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1 INTRODUCTION On November , , Lyndon Johnson—only president for five days— stood before the U.S. House of Representatives and embraced the legacy of the nation’s fallen president, John F. Kennedy. “Let us continue” the work Kennedy began, he forcefully declared to a still-grieving nation. “This is our challenge—not to hesitate, not to pause, not to turn about and linger over this evil moment, but to continue on our course so that we may fulfill the destiny that history has set for us.” The voice of the new president had a slow drawl—perhaps more Southwest than Deep South, but a drawl nonetheless. For many Americans, it was the first time they had ever heard this man, their new president, speak at any length. And what they heard from the lips of the first truly southern president in a century was unexpected and, for some southerners, distressing . Civil rights was the first part of Kennedy’s legacy the new president wanted continued. “We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law.” Those who knew Lyndon Johnson—understood his drive, his intellect, his intimate knowledge of congressional power, and his enormous persuasive abilities—knew that something powerful and historic was about to happen in Washington. Kennedy’s advocacy of civil rights had been tentative and late in coming, reflecting the fallen president’s lack of confidence in his relations with Congress. Johnson was a man of enormous insecurities , but he suffered from no deficit of confidence when dealing with Congress . In calling for passage of a strong civil rights bill—and in his private conversations with members of Congress and civil rights leaders in the days leading up to his speech—he was forceful and direct. He would see to it that Congress passed civil rights and he would use every instrument at his disposal to do it, including Kennedy’s memory. “No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than WHEN FREEDOM WOULD TRIUMPH 2 the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long,” Johnson told Congress. This is the story of the most significant and inspiring legislative battle of the twentieth century—the two decades of struggle in the halls of Congress that finally resulted in civil rights for the descendants of American slavery. It is the story of how political leaders in Washington transformed the ardent passion for freedom—the protests, marches, and creative nonviolence of the civil rights movement—into concrete progress for justice. It is a story of heroism and cowardice, statesmanship and political calculation , vision and blindness. This story is not only about the triumph of freedom; it is also about the success of compromise and conciliation. The passage of civil rights laws is one of the finest examples of what good is possible when political leaders transcend partisan political differences and focus on more than the immediate judgment of the voters—when they consider also the ultimate judgment of history. This story, however, does more than relate the victory—to quote Lincoln—of “the better angels of our nature.” It is also the sad tale of a determined, powerful band of southern politicians who clung pitifully and shamefully to their region’s brutal and oppressive past and, therefore, helped delay the march of equality for more than a decade. It is also the story of the beginning of the national Democratic Party’s decline in the South as retribution for Lyndon Johnson’s apostasy. The question will naturally be asked: Could the Congress of the early twenty-first century address such an important and emotional issue in the same way? In other words, would the congressional leaders of  conduct themselves with the sobriety, dignity, and statesmanship of Johnson , Hubert Humphrey, Everett Dirksen, and Robert Kennedy? Without a doubt, I believe the answer is that this story would be impossible in today’s Congress. Washington is thoroughly infected with partisanship, and its political leaders are focused on short-term political aims and controlled or heavily influenced by lobbyists and political consultants. It is difficult to imagine the civil rights acts of  and  passing the modern House and Senate—institutions suffering from a severe deficit of statesmanship and an abhorrence of...

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