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EzraAs Lyndon Johnson came from Texas. Kennedy came from the North and wanted the Democratic Party to maintain its hold in the South. However, whereas most Southern congressmen opposed any form of Civil Rights legislation (hardly surprising as Black Americans were denied the vote), Johnson was a strong anti-racist.
Johnson could bring in the Southern vote and Kennedy needed that, despite a personal distaste for LBJ.
He disgusted the entire Kennedy family on personal level, and the feeling was pretty close to mutual.
Meanwhile, Johnson had been a Southern Congressman and Senator, and a popular one, for 29 years, and was the senate Majority Leader.
He had connections with all the governors and big politicians in Southern states who would campaign for a Kennedy/Johnson combination in their home states, but probably not for Kennedy and anyone from the Northeast.
As the Senate Majority leader, LBJ could garner a lot of similar support in all of the states outside of Kennedy influence.
Politics Make Strange Bedfellows.
The 1960 presidential election was predicted to be extremely close. JFK had won the nomination against Johnson, and some say he actually wanted Senators Stuart Symington of Missouri or Henry M. Jackson of Washington to be his running mate. However, he realised he needed Johnson on the ticket to carry the southern states, as Johnson was Senator from Texas, and a powerful figure in Congress. JFK's choice proved victorious against the Republican ticket, consisting of Vice-president Richard Nixon and US Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
There are many plausible reasons. One is that, as a northern democrat from Massachusetts, he wanted LBJ because he was a sourthern (Texas) democrat. This would supposedly make it easier for Kennedy to pass the bills he wanted through Congress, although there was still a lot of issues with "dixiecrats" and JFK's inability to get them to approve his programs. Another possibility is that JFK was young and experienced and weak, so he chose Johnson because LBJ was a better and more experienced politician. Also it is possible he chose LBJ because he figured LBJ would be such a poor president, no one would want to kill JFK lest LBJ succeed him (although that obviously didn't work). Some suggest Kennedy didn't want LBJ at all but Johnson forced him into being his running mate.
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Who was the president when the civil rights act was passed?
Lyndon B. Johnson
Who did Lyndon Johnson appoint as VP when Kennedy died?
No-one. The post became vacant when the then vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn in as president the day after the assassination of Kennedy. The post was left vacant until the inauguration of Johnson 14 months later. Then, in January 1965, Hubert Humphrey became vice president.
Quién fue el presidente numero 36 de EEUU?
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) After John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Which president signed the civil right act of 1964?
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964.
What is the appointment of Thurgood Marshall?
Thurgood Marshall was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to be a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After that, he was appointed to be the 32nd US Solicitor General by Lyndon B. Johnson. President Johnson later appointed him to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
