John F Kennedy vs Lyndon B Johnson

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To what extent would you agree that John F Kennedy contributed more to the advancement of the civil rights movement than Lyndon B Johnson? Lyndon B Johnson arguably contributed more in the advancement of the Civil Rights movement than John F Kennedy because he was actively taking park in building his ideal “greater society”. Though Johnson was more consistent in his contributions to the movement, Kennedy was also very effective when he was forced to take action. Although Kennedy had a lot of charisma dealing with others he took initiative only when necessary but Johnson helped push legislation that would change the fight for civil rights forever. Johnson, born in a poor area, understood that education was key to escaping poverty, however despite the previous achievements in de jure discrimination, de facto throughout America proved to be the main setback for black Americans to improve their socio-economic issues. With his sympathy for those who cannot escape the cycle of poverty, he passed a series of legislative acts that would help the future and welfare of ghetto blacks – the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Social Security Act and Higher Education Act. Taxes were raised to fund for these acts which was increasingly unpopular amongst the white Americans, they did not want to pay for something that was not their problem. On the other hand, these acts had a positive impact on the poor community, including the ghetto blacks, as black college students increased and the black infant mortality rate dropped. Kennedy was also very interested in the inequality of minorities in America and canvassed the progression of the civil rights movement in his presidency campaign. However it could be argued that he achieved very little in helping the black Americans move closer to equality and only acted when things had escalated to a dangerous extent. During the
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