"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Being a political leader you need to make a mark, by changing America for the better. John F. Kennedy was a leader who left America a better place. He was motivated to give freedom, to give rights, and to give justice for all.
John F. Kennedy had ideas of creating a civil rights law, before he was even named president. This was not announced until after he became president. The fear of ruining his chances at the election kept him from talking about it in his campaigns. In fact, he didn't release his plans until his third year as president. He knew what his role as the president needed to be.
For him, this bill was not easy to get passed. There was a strong controversy between different branches, different parties, and everyday people. No one is ever expected to have all the same beliefs and opinions, but this bill caused many angry groups of people. No matter what changes he made to his act someone always disagreed. This didn't make any impact on him. He knew what the right choice was -- to continue and get his bill past. In November of 1963 John F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated. This did not stop the bill from being passed.
The vice president, Lyndon Johnson, picked the bill right up and continued working to get it passed. Johnson and Kennedy never got along as friends but as political leaders they had the same views and beliefs. Johnson knew how hard Kennedy worked on this bill, and how strongly he felt toward racial discrimination that he knew letting the bill go was not an option.
Finally on July 2nd, after a lot of hard work and determination the Civil Rights Act was passed -- a momentous occasion in history occurred. As a result, many lives were changed for the better. Because of the ground-breaking civil rights act, several laws were soon followed, including laws concerning racial discrimination, voting rights, the segregation of schools, and the establishment of Community Relations Service. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not end all racial discrimination but it was a step in the right direction.
John F. Kennedy took a step that changed America forever. He felt so passionately against racial discrimination that he went and changed it. Knowing not everyone would be on his side pushed him harder toward achieving his goal; he never let anything get in his way. John F. Kennedy lived to make a difference and left with a difference made.
Sources
Sources
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFK.htm
