Reply #21: Yes, it did take a lot of people, but Johnson knew the South would be lost to republicans

[still_one]

when he pushed the civil rights act, and that is exactly what happened. Where prior to that the South had voted primarily for Democrats, based on the results of the Civil War, and that Lincoln was a Republican, that shifted immedately after the Civil Rights Act was passed to the republicans.

It was couragous, and the right thing to do. It was even more courageous since Johnson himself was from the South, and became President in his second term because of the South.

Nixon, along with the Lee Atwater gang, where Karl Rove was spawned from, recognized this, and used the Southern Strategy to divide the South on the basis of race.

Kennedy was leading up to it, especially with his confrontation with George Wallace, and other incidents where the National Guard, and the FBI had to be called. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assasinated before he could finish that job, but to Johnson's credit, he used his power to get it passed

Of course, the marches, the protests, and the sacrifices were a major part of it, but in the end, it needed the power of law behind it, which is what Johnson accomplished

For all the Ron Paul admirers, it should be noted, that Ron Paul believes that civil rights should be determined at the state level, NOT the federal, and that is immoral