. Heath, Jim F. Decade of Disillusionment: The Kennedy Johnson Years . Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976. Holder, Calvin B. “Racism Toward Black African Diplomats During the Kennedy Administration.” Journal of Black Studies 14 (1983): 31 48. JSTOR, 22 July 2008. “Integrating Ole Miss.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 8 Aug. 2008. < http://www.jfklibrary.org/meredith/>. Jackson, Jesse. “Strategies and Tactics in the Struggle for Civil and Human Rights.” Recorded interview moderated by Callie Crossley, 18 November 2002. John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation . 10 Oct. 2008. 8FE43ECB28F219FA/33348/StrategiesandTacticsintheStruggleforCivilandHuman R.pdf>. Jacobs, Lawrance R., and Shapiro, Robert Y. “Issues, Candidate Image, and Priming: The Use of Private Polls in Kennedy’s 1960 Presidential Campaign.” American Political Science Review 88 (1994): 527 540. JSTOR, 25 June 2008. 84 “John Fitzgerald Kennedy.” PBS. 10 Apr. 2008. < http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/am ex /presidents/35_kennedy/>. “John F. Kennedy.” Miller Center Foundation . 26 May 2008. “John F. Kennedy’s Voting Record and Stands on Issues.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 15 Aug. 2008. F.+Kennedys+Voting+Record+and+Stands+on+Issues.htm>. Katzenbach, Nicholas. “Recorded Interview by Larry J. Hackman, November 16, 1964.” John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program . 10 Oct. 2008. 62E450CD0155/41629/KatzenbachNicholasRFK.pdf>. “Kennedy John.” The White House . 17 June 2008. Kennedy, John F. “Address of Senator John F. Kennedy Accepting The Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United State. Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, July 15, 1960. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 15 Aug. 2008. es/JFK/JFK+PrePres/1960/Address+of+Senator+John+F.+Kennedy+Accepting+th e+Democratic+Party+Nomination+for+the+Presidency+of+t.htm>. . “News Conference 40.” State Department Auditorium, Washington D.C. August 1, 1963. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 2 Aug. 2008. 85 Conferences/003POF05Pressconference40_08011962.htm>. . “News Conference 55.” State Department Auditorium, Washington D.C. May 8, 1963. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 2 Aug. 2008. Conferences/003POF05Pressconference55_05081963.htm>. . “News Conference 58.” State Department Auditorium, Washington D.C. July 17, 1963. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 3 Oct 2008. Conferences/003POF05Pressconference58_07171963.htm>. . “President Kennedy’s Speech.” September 30, 1961. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 30 Sept. 2008. . “President Kennedy’s Speech with Notes.” Transcribed original speech with notes, September 30, 1962. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 3 Oct 2008. . “President’s News Conference of July 19, 1961.” State Department Auditorium, Washington D.C. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 15 Aug. 2008. . “President’s News Conference of September 13, 1962.” State Department Auditorium, Washington D.C. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 15 Aug. 2008. 86 . “Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi.” The White House, Washington D.C. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 30 Sept. 2008 es/JFK/003POF03Mississippi09301962.htm>. . “Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, February 1, 1953.“ J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 15 May 2008. es/JFK/JFK+Pre Pres/1953/002PREPRES12SPEECHES_53FEB01.htm >. . “Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, National Conference on Constitutional Rights and American Freedom, Park Sheraton Hotel, New York, N.Y., October 12, 1960.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 2 June 2008. . “Statement of the President Concerning Interference With the ‘Freedom Riders’ in Alabama. May 20, 1961.” JFK Link . 15 Aug. 2008. . “Statement of Senator John F. Kennedy Announcing His Candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. Senate Caucus Room, Washington D.C., 2 Jan. 1960. J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 20 Aug. 2008. “Statement of Senator John F. Kennedy on Civil Rights Section.” JFK Link . 29 Aug. 2008. 87 . “Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy on Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Washington D.C. 8 Aug. 1960. JFK Link . 15 Aug 2008. . “Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy on Telephone Call to Mrs. Martin Luther King, At Impromptu Press Conference, New York, N.Y. October 26, 1960. JFK Link . 5 Sept. 2008. . “Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy on Vice President Nixon and Civil Rights, October 7, 1960.” JFK Link . 12 Aug 2008. “Kennedy John Fitzgerald.” Bibliographical Directory of United States Congress . 17 July 2008. < http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=k000107>. Kenney, Charles. John F. Kennedy, The Presidential Portfolio . New York, Public Affairs, 2000. King, Martin Luther. “John F. Kennedy.” Transition, 15 (1964) : 27 28. JSTOR. 10 Aug. 2008. LaFayette, Bernard. “The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movements.” Center for American Progress . 9 June 2004. Lasky, Victor. J.F.K.: The Man and the Myth . Macmillan, 1963. Leff, Deborah. “Integrating the University of Alabama.” Recorded interview, 17 November, 2003. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008 88 6BAE9345B703/32136/IntegratingtheUniversityofAlabama.pdf>. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Stanford University . 15 Aug. 2008. “Little Rock Nine.” PBS. 18 June 2008. Lloyd, Natalie and Wynell Schamel and Lee Ann Potter. “The 1963 March on Washington.”Social Education 65.1 (2001) : 18. 17 June 2008. Maga, Timothy P. John F. Kennedy and New Frontier Diplomacy 1961 – 1963 . Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 1994. Maldava, E. Glyne. Within the Limits of Our Authority . New York: Universe, 2006. Meredith, James; Burke Marshal and John Doar. “James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss.” Recorded Interview moderated by Juan Williams, 30 September 2002. John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation . 10 Oct. 2008. 433184FB232E09F55F00/33386/JamesMeredithandtheIntegrationofOleMiss1.pdf> Morris, Aldon D. “A Retrospective on the Civil Rights Movement: Political and Intellectual Landmarks.” Annual Review of Sociology (1999) : 517 534. Questia Media America, 17 July 2008. O’Brien, Michael. John F. Kennedy . New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005. 89 O’Reilly, Kenneth. “The FBI and the Civil Rights Movement during the Kennedy Years from the Freedom Rides to Albany.” The Journal of Southern History 54 (1988) : 201 232. JSTOR. Apr. 3, 2008. Patterson, Thomas G. and William Brophy. “October Missiles and November Elections: The Cuban Missile Crisis and American Politics, 1962.” The Journal of American History 73 (1986): 87 119. JSTOR. 3 Apr. 2008. “Politics.” The Department of Arkansas Heritage . 2 Aug. 2008 “Preserving Senatorial Traditions: The Censure of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.” The National Archives . 17 June 2008. Rorabaugh, W.J. Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Rosenberg, Jonathan and Zachary Karabell. Kennedy, Johnson, and the Quest for Justice . New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. Saymour, M. Hersh. The Dark Side of Camelot . New York: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company, 1998. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House . Boston, New York: Mariner Books, 2002. . “On the Presidential Succession.” Political Science Quarterly 89.3 (1974): pp. 475 505. JSTOR, 10 Aug. 2008. 90 Schwab, Peter. John F. Kennedy . Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1974. “Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon First Joint Radio Television Broadcast.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 2 Sept. 2008. es/JFK/JFK+PrePres/1960/Senator+John+F.+Kennedy+and+Vice+President+Richa rd+M.+Nixon+First+Joint+Radio Television+Broadcast.htm>. “Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon Second Joint Radio Television Broadcast.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 2 Sept. 2008. B40071D04E12F957.htm>. Shattuck, John. “JFK, MLK, RFK: 1960 to 1968, Session I.” Recorded Conference, 23 October 2005. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008. B2FF937BD01F/28233/MLKJFKRFK102305.pdf>. . “JFK, MLK, RFK: 1960 to 1968, Session II.” Recorded Conference, 23 October 2005. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008. 476268416598/28234/JFKMLKRFKSession2.pdf>. . “Presidential Courage.” Recorded forum, 12 September 2007. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008. < http://www.jfklibrary.org/NR/rdonlyres/93052A00 B07D 4826 A720 9355CDD17ADD/41107/PRESIDENTIALCOURAGE.pdf>. 91 . “On Kennedy and King.” 11 June, 2003. Recorded forum, 11 June, 2003. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008. 1F5A44F5DE1F/32901/OnKennedyandKing.pdf>. . “The Presidency of John F. Kennedy.” Recorded forum, 19 October, 2003. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum . 10 Oct. 2008. < http://www.jfklibrary.org/NR/rdonlyres/EB97DD74 1BE1 4B2E 938B 87BF4782B596/30052/PresidencyofJFK101904.pdf>. Sigel, Roberta S. “Race and Religion as Factors in the Kennedy Victory in Detroit, 1960.” The Journal of Negro Education 31 (1962): 436 447. JSTOR, 22 July 2008. Silvestri, Vito N. Becoming JFK: A Profile in Communication . Wesport: Praeger Publishers, 2000. Soreson, Theodore C. Let the Word Go Forth, The Speeches, Statements and Writings of John F. Kennedy 1947 to 1963 . New York: Dell Publishing, 1991. “Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Rice Hotel, Houston, Tex., Monday Evening, September 12, 1960.” J.F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . 20 Aug. 2008. Stern, Mark. Calculating Visions . New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1991. . “Eisenhower and Kennedy: a comparison of confrontations at Little Rock and Ole Miss.” Policy Studies Journal 21. (1993). Questia Media America, 17 July 2008. 92 Stewart, John. “The Struggle for Civil Rights.” Recorded Symposium, 28 Apr. 1998. Session I. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. 10 Oct. 2008. 55FCCB3CB305/34828/TheStruggleforCivilRightsSession1.pdf>. “Stroke of the Pen.” TIME 30 Nov. 1962. 21 Sept. 2008 Talbot, David. Brothers, The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years . New York: Free Press, 2007. “Television and Radio Interview: ‘After Two Years – a Conversation With the President’.” December 17, 1962. JFK Link. 30 Sept. 2008. “The Constitution of the United States, Amendments 11 – 27.” The National Archives . 21 July 2008. 11 27.html >. “Transcript of Interview With William Lawrence Recorded for the Program ‘Politics – 62’.” JFK Link . 30 Sept. 2008. “Troops and Little Rock Crisis.” BBC . 17 July 2008 078227.stm>. 93 Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize, America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954 1965 . New York: Penguin Books, 1988. Winquist, Thomas R. “Civil Rights Legislation: The Civil Rights Act of 1957.” Michigan Law Review 56. 4 (1958) : 619 630. JSTOR, 30 July 2008. Wooley, John T. and Gerhard Peters. “Political Party Platforms.” The American Presidency Project . 17 July 2008. 94