John F. Kennedy's Impact On The Civil Rights Movement

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THE EFFECT OF JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY’S LIFE AND ASSASSINATION ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Kristen Toler Miss. Smith APUSH May 21, 2015 Many know about the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy to be the death of hope throughout the nation. During the election of 1960, Fitzgerald stood for his beliefs on racial equality and gained many votes from African Americans, but with his strong political and economic beliefs also gained the white votes. Once he was elected into office, many Americans saw this as new hope for the decade, especially the African Americans who saw his win as a fighting chance for equality throughout the nation and praised Mr. Kennedy. The 1963 assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy impacted…show more content…
Though Kennedy was a young president he was one of very few presidents to show concern towards racial inequality. As he led the nation with hopes of equality, freedom, morals, and principles the hopes of Americans died with Mr. Kennedy. Americans during the 1960 election saw Kennedy as a young influential president, especially towards the subject of racial inequality. President Kennedy publicly committed his administration to the cause of racial equality in the summer of 1963 when he proposed the Civil Rights bill to Congress and offered his endorsement to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The assassination shocked America and soon after led to counterculture and rebellious teenagers during the late sixties early seventies. Though Kennedy did not succeed in passing the Civil Rights Act, he did plant a seed in the lives and hearts of American and African American citizens that fueled the fight for racial…show more content…
March 3, 2015. Hauke, Kathleen A. Ted Poston: Pioneer American Journalist. Georgia: University of Georgia Press, Jan 1999, assessed May 21, 2015 Miller Center of Public Affairs, The American President. Virginia, The University of Virginia. http://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/essays/biography/3, assessed, March 3, 2015 Prince, Richard. Why Blacks love John F. Kennedy. The Root. Nov. 19, 2013 9:27 PM. http://www.theroot.com/blogs/journalisms/2013/11/why_black_americans_loved_president_john_f_kennedy.html, assessed May 19, 2015 Schumach, Murray. Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of Million of Nonviolent Drive for Racial Justice. New York, New York times, On This Day: Obituary, April 1963. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0115.html, assessed May 5, 2015 Tames, George. John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Facts at a glance. New York, New York Times, 2012 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/john_fitzgerald_kennedy/index.html, assessed, March 3, 2015 Unknown. Civil Rights Movement. Boston MA: John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Library and Museum, http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-Movement.aspx?p=3, assessed May 19,

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