HIST102

The Civil Rights Efforts of John F. Kennedy

Kevin J. Doherty 4013232

HIST102 – American History since 1877

Professor Carl Bradshaw

January 4, 2011

President John F. Kennedy is mostly remembered because of his assassination. However, events that occurred during his time in office were quite important to the history of the United States. Although it may not have been viewed as such at the time, the civil rights movement was possibly the most important issue and the president’s efforts toward solving the matter may have been his greatest accomplishments. President Kennedy was juggling, as most presidents do, quite a few pressing issues at the same time. The civil rights movement was not his priority, but it played an important role in the way he ran the country. The president made some very impressive headway in the fight for true equality in the United States and abroad.

Civil rights never seemed to be at the top of President Kennedy’s priority list, but there is no doubt that he was more sympathetic to the issue and movement than previous presidents. In fact, Steven Lawson quotes Dr. Martin Luther King as saying that Kennedy had “schizophrenic tendencies” when dealing with the civil rights movement. He continues to explain that the president came from an upper class background in Boston and he had no personal understanding of the inequality that African-Americans dealt with in the south. However, theology expert Mark Massa points out that he was the first Catholic to be elected president and, because he was Catholic, he had to deal with a lot of discrimination during his campaign. While he never dealt with anything like African-Americans in the Jim Crow south, this may have given him some personal insight and reason to sympathize.

Although President Kennedy may have been sympathetic toward the civil rights activists, he always seemed to be reactionary in nature as opposed to proactive. Thomas Borstelmann, expert in modern history, explains that the racial struggle, at the time, was mostly fought between Democrats. The president “felt he had to work both sides of the street”. Angering the southern Democrats could bring repercussions concerning other legislation that Kennedy wanted to pass. Maybe this could explain the “schizophrenia” Dr. King noticed.

Foreign policy (mostly concerning the Cold War) was always the President’s top priority. He was working toward bettering the civil liberties of oppressed people in Africa at the time and trying to win them over to democracy in a sort of turf war with the Soviet Union. However, any instances of unrest surrounding civil rights in the United States the president considered to be embarrassing on the international front. Borstelmann explains that Kennedy worked with civil rights activist groups such as the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to try and keep demonstrations peaceful. How, after all, could the United States champion equality in Africa when violence was occurring over inequality at home?

President Kennedy was somewhat successful at keeping the issue under control, but he could not keep everyone happy forever. In October of 1962, the inevitable happened when segregationists tried to stop an African-American student from enrolling in classes at the University of Mississippi. Violent riots followed forcing the president to send troops to gain control. Borstelmann explains that extreme violence broke out in Birmingham again in April 1963 which was coincidentally at the same time as the founding conference of the Organization of African Unity. The violence demanded international attention and the president realized that he had no choice but to take a side and react. On June 2 1963, he gave a nationally televised address in which he called for legislation for complete public desegregation.

President Kennedy began his time in office by rhetorically championing civil rights and trying to walk a fine line so as to stay in good favor with both sides of the argument. After uncontrollable violence broke out interfering with his foreign affairs efforts, he reacted strongly. He put his full political weight behind legislation to end segregation. The president put America on the track to truly offer its citizens equality and be a role model for the world in the matter of civil rights.

Bibliography

Borstelmann, Thomas. "`Hedging Our Bets and Buying Time': John Kennedy and Racial Revolutions in the American South and South Africa." Diplomatic History 24, no. 3 (2000): 435-463. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 3, 2011).

Lawson, Steven F. "The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality." American Historical Review 112, no. 1 (2007): 242-243. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 3, 2011).

Massa, Mark S. "A Catholic for president?: John F. Kennedy and the `secular' theology of the Houston speech, 1960." Journal of Church & State 39, no. 2 (1997): 307. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 4, 2011).

� Steven F. Lawson, "The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality," American Historical Review 112, no. 1(2007):242-243.

� Mark S. Massa, "A Catholic for president?: John F. Kennedy and the `secular' theology of the Houston speech, 1960," Journal of Church & State 39, no. 2(1997): 307.

� Thomas Borstelmann. "`Hedging Our Bets and Buying Time': John Kennedy and Racial Revolutions in the American South and South Africa,” Diplomatic History 24, no. 3(2000): 438.

� Ibid. 441.

� Borstelmann, 443-444.