English Language and Literature John F. Kennedy and His Role in the Civil Rights Movement - Department of English and American Studies 2008
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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.
2008I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,
using only the sources listed in the bibliography.
……………………………………………
2I would like to thank my supervisor, doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.
for his help and guidance throughout my work.
3Contents
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
43.5 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 FREEDOM44
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
5Introduction
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
6claim? 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.
71 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 era1 three amendments2 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
13th Amendment from 1865 abolished slavery, 14th Amendment, passed in 1866, guarantees citizenship
to all persons born or naturalized in the United States; and according to the 15th Amendment, the right to
vote cannot be denied “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude” (“The Constitution”).
8restaurants, 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).
91.2 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.
10The 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
11have 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 time6 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.
1298). 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.
132 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
14lot 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 sisters8 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 carpetbagger9 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).
15World War, and apart from that he called for the abolition poll tax10 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).
16lunch 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).
17the 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 Chronicle14 (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 voters15 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).
18American 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”).
19still 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 Courage17 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 Seaway18 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.
20of 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 relations19 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.
21Calculating 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.
22The problem of frequent protests22 initiated by African Americans and
increasing violence23 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 advocates24 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.
23was 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
Manifesto26), 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 desegregation27 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 14th Amendment.
24by 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 Committee30 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).
25The 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 scholars31 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).
262.4.4 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 Faubus32
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).
27Kennedy 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.
283 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).
293.2 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.
303.3 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
31who 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 Deal34 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.
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