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Lesson Five: LBJ and MLK

Fighting for the Better Angels of Our Nature

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Lesson Five: LBJ and MLK - Fighting for the Better Angels of Our Nature - Lessons - Life Stories Interviews

Courtesy of LBJ Library

Essential Questions

*Why are the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act considered landmark pieces of legislation? 

*What does the fight for civil rights in America during this time period reveal about Meacham’s idea of the “soul of America?”

*What can we learn about political movements, political leadership, and coalition building from the passage of the civil rights legislation in ’64 and ’65?

*What lessons does this struggle teach us about our lives today?

The civil rights legislation demonstrates how our better angels won in the struggle for racial equity. Students will continue to develop their historical thinking skills by analyzing first person accounts and primary sources. They will reflect on the interplay between social movements, the presidency, political coalitions, that ultimately lead to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. 

Download Lesson Plan PDF

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

*Define political will, leadership, and coalition building

*Research the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act

*Examine the role the presidency, especially of President Lyndon B. Johnson, played in pushing these two pieces of civil rights legislation forward 

*Connect the 1964 and 1965 civil rights legislation to current events

Historical Context

It is important to situate the signing of the 1964 and 1965 civil rights legislation within the long struggle for civil rights in America, and within the broader fight for equal access and opportunity regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliations. For the focused scope of this lesson, these interview segments collected in the making of The Soul of America can offer further insight and context for students. There are organizations, museums, and personal archives on this historical era, which continues to unfold today. 

Interview Archive

Clip 1: John Lewis: On President Johnson (4:56)

Clip 2: Janice Wesley Kelsey: Her motivation to be involved in activism (6:29)

Clip 3: Janice Wesley Kelsey: The fight for voting rights after the passage of the Civil Rights Act (6:35)

Materials

*Equipment to screen video segments

*Handout One: Lesson Five Transcript

*Handout Two: President Lyndon Baines Johnson Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill, July 2, 1964

(need to do transcripts of Interview Archive)

Length: Two 55-minute class periods

Historical Context

It is important to situate the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Acts within the long history that included generations of activism, leadership of men, women, and children, political will, political leadership, and the strength and tensions inherent in coalition building.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act, and its subsequent amendments, effectively enfranchised all minority voters, not only African Americans. Since its passage it has policed voting discrimination. The fight to achieve their full potential continues. 

You may want students to read blog posts from the National Museum for African American History that connect to The Soul of America film excerpt:

“The Children’s Crusade”

“The Leesburg Stockade Girls”

“America Sees the Truth”

The National Archives created a Historic Moments online exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If access is available, have students explore the site to build their background knowledge.

You may also want to walk students through an overarching timeline that corresponds to the documents included. 

*Civil Rights Act of 1957

*May 2, 1963: Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham police reacted to a peaceful desegregation march. Police dogs, nightsticks, and fire hoses are directed at civil rights demonstrators, many who are schoolchildren. The violence is broadcast on television and ignites protests across the country.

*August 28, 1963: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, prominent Civil Rights leaders, and approximately 250,000 individuals gathered for the National March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Dr. King delivers the “I Have A Dream” speech.

*May 2-8, 1963: The children’s crusade. On the first day many children got arrested, but it wasn’t until the second day when the police hoses and dogs came out. 

*June 11, 1963: President John F. Kennedy’s address to the nation announcing he will be sending civil rights legislation to Congress. A few hours later—just after midnight on June 12th—Medgar Evers, Mississippi director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is murdered in the driveway of his house.

*November 22, 1963: Assasination of President Kennedy, in Dallas, Texas.Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn into office on Air Force One on the return to Washington D.C. 

*February 18, 1965: Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion, Alabama. 

*Selma to Montgomery Marches: March 7, 1965: First Selma to Montgomery March, “Bloody Sunday”; March 9, 1965; March 21, 1965 

*Five days later President Johnson goes before Congress making it clear that he will pursue President Kennedy’s legislative civil rights agenda.

*July 2, 1964: President Johnson signed the new Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law with Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders present. 

*December 10, 1964: Dr. King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

*March 6, 1965: Signing of the Voting Rights Act

1. OPENING

1. Use an excerpt from The Soul of America to introduce this lesson

Watch Film Clip 4: "Soul of America" - Civil Rightrs (6:18)

Begin: 1:57:18 Civil rights card…  

End: 2:03:31 “President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the civil rights bill into law. (6:00 mins)

The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act

1. Project and read aloud Jon Meacham’s statement: “The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act taken together in ’64 and ’65 represent what concentrated acts of citizenship can do when they intersect with the attention and skill of those in power.”

Discuss:

*What do you think the phrase “concentrated acts of citizenship?” means?

*Who are all the key figures—elected officials and ordinary people—who Jon Meacham believes were essential for the passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965? 

*What did LBJ risk by supporting civil rights legislation?

2. Generate a definition of each of the following three terms:

*Political Will 

*Leadership

*Coalitions 

Discuss: 

*What do you imagine is the relationship between these three forces?

*Did they see or hear these ideas in the film segment from The Soul of America?

2. ANALYZING HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

1. Ask the students to read these documents 

*1964 Civil Rights legislation  https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=97

*Voting Rights Act: https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=100

*Handout Two: President Lyndon Baines Johnson Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill, July 2, 1964

2. Check for understanding by having students synthesize what the legislation ensures. 

3. EXPLORING THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SOUL OF AMERICA

1. Share with students Jon Meacham’s reflection:

Lyndon Johnson heeded the work of Martin Luther King, the work of Rosa Parks, the work of John Lewis, the work of innumerable people whose names we will never know, who stood up in the streets and courthouses and schools in the American South and undid as best he could American apartheid. If America wants to do some big things about education, about climate, about economic inequality, you can do a lot worse than to look at 1964 and 1965 and see how even in a complicated, ultimately fallen universe you can make progress.

Discuss:

*What can we learn about nonviolence, social movements, political will, political leadership, and coalition building from the fight for civil rights legislation?  

*How did political will, leadership, and coalition building lead to their passage?

*The first sentence of this quote is more resonant than ever with the passing of Congressman John Lewis on July 17, 2020. Read the quote a second time and have students spend time silently reflecting on its meaning before opening up the class to share their thoughts. 

4. EXIT TICKET: ECHOES AND CONNECTIONS TO TODAY

Discuss as a class or assign as a short reflective writing assignment: 

*How does the story of the civil rights movement support Jon Meacham’s historical argument about the soul of America? 

*Did the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Act mitigate the problem of racism in America? Why or why not? What are the limitations inherent in the law?

*What is an example of a contemporary fight for expansion of civil rights and of voting rights? What does the struggle reveal about our worst instincts and our better angels?

*Familiarize yourselves with the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court case and explore its direct relationship to the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Resources

HANDOUT 1: Lesson Five Transcript
Download PDF
HANDOUT 2: Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill, July 2, 1964, Film Clip Transcript
Download PDF

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards

D1.5.9-12. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.

D2.Civ.6.9-12. Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets

D2.Civ.8.9-12. Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles

D2.Civ.10.9-12. Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights and human rights

D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context

D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

D2.His.6.9-12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

D2.His.7.9-12. Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past.

D2.His.8.9-12. Analyze how current interpretations of the past are limited by the extent to which available historical sources represent perspectives of people at the time.

D2.His.9.9-12. Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondaryinterpretations made from them.

D2.His.11.9-12. Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific historical inquiry based on their maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose.

D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.

D2.His.13.9-12. Critique the appropriateness of the historical sources used in a secondary interpretation.

D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

D2.His.15.9-12. Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.

D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

D2.His.17.9-12. Critique the central arguments in secondary works of history on related topics in multiple media in terms of their historical accuracy.

D3.1.9-12. Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

D3.2.9-12. Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.

D3.3.9-12. Identify evidence that draws information directly and substantively from multiple sources to detect inconsistencies in evidence in order to revise or strengthen claims.

D3.4.9-12. Refine claims and counterclaims attending to precision, significance, and knowledge conveyed through the claim while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both

D4.1.9-12. Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

D4.2.6-8. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanations.

D4.2.9-12. Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).

D4.3.9-12. Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).

D4.4.9-12. Critique the use of claims and evidence in arguments for credibility.

D4.5.9-12. Critique the use of the reasoning, sequencing, and supporting details of explanations

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