Under Construction @ Keele 2017 Under Construction @ Keele Vol. III (3) | Page 51

legislation was ‘the most comprehensive and far-reaching civil rights bill ever
proposed’. 40 Sorensen argued Kennedy’s endorsement of such a bill marked ‘the
beginning of the Federal Government's full-scale commitmen’ to civil rights. 41 He was
the first president to recognise ‘the moral injustice’ of racial prejudice and was so
forceful in his support for civil rights legislation no future president ‘could ever
thereafter ignore his moral obligation’ to the civil rights movement's cause. 42
Sorensen even recalled a conversation in which Kennedy allegedly told a civil rights
leader he was prepared to lose re-election in 1964 if it meant passing the bill. 43
Schlesinger also emphasised the apparent courage of proposing such a
controversial law. He recalled a moment when Kennedy dramatically revealed to civil
rights leaders that his national approval rating had fallen to 47% because of his
support for the bill. 44 Likewise, Schlesinger noted, 4.5 million Americans began to
oppose the administration because of the president’s civil rights policies, including
many traditional Democratic Party voters. 45 Schlesinger signified the historic nature
of Kennedy proposing the legislation by quoting numerous civil rights leaders, such
as Martin Luther King, who praised Kennedy as a president who had achieved more
for African-Americans than any other politician in recent history. 46
In sum, both authors presented Kennedy as a leader of the civil rights
movement because he proposed legislation that was largely unpopular with the
American public and, despite losing considerable support, continued to champion the
bill. This presentation of him as a leader morally committed to civil rights legislation
helps explain why his actions are now remembered as his second greatest success.
3. Desegregating Universities
There were two main incidents of Kennedy attempting to desegregate universities.
The first occurred in late 1962 when James Meredith was denied the right to enrol at
the University of Mississippi, and the second in 1963 when Governor George
Sorensen, Kennedy, 496.
Ibid., 493.
42
Ibid., 496.
43
Ibid., 505-506.
44
Schlesinger, A Thousand Days, 826.
45
Ibid., 823-824.
46
Ibid., 831-832.
40
41