Microsoft Word - Pauley-Johnson.docx

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley17

GarthE.Pauley:[email protected]

LastUpdated:January2008

VoicesofDemocracy,ISSN#1932‐9539.Availableathttp://www.voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/.

LYNDONB.JOHNSON,"WESHALLOVERCOME"(15MARCH1965)



GarthE.Pauley

CalvinCollege

Abstract: President Lyndon Johnson's "We Shall Overcome"

address is a landmark in U.S. history.Exhibiting uncharacteristic

eloquence, he made the principle of equal voting rights

meaningful through a vocabulary of shared interests and

aspirations (what he called "the American Promise") in order to

secure passage of America's most important civil rights law—the

VotingRightsActof1965.Moreover,thespeechhashadalasting

influenceonthemeaningofcivilrightsintheUnitedStates.



KeyWords:Johnson,LyndonB.;VotingRightsActof1965;Selma,

Alabama;AfricanAmericans—Suffrage;AmericanPromise.





 President Lyndon Johnson's voting rights speech of March 15, 1965, is

considered a landmark of U.S. oratory. It is reprinted or excerpted in nearly every

anthology that chronicles the "great moments"or "great issues" of American history.

LeadingscholarsofAmericanoratory haveranked Johnson'sspeech asoneofthetop

ten American speeches of the twentieth century.

 Even so, it is not unreasonable to

ask,"Isthespeechreallythatoutstanding?"Johnsonhardlycanbecountedamongthe

nation'sgreatorators.AndsomeconsiderthecivilrightscampaigninSelma,Alabama,

to have done more to ensure the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 than

Johnson'sspeech.



WhileitistruethatJohnsonwasnotagiftedpublicspeakeringeneralandthat

theSelmaprotestselicitedsupportforvotingrightslegislation,thevotingrightsspeech

is indeed an exceptional instance of political oratory. In an uncharacteristically

eloquentway,thepresidentinterpretedthemeaningoftheSelma

demonstrationsfor

a nation awakened to the problemof voter discrimination: His interpretation focused

ontheverymeaningofthenation,whathecalled"theAmericanPromise."Outofthat

interpretation, he crafted a compelling rationale for immediate passage of a strong

federal voting rights law. His language effectively framed public

 and congressional

deliberations. His appeals helped cement equal voting rights as a fundamental

American principle. And at a moment marked by urgency and chaos, his message

providedfocusandclarity.Inshort,PresidentJohnson'sspeechisremarkablebecause

itmade theprincipleofequalvotingrightsmeaningfulandcompellingthrough

apublic

vocabulary of shared interests, motives, and aspirations in order to secure quick

passage of the country's most important civil rights law. Studying Johnson's address

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley18

alsoyieldsinsightsbeyondthespeechitself.Itcallsattentiontothefactthatfreedom

and equality are rhetorical terms whose meanings change and are redefined

throughout American history and to the challenges of building  moral consensus

throughoratory.



Speaker



Born and raised in the Texas Hill Country during

the early twentieth century,

Lyndon Johnson's childhood experiences did not predispose him to become an

advocateofracialjustice.Rather,hisupbringingincludedtheformsofsocializationthat

typically lead to racial prejudice: ethnocentrism, a lack of meaningful interracial

contact,andracialstereotyping.Despitehisassertionstothecontrary,Johnsoncarried



some of this prejudice with him into adulthood, and even as president he sometimes

referred to African Americans with derogatory terminology when speaking behind

closed doors. Yet Johnson also inherited sympathy for the downtrodden from his

family, and a personal identification with the disadvantaged was a distinguishing

element of his

personality from an early age. Although these convictions shaped his

attitudestowardcivilrightsissues,Johnsondidnotpossessakeenappreciationofthe

uniquelyracialdimensionsofAfricanAmericans'oppression.



Johnson's lack of racial consciousness, as such, during his early political career

hardly was inconsistent with the outlook of many white liberals. In his formative

political experiences during the 1930s and 1940s, Johnson demonstrated a

commitmenttoequalopportunityandfairnessthatearnedhimareputationasafriend

of the poor—white or black. As Texas director of the National Youth Administration,

Johnson lobbied for equal access to education and vocational training, and as U.S.

congressmanfrom thetenth districtofTexas,  hefoughtforequal  treatmentforracial

minoritiesinfederalhousingandagriculturalprograms.YetJohnsonalsovotedagainst

every civil rights bill brought to the floor during his terms in the U.S. House of

Representatives, including  anti‐lynching, anti‐poll tax, and Fair Employment Practices

Committee (FEPC) measures. He voted against these same measures during his early

careerintheU.S.Senate,towhichhewaselectedin

1948.Johnsonmayhaveopposed

theproposals—asheclaimed—becausetheystoodnochanceofpassage,whilevoting

for them would  have cost him his political career. He also emphasized that federal

legislationtoendlynchingandthepolltaxwouldviolatethe"states'rights,"thoughit

is unclear to what extent Johnson believed this commonplace of Southern rhetoric.

However,hisstatedoppositiontoananti‐lynchingbillalsorevealedhisinsensitivityto

uniquelyracialformsofoppression,asJohnsonimpliedthatlynchingwasnodifferent

than any other type of murder. And he also claimed that anti ‐lynching, anti‐poll tax,

andFEPClegislationwasnotgermanetotheissueofcivilrights,whichhestatedshould

beadvancedthoughmeasuresthatwouldprovide forbetterhousing,bettereducation,

betterhealthcare,andbetterwages.



The first civil rights bills Johnson supported were ones he helped usher in

through the U.S. Congress as Senate majority leader. As he fixed his sights on the

presidency,Johnsonbelievedheneededtoguideacivilrightsbilltopassageinorderto

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley19

demonstrate to Washington  powerbrokers and the American people that he was not

justaparochialpoliticianbeholdentoSoutherninterests.Whilehehadnotbecomean

all‐out civil rights advocate, Johnson's basic commitment to equal opportunity and

accessalignedwithhispersonalambitiontohelpproducethefirstpiece

offederalcivil

rights legislation in ninety years. In 1957,  Johnson brokered a political  compromise

when it seemed that powerful Southern senators and their liberal adversaries would

lock horns over a comprehensive civil  rights bill written by President Dwight

Eisenhower's attorney general—and thus fail to accomplish anything. Although the

resultinglegislative

compromise,theCivilRightsActof1957,wasarelativelytoothless

law that focused exclusively on the right to vote, Johnson emphasized that at least

Congress had passed something and suggested that breaking the logjam had cleared

thewayformoremeaningfullegislationinthenearfuture.Indeed,Johnsondidtryto

maneuveramoremeaningfulbillthroughCongressin1960buthadtobrokeranother

compromise due to Southern legislators' influence in the Senate. Some liberal critics

were skeptical and assailed Johnson for watering down both civil rights bills, but

Johnson received widespread national praise for his legislative miracles and for

sheddinghisparochialism.Heaccruedpoliticalcapitalfortheseaccomplishmentsthat

furtheredhispresidential ambitions and evenconvincedsome civil rights leadersthat

hewassincereinhisdesiretohelppassmeaningfulcivilrightslegislation.



Johnson's presidential hopes were dashed during the 1960 campaign, but this

personalsetbackultimatelyledtoadeepeningofhiscommitmenttocivilrights.Asvice

president,hewasappointedchairmanofacomm itteethatinvestigatedandattempted

to rectify cases of employment discrimination.  Through this position, Johnson came

into regular contact with blatant forms of racial discrimination and also learned that

existinglawsgavethefederalgovernmentlittlepowertomakethingsright.Asaresult,

he developed a stronger, more immediate understanding of bigotry that led him to

become a firm supporter of civil rights. He began to speak out publicly against racial

prejudice and was a strong advocate of President John F. Kennedy's comprehensive

civil rights bill. By the time Johnson ultimately guided the bill to passage, following

Kennedy's assassination in 1963, even those civil rights leaders who were formerly

skepticalpraisedhisdeepunderstanding andconviction on

civilrights.And theliberal

critics who derided Johnson for weakening civil rights measures as Senate majority

leaderhadtoadmithekepthisword:TheCivilRightsActof1964wasameaningfullaw

thatcontainedtheprovisionsexcisedfromthe1957bill,includingonesthatprohibited

discriminationinplacesofpublicaccommodationandcreatedapermanentFEPC.



Not content to wait for further action on civil rights, Johnson immediately

turned to the issue of voting rights, on whic h  he had developed a deep‐seated

commitment. He believed voting was the fundamental right in a democracy, one

guaranteedtobefreefromracialdiscriminationbytheU.S.Constitution.

Andhecame

to believe that the only way  to help African Americans achieve genuine equality was

through equal access to the ballot box. When voting rights demonstrations in Selma,

Alabama, dramatized the problem of voter discrimination for the  entire nation,

Johnson seized the moment to help guide federal voting rights legislation—a law his

JusticeDepartmenthadbeendevelopingsince1964—toswiftpassage.

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley20

Like most politicians, Johnson's commitment to civil rights—including equal

votingrights—wasnotunadulterated.Thoughoftenheraldedasthegreatestcivilrights

presidentinU.S.history,itisnotfreedomfromprejudiceoralife‐longuncompromising

commitmenttoracialjusticethatwarrantssuchpraise.Johnson'sachievementsoncivil

rights were the result of personal ambition, political calculations, duty, idealism, and

personalconviction.Moreover,hisambitionledhimtowranglewithcivilrightsissues,

an experience that deepened his understanding, which in turn shaped his principles.

His political calculations led him to pursue realistic goals but were tempered by his

sense of what his office required of him and by his idealism. His personal prejudices

were moderated by his commitment to fairness and equal opportunity in public life.

Johnsonwasaflawedbutgiftedpoliticianwhomaturedontheissueofcivilrightsand

used his considerable political skills to help pass the first four civil rights laws since

Reconstruction.

ThatJohnsonusedhislegislativeacumentoshapeU.S.historyisnotsurprising,

whereasthefact thathemotivatedthe nationthroughpublic speaking isremarkable.

Johnson possessed considerable skill in his interpersonal communication (often

referredtoas"theJohnsontreatment"),buthe

generallywasapoorpublicspeaker.In

private conversations, he sought to understand his listeners—their aspirations,

principles,passions, obligations, and weaknesses—andtousethat understanding asa 

foundation for convincing, cajoling, and coercing them. In public discourse, however,

he often seemed unable to connect with an audience so diverse in

its makeup. And

Johnson's efforts to ingratiate himself to people and, often,  to dominate them

interpersonallycould not be transferred topublicspeech.Moreover, although hehad

taught public speaking and coached debate during his career as a schoolteacher in

Texas, Johnson himself usually seemed affected and uncomfortable when speaking in

public—expressing his ideas in a monotonous voice with awkward gestures and poor

articulation, eyes glued to his speaking script. He appreciated eloquence but failed to

studyand practicethetechniques of successfulpublic  orators, andhegenerallyfailed

tofindaspeakingstylethatfithisnature.

Despite a general lack of skill, Johnson spoke a great deal as president,

delivering more than sixteen‐hundred speeches during his five years in the White

House—very nearly as many as delivered by Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy

combined during the previous twelve years. Many, perhaps most, of these speeches

were stilted and forgettable, but

 Johnson was capable of delivering successful

speeches.Indeed,hedeliveredoneofthemostsignificantpresidentialspeechesinU.S.

historywhen,inthespringof1965,heurgedAmericanstofulfilltheirnation'spromise

by guaranteeing that all of its citizens have an equal right to voteandtoshare in the

benefits of democracy. This speech, often referred to as the "We Shall Overcome"

speech,wasJohnson'sgreatestoratoricaltriumph.



Context



During the mid‐nineteenth and twentieth centuries, African American leaders

and their white allies expended significant political energy on attempting to secure

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley21

equal access to the ballot box, especially following the ratification of the Fourteenth

and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (in 1868 and 1870, respectively).

TheamendmentsdeclaredthatAfricanAmericanswerecitizensandforbadedepriving

themof thevoteon account oftheir "race,color,or previousconditionof

servitude."

Southernstatesattemptedtokeepthemfromvoting,however,throughmethodsthat

were not racially discriminatory at face value but that clearly aimed to keep African

Americansaway fromthepolls.Civil rights advocates won significant victories against

manyofthesemethods in the U.S.Supreme Court, but successthroughlitigationwas

slow, costly, and incomplete. There was significant African American political

mobilization after anespecially important legal victory against a persistent method of

voterdiscriminationinSmithv.Allwright:Registration,education,andget‐out‐thevote

campaignswereorganizedthroughouttheSouth.Buttheirfoesquicklydevelopednew

methods

topreventAfricanAmericansfromvoting,includinggerrymandering,literacy

and understanding tests, slow processing of voter registration applications, relocation 

of polling places, delay tactics, threats, and physical intimidation. Exhausted,

frustrated, and a little  demoralized, advocates of equal voting rights came to believe

that a genuine victory would come only through

federal legislation, and thus focused 

their crusade on the Congress and—especially—the president. By 1964, civil rights

advocateshadachievedsignificantvictoriesagainstdiscriminationineducation,places

of public accommodation, and employment. Because of persistent prejudice and the

shortcomings of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1963, though, the ballot

 box

remained inaccessible to many  African Americans, especially in the South. Thus, civil

rightsleadersfocusednearlyalloftheirenergiesononegoal—therighttovote.



At nearly the same time that African American leaders were gearingup for an

assaultonvoterdiscrimination,PresidentJohnsonwasdirectinghisJusticeDepartment

todraft a new law toensure  the guaranteesoftheFifteenthAmendment. During the

summerof1964,apresidentialtaskforceoncivilrightsidentifiedvoter discrimination 

as the nation's chief civil rights problem and advised the administration to advance

measures "to insure the speediest possible accession of Negroes to voting rolls,

especially in the South."

 In the fall, partisan advisers suggested that in addition to

upholdingthepromisesoftheConstitution,anewvotingrightslawthatbroughtmore

African Americans to the polls might help compensate for the loss of support for

DemocratsintheSouthbroughtonbytheadministration'scivilrightsinitiatives.

Most

of the president's advisers, however, counseled a cooling off period on civil rights

legislation following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and party politics were not a

significantfactormotivatingthepursuitofanewvotingrightslaw.

Rather, Johnson was motivated by his convictions, his desire to pass his own

civil rights law, his vision of a "Great Society," and his aspiration to be a great

presidentialreformer.Inmid‐December1964,hedirectedtheattorneygeneraltoburn

themidnightoilanddevelopavotingrightsmeasurewithinafewdayssothatitwould

bereadyfor

the1965legislativeagenda.InhisStateofthe UnionaddressonJanuar y 4,

1965, President Johnson urged members of Congress to "eliminate every remaining

obstacle to the right and opportunity to vote" and announced he would send them a

detailed proposal on voting rights within  six weeks. Aware that guiding a new voting

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley22

rightslawto passagewould bea significantpolitical challenge,Johnsonaimed torally

public support in addition to persuading legislators. On January 15, he called Martin

Luther King, Jr. and urged him to publicize the worst cases of voting prejudice to get

Americansbehind a federalvotingrights act,

alaw Johnson said wasapriorityforhis

electedtermaspresident.HetoldKingthatifcitizensweretoseeadramaticexample

ofthevoterdiscriminationandintimidationintheSouth,theywoulddemandactionto

makethingsright,tomaketheelectoralsystemfair.



ExhibitingtheextremeoppositiontoAfricanAmericanvotingJohnsonbelieved

would get the public's attention, Selma, Alabama, was the site of a nascent voting

rights campaign that had begun with a mass meeting on January 2. Three days after

talkingwiththe president,KingledthedemonstratorsinSelmainamassmarchonthe

countycourthousetoregister to vote and to dramatizevoter discrimination in Selma.

Neither goal was achieved that day. But in the following days, local  law enforcement

officials assaulted the demonstrators in full view of journalists—who published and

broadcast graphic reports and pictures of the violence across the nation. The Selma

campaignbecameapoliticaldrama,ascivilrightsleadersandthepresidentexpected,

but did not immediately succeed in creating an overwhelming public demand for

immediate legislative action. Rather, many Americans' first reaction was that the

government should provide protection for the demonstrators. And although the

campaigndidprovide"freshimpetus"amongmembersofCongress"tonewlegislation

toassureNegroestherighttoregisterandvote,"legislatorsdidnotcommitthemselves

passionately to the cause. In February, King penned a public letter that focused

attention on the fact that in Selma "there are more Negroes in jail . . . than on the

voting rolls," but the campaign still struggled to trigger an intense, urgent outcry

among citizens or legislators. Late in the month, leaders of the Selma campaign

plannedformoreconfrontationaldemonstrationsandactsofcivildisobediencetohelp

achieve the goal discussed by King and Johnson. Local law enforcement officials—led

by Sheriff Jim Clark—indeed responded to the tactics with increased violence, killing

onedemonstrator andbeatingothersbrutally.Butitwastheplanfordemonstratorsto

marchfifty‐fourmilestothestatecapitolinMontgomerytopetitionfortheirrightson

March

7thataimedtheconfrontationinSelmatowardadecisive,dramaticclimax.



Had Alabama law enforcement officials turned the demonstrators around by

blockingthehighwaytoMontgomery,asmanyofthemarchersanticipated,theSelma

campaign well might have failed to galvanize support for a federal voting rights act.

Instead, they acted the roles civil rights leaders reluctantly hoped they might. Soon

after six hundred marchers set out from a local church around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday,

March 8, they encountered an intimidating force of state troopers and the local

sheriff's posse on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A large crowd of local white citizens

jeeredthe marchersfrom the side of the road,

whilea cadre of journalists waited for

the action. When the marchers came within fifty feet of the troopers, the officer in

charge ordered them to stop and disperse within two minutes. March leaders John

LewisandHoseaWilliamsbeganspreadingthewordthatdemonstrators shouldkneel

andpray beforeactingon the officer's orders.Onlyone minute aftertheorder, while

most of them still were kneeling to pray, the officer issued an astonishing order with

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley23

furor:"Troopers,advance!"Themarchersquicklywereoverrun.Statetroopersclubbed

them, flailed them with bullwhips, and seared them with electric cattle prods.

Horsemen from the sheriff's posse then charged into the panicked crowd of

demonstrators and began to thrash them, too, as local bystanders cheered, "Get the

niggers!" Troopers fired tear gas into the crowd, as the vicious beatings continued.

Broken, bleeding, weeping, vomiting marchers lay strewn across the highway, while

those still able to move tried feeblyto escape. Some assailants  pursued the escapees

back into Selma's African American neighborhood for further battering, as others

blocked ambulances from reaching the wounded on the bridge. Eventually, the

bloodbath ended. Remarkably, no one was killed. But the severely routed marchers

sustained broken ribs, arms, legs, and teeth, severe lacerations, skull fractures,

concussions,anddamagetotheireyesandlungs.



Soonaftertheattack,journalistswhowereonthescenedisseminatedpictures

andaccountsofthebrutalitytoastunnednation.ABCTVeveninterrupteditsevening

moviewithaspecialnewsbulletinthatincludedfifteenminutesofvideofootagefrom

theassaultinSelma.Thefollowingday,thefrontpagesofnewspaperswerefilledwith

imagesandstoriesoftheviolenceagainstthosepetitioningforequalvotingrights.The 

confrontation,madeespeciallysalientbyitsvividvisualdepiction,becameasymbolof

Southern efforts to maintain white supremacy at all costs. Writers called the day

"Bloody Sunday," and the bloodshed made many Americans feel shame and disgrace.

Overwhelmingnumbersofcitizensexpressedshockthatsuchanoutragecouldhappen

in the United States: The violence stirred the nation's conscience and made a deeper

impression than perhaps any demonstration during the civil rights movement.

MembersofCongressexpressed"angeranddisgustatAlabama'sviolentrepressionof

theNegromarchers."Newspapersreportedthatthemarchhadmobilized"formidable

nationalsentimentbehindnewcivil‐rightslegislation."



AlthoughJohnsonhadendorsedtheSelmacampaignimplicitlyinhistelephone

conversation with King, the unexpected bloodshed there created a political climate

morecomplicatedthanthepresidenthadanticipated.Theprocessofdraftingabillwas

slowerthananticipated,asJusticeDepartmentattorneysfounditdifficulttodevelopa

straightforward

methodofensuringtheguaranteesoftheFifteenthAmendment(that

voting should be free from racial discrimination) without stating in affirmative terms

who comprised the electorate—something not provided for by the Constitution and

whichwouldrequireaconstitutionalamendment.YetthepressureontheWhiteHouse

to send legislation to Congress intensified as the situation in Selma escalated. The

Justice Department completed a draft of a federal voting rights bill on March 5, and

JohnsonsolicitedinputfrommembersofCongresstostrengthenthebillandpavethe

way for passage rather than introduce  it immediately. Following "Bloody Sunday,"

pressure on

the White House to send a bill to the legislature rose sharply and

continued to increase as the president still pursued the prudent, deliberate—but

slower—course of shoring up the bill and support for it among congressional leaders.

Widelycriticizedforhisperceivedinaction,Johnsonreceivedatleastsomesupportfor

hisstrategy:DuringaspecialreportonMarch12,aCBSNewscommentatorobserved,

"Legislationwrittenintheheatofemotionusuallyisbadlegislation."OnMarch13,the

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley24

Justice Department finally completed its revisions to the bill, accepting mostly minor

changes to its language made in the following days. And so in these exigent

circumstances,Johnson plannedtoaddress the Congress andthenationonMarch 15

to provide them with the "information, details, explanation, and justifications" he

believedtheywantedtohearinregardtohisvotingrightsmeasure.



AfterJohnsonhaddeclaredinJanuaryhisintentiontosubmitavotingrightsbill,

theWashington  Post reportedthat passinglegislation"may require allthe persuasion

thePresidentcanmuster."Clearly,thedemonstrationsinSelmahadmadethegeneral

caseforvotingrightslegislationaneasieronetoargue.ButJohnsonhadaspecificcase

to make, and persuading the public to support his strong voting rights bill while

convincing Congress to pass it quickly without watering it down still required

considerable rhetorical skill. Moreover, although the primary purpose of Johnson's

speechwasinstrumental,italsostroveforeloquence—toinspirelistenersbyassigning

deepmeaningtoeventsintheworldthroughcompellingappealsthatwerebothtimely

andtimeless.WhenhesteppedtothepodiumintheHousechamberoftheU.S.Capitol

at 9:02 p.m. on March 15, President Johnson, his im mediate  audience, and his

television audience of over seventy

million, understood the significance of the words

hewasabouttospeak.



Interpretation



Initially, Johnson planned only to deliver a written message to Congress to

accompany his legislative proposal but came to believe that such communication

would be insufficient for advancing his legislative goal and for enacting his duties as

chiefspokesmanforthenation.PresidentsrarelydeliverspecialmessagestoCongress

in person to advocate for a specific bill, especially on domestic policy; Harry Truman

had been the last president to do so. Such speeches are risky, as they put the

president's credibility on the  line and chance making members of Congress resentful,

feelingtheyarebeingcoercedintoactionand

havingtheirlaw‐makingdutiesusurped.

Johnsondidnotdecideforcertaintomakeapublicspeechuntilnearlythelastminute,

followinga meeting withmembersofhis administrationandcongressional leaderson

the evening of March 14. The meeting reinforced his belief that a public speech was

neededtocalmthe publicand assurethemthat thefederal governmentwas working

tosolvetheproblemofvoterdiscrimination.Moreover,Johnsonbelievedheneededto

use "every ounce  of moral persuasion the  Presidency held" to ensure passage of the

votingrightsbill.



Unlike the bill, the address was prepared in haste by White House

speechwriters,astheyfirstreceivedtheassignmentduringthelatehoursofMarch14.

The final text was a synthesis of multiple speech drafts, previous press conference

statements, and speeches Johnson had delivered as vice president. Presidential aides

finalizedandeditedtheaddressthroughoutthedayonMarch15,completingtheirtask

just moments before Johnson headed over to the capitol. As was usual practice, the

presidentwasnotinvolveddirectlyinthespeechwritingprocessdespitehislaterclaim

that he "penciled in changes and rewrote sections" of the address. Johnson took full

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley25

creditforthespeech,however,ashispresssecretarysuccessfullycoordinatedaplanto

communicate the following falsehood to the press: "The President wrote the speech.

Hetalkedoutwhathewantedtosay—andasdraftswerepreparedinresponsetohis

dictation, the President personally edited and  revised." In

fact, Johnson's only direct

contributions to the speech came during its delivery, as he personalized some of the

languageandinserteda fewphrasesandshortsentences. Givenhisdetachmentfrom

thespeechwritingprocess,theresimplywasnotimetomakechangesbeforespeaking;

PresidentJohnson receivedthereadingcopyjustpriorto deliveringthe message,and

hewasforcedtospeakfromthemanuscriptforthefirstseveralminutes,asithadnot

yetbeenloadedontotheTelePrompTer.



Atsome point duringthespeechwriting process,someoneat theWhiteHouse

titled the speech "The American Promise." And although usually known by its most

memorableline("Weshallovercome"),theofficial  titlebetter encapsulatesJohnson's

message. His speech used the word "promise" in both its meanings, referring to the

nation'svowanditspotential.Bothsensesofthewordimplyastory.Thoughmakinga

vow is a stand‐alone act, it beckons further action: The vow must be kept or broken.

Havingpotentialisastateofbeingbutalsosignalsfutureaction:Thepotential mustbe

fulfilled or neglected. Stories are an especially significant form of communication, as

theycanhelpusmakesenseoftheworldandoftencontainmorallessonsthatpointto

an appropriate course of action. They contain a logic, or narrative reasoning, that

frames our decision‐making in situations similar to those depicted in story. They

reinforceourculturalvalues.Inthepoliticalsphere,storiesshapeapeople'scollective

sense of self, their national identity, by telling and retelling their past, present, and

future.Suchstoriesinviteidentificationamongcitizensandbetweencitizensandtheir

government. Understanding the power of narrative, Lyndon Johnson attempted to

persuadehis listenerstoactinorder toguaranteeequalvotingrights—and more—by

depicting contemporaryexigenciesand decisions as part of the story of theAmerican

Promise.Thatstoryisthecentralrhetoricalfeatureofhisspeech.

Johnson began his address in a manner that suggested his message would

transcend the current exigency facing the nation: He asserted that he spoke for "the

destinyofdemocracy"(2).

Indeed,thecurrentcrisiswascritical,heclaimed,because

it constituted a "turning point  in man's unending search for freedom" (4) and "equal

rights" (6). It is an episode in the story of the American Promise, Johnson reasoned,

which is a guarantee of freedom and equality—and the potential to be "the greatest

nationonEarth"(7).JohnsonsuggestedthatdenyingequalrightstoAfricanAmericans,

exemplified by the violence in Selma, represented a threat to "the values and the

purposesandthemeaningofourbelovednation"(9).HeclaimedthattokeepAfrican

Americans from enjoying the freedom and equality assured by the Declaration of

Independence and the battle cries of the Revolution would be to break our nation's

promiseandneglectourpotentialto"failasapeopleandasanation"(10).Ofcourse,

none of the dictums quoted by the president ("All men are created equal";

"Government by consent of the governed"; "Give me liberty  or give me death")

constituted a direct promise to African Americans regarding political freedom or

equality.Yet Johnson interpreted themto have an expansive meaning that appliedto

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley26

thepresentproblem.Andsincethestoryoftheforwardmarchoffreedomandequality

isperhapstheUnitedStates'"masternarrative,"hisproposedpoliticalreformismade

to seem a natural progression in American history. In short, he seized the rhetoric of

democratic freedom  and equality—transforming the meaning of

the two principles in

theprocess—tohelpguaranteeequalvotingrightstoAfricanAmericans.



At the same moment President Johnson argued that the issue confronting the

county was of historic significance, he also emphasized the importance of time. He

suggested that although the United States long had kept African Americans from

enjoyingthebenefitsoffreedomandequality, ithadnotbrokenitspromise—yet.But

sincedestinyhadcrossedourpathatthisparticulartime,heclaimed,thedecisivepoint

intimehadarrived.Thepresidentassertedthatassuchamomentcamealong"rarely

in any time," (9) the nation must seize  the opportunity. Articulating a similar theme

about midway through the speech, he described the country's promise as "unkept,"

(51)notbroken,andurgedimmediateactionbystressingthatthe"timeofjusticehas

nowcome"(52).Johnsonclaimed,"Thistime,onthisissue,theremustbenodelay or

no hesitation or no compromise with our purpose," (42) adding that "the time for

waitinghasgone"(43).

The themes of promise and urgency established in the beginning of Johnson's

speechwerecentraltothemessage'soverallrhe toricalpower,astheytransformedthe

political problem of voter discrimination into something even grander: a threat to

Americaitself. And the effort to solve that problem took on a grand, almost religious

imperative—asdescribedbythepresident—sinceitimplicatedAmerica'sdestiny,faith,

andmission.HesuggestedtheUnitedStatesrepresentedachosennation,"thefirst...

inthehistoryoftheworldtobefoundedwithapurpose"(13).Invokingapassagefrom

theBible,Luke9:25,heclaimedthenationwouldloseitsverysoulifitfailedtoachieve

its purpose of upholding the democratic model of government, its promise to ensure

freedom and equality. President Johnson took on the role of prophet in his speech,

recallingthenationtoitsoriginaltask.Asthegiftoftheprophetisvision,hesuggested

that by taking a penetrating look at current events to see their underlying meaning,

onecouldtrulyunderstandwhatwasatstake:theheartandsoulofthenation.

By imbuing his narrative of the American Promise with a religious

dimension,

Johnsontappedintotheculturaltraditionscholarsusuallyrefertoascivilreligion—the

collection of symbols, beliefs, values, and rituals that give sacred meaning to political

life;thetranscendentsenseofrealitythroughwhichapeopleinterprettheirhistorical

experiences. His message articulated  three key myths in American civil religion: that

theUnitedStateshasacovenantthatmakesitscitizensachosenpeople,thatithasa

specialpurpose,andthatitsfoundingwasaconsecratedactthatdefinedthemeaning

of the nation.

 In doing so, the president encouraged his audience to experience

current events as part of a transcendent reality. As the nation's prophet, he called to

mindits purpose,pointedout itssinsand thewages of sin,and identifiedthe path to

redemption.

Attheendofthefirstsectionofhisspeech,Johnsonrelatedtheissueofvoting

rights to the American Promise directly. Whereas earlier he had described the issue

confrontingthe nationin abstracttermsoffreedomandequalrights,  henowmadeit

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley27

clearthatensuringAfricanAmericansequalaccesstothe franchisewascentraltothe

nation's promise and purpose. He claimed that the nation's Founding Fathers

established"therighttochooseyourownleaders"as"themostbasicrightofall,"and

that the history of America, at its essence, was

"the history of the expansion of that

righttoallofourpeople"(16).Thepresidentmadethepresentcourseofactionclear:

"EveryAmericancitizenmusthaveanequalrighttovote.Thereisnoreasonwhich[sic]

can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty that

 weighs more heavily on us

than the duty we  have to ensure that right" (17). As the central idea of Johnson's

speech, he returned to this theme in his conclusion, enacting the  role of the prophet

unequivocallyandputtingapointonthenation'ssacredduty:"Abovethepyramidon

thegreatseal of the United Statesitsays . ..'God has favored our undertaking.'God

willnotfavoreverythingthatwedo.ItisratherourdutytodivineHiswill.ButIcannot

helpbelievingthatHetrulyunderstandsandthatHereallyfavorsthe undertakingthat

we begin here tonight" (90). President Johnson intuited the will of God to be on the

side of voting rights legislation and suggested that by enacting such legislation, the

nationcouldkeepitspromiseandconfirmitscovenantrelationshipwithGod.

To a great extent, Johnson's speech is persuasive to

the extent it invested

eventswithdeepmeaningforitslisteners.HisstoryoftheAmericanPromiseaimedto

helphisaudiencemakesenseofadisturbingcrisisinaparticularway,toseeitaspart

ofalargercontextofevents.By emphasizingtheideaofapromise,he

providedalogic

that framed his listeners' decision‐making: They should act to keep their promise. His

storyreinforcedthevaluestowhichthenationmustrecommititselfthroughaction.It

reaffirmed America's national identity and identified citizens with their government.

When listeners found Johnson's speech compelling, it was likely because he induced

them to want to guarantee voting rights in order to honor their status as a chosen

people and to live out the nation's sacred purpose. He effectively appealed to their

patriotic duty, infused with a religious imperative. Moreover, for those listeners who

feltshamefollowing Bloody Sunday,Johnsonprovidedawayto purge their guilt. The

violence in Selma was horrific, but the president suggested it may serve a  significant

purpose, since it has "summoned into convocation all the majesty of this great

government" (7). The violence in Selma can be made meaningful, he  implied, by

enactingvoting

rightslegislation.

It is difficult to know whether President Johnson's speech converted many

opponents of equalvoting rightstohisside, but this wasnothis only persuasive aim.

Evenso,asevidencedbyhislegislativestrategiesduringhis tenureasSenatemajority

leader, Johnson understood that voting was a weak spot in many Southerners'

oppositiontocivilrights.Hebelievedthatalthoughsegregationistswantedtomaintain

whitesupremacythroughvoterdiscrimination,many stillfelt—inspiteofthemselves—

their actions were wrong. The president may not have converted them to active

supporters of voting rights legislation, but he likely  persuaded some to accept it

passively.HisspeechhelpeddemoralizetheSouthernoppositiontoequalvotingrights

bymaking racialdiscriminationat theballot box seemfundamentallyun‐American,at

odds with what the nation was all about. It squarely put segregationists on the losing

side of an issue of principle: None could

argue convincingly that voter discrimination

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley28

was consistent with American values. Cultivating even passive acceptance was a

significant rhetorical accomplishment for Johnson, as it had the potential to help

Congresspasshisvoting rightsbill morequicklyandto encouragecompliancewith its

provisions once it became law. In addition to weakening his opposition, the address

encouragedtheuncommittedtoidentifythemselveswithahallowedcause.Moreover,

it bolstered voting rights supporters. Johnson further justified their outrage over the

violence in Selma by instilling it with a grander source of indignation. He made them

feelasthoughtheweightofAmericanhistorywasontheirside,that

equalvotingrights

was foreordained. His claim that the "time of justice has now come" (52) made their

cause feel exceptionally urgent. His heady proclamation, "We shall overcome" (46)

madeprogressseemunstoppable.

To appreciate the rhetorical ingenuity of the voting rights address, it is helpful

toconsideralternatepersuasive

strategiesJohnsonmighthaveemployed.Theaddress

is impressive precisely because he and his speechwriters made discerning choices

amongtheavailablemeansofpersuasion.Forexample,thepresidentcouldhavemade

astrongcaseforequalvotingrightsgroundedintheU.S.Constitution.Indeed,anearly

draft of the speech, based

 on the written message sent to Congress with the

legislation, focused on the mandate of the Constitution. After all, the Fifteenth

Amendment prohibits racial discrimination at the ballot box and gives Congress the

authority to pass legislation in order to secure that guarantee. Johnson simply could

havedemandedthat the

Congressdo its consti tutionalduty(aclaim hein fact made,

albeit very briefly). However, making that the centerpiece of his speech would have

entered him into a tedious legal argument with Southern opponents of voting rights,

who in the past had demonstrated they were game for a protracted argument of

exactlythatsort.ApleaforCongresstodoitsconstitutionaldutyalsowouldhaveput

theAmericanpeopleonthemarginsofthedecision‐makingprocessbyfocusingonthe

responsibilities of the federal government. And though possessed of a reasonable

appeal, such a plea would have been less inspiring than his appeal to the American

Promise:JohnsonpresentedastirringdefinitionofthemeaningofAmericaratherthan

themeaningoftheConstitution,asignificantbutarcanedocumenttomanycitizens.

Rather than grounding his argument in the American promise, Johnson also

could have made an explicitly moral argument

 decrying racial prejudice, including its

expression through voter discrimination. Indeed, in 1963 he had advised President

KennedytodeliveracivilrightsspeechthatwouldmakeSouthernersfeeltheywereon

the wrong side of an issue  of conscience. Perhaps Johnson believed in 1965 that the

violenceinSelmaalreadyhadaccomplishedthatgoal.Moreover,hadhemade amoral

argument against racial prejudice, he would have risked alienating listeners who

harboredpersonalprejudiceagainstAfricanAmericansbutstillsupported—orcouldbe

persuaded to support—equal voting rights. As demonstratedby the address, Johnson

and his speechwriters found a way for him to speak with moral authority, as the

nation'spresidentandprophet,withoutpreachingtohislistenersabouttheirpersonal

transgressions.

Above all, instead of focusing his rhetoric on constitutional or moralistic

appeals, President Johnson simply assumed those issues to be resolved: "There is no

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley29

constitutionalissue.ThecommandoftheConstitutionisplain.Thereisnomoralissue.

Itiswrong—deadlywrongtodenyanyofyourfellowAmericanstherighttovote"(37‐

39).ByfocusingonwhathedescribedtobetheunresolvedissueofAmerica'spromise,

he employed a rhetorical appeal

that transcended issues of state and federal rights

(which Southerners always raised in debates about  constitutional questions of civil

rights)andissuesofpersonalmorality.

Other rhetorical features of the president's speech were important. For

instance, his claim that existing civil rights laws could not solve the problem of voter

discrimination

 helped head off a counterargument by Southerner legislators who

counseleddelayfollowingthepassage oftheCivilRightsActof1964,whichcontained

worthlessprovisionsonequalvotingrights.

It was Johnson's transcendent appeal to the American Promise, however, that

was most persuasive and that cultivated overwhelming support for the voting rights

bill.Intheircoverageofhisspeech,manyjournalistslaudedthepresidentforinvoking

andaffirming"themostsacredanddeeplyheldconvictionsofanation,"whichbrought

"the present chapter of the struggle for human rights into proper perspective."

20[



Citizens echoed these sentiments in their letters and telegrams to the White House.

And when editorialists urged swift passage of the  president's bill, their appeals

employed the language of Johnson's narrative: The New York Times even suggested

passagewasaforegoneconclusionbecausea"peoplethathasrespondedunflinchingly

to every trial of national purpose . . . will not fail this test."

 Moreover, following

PresidentJohnson'sspeech,members ofCongress deliberatedvotingrights legislation

using the language of America's destiny, promise, and purpose. Senators and

congressmenclaimedthatthenationmust"makegoodonitspromise...[to]fulfillthe

revolutionarydreamoffreedomandequalityforallAmericans"by"passingabillwhich

[sic]fullyinsuresthateveryAmerican...hastherighttovote"—whichwillrepresenta

step "along this nation's honored march toward further fulfillment of our traditional

goals of equal opportunity and equal treatment." Congress indeed passed the final

votingrightsbilllessthanfive

monthsafterJohnson'sspeech.Thepresidentsignedthe

Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law on August 6, emphasizing at the signing ceremony

thatAmericahadrightedahistoricalwrong,enacteditssacredprinciples,confirmedits

promise,andnowwouldendeavorto"fulfilltherightsthatwenowsecure."



Legacy



Politicalrhetoricthatfindsawaytotranscendconflictsofbeliefandsentiment

isuncommon,  especially whenitinvolves issues of right andwrong.Johnson's speech

helpedtranscendthoseconflictsbyfocusingoncivicvirtueandcivicduty.Byappealing

to and reinforcing a shared language of moral

consensus—the narrative of the

AmericanPromise—JohnsonmadealastingcontributiontoU.S.politicalandrhetorical

history.AsastatementofAmericanprinciplesthatrelatedtotheissueofequalvoting

rights,hisspeechhasenduringsignificance.Perhapsthisalsowaspartofhisintent,as

he wanted to be eloquent and wanted to go down in history as a great civil rights

president.

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley30

Johnson's speech also has enduring significance on the issue of civil rights

becauseit representedan effort tomodifythemeaning of twokeyideas in American

historywhileincorporating themintoamoreexpansivevisionofthenation'spromise.

HisnarrativeoftheAmericanPromisewasmainlyastory

ofthenation'scommitment

to freedom and equality. The speech began by identifying  these two ideas in a

conventional way: Freedom is discussed in terms of political liberties, and equality is

discussedintermsofequalrightsorequalopportunity.Thecontemporarystrugglefor

civil rights, he suggested, was about guaranteeing those principles. But as the

president'sspeechcontinued,heemphasizedhowthatstruggleforcivilrightswasnot

justastruggleforfreedomitselfbutratherforthe"thefruitsoffreedom,"(56)notjust

astruggleforequalrightsorequalopportunitybutrathertohelpensureequalityas

an

actualcharacteristicofAmericanlife.Johnsonemphasizedtheexerciseoffreedomand

equality, which he claimed "takes much more than just legal right" (75). Rather than

only guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities (opening the gates of equality), he

suggested that to "mak e good on the promise of America" (63) also meant giving all

citizens"thehelpthattheyneedtowalkthroughthosegates"(77).Heinvitedcitizens

to think not only about political rights but also about the circumstances under which

freedomandequalityflourish.Whereasfreedomandequalitycanbethoughtofasthe

protections and privileges given to all citizens by law, as principles of

nondiscrimination, Johnson also defined them as goals to be achieved. Perhaps most

notably, the voting rights speech was one of the first messages in which President

Johnsonattemptedtoredefinethemeaningoftheideaofequalopportunity toinclude

the concept of affirmative action, the help needed to achieve what he later called

"equality as a fact and a result" not "just equality as a rights and a theory." This

redefinitionofequalopportunityattractedlittleattentionatthetime,perhapsbecause

itwas subsumedinto thestoryof the AmericanPromise—which,at somelevel,many

citizensthemselvesfelttomeanmorethanjustaguaranteeofbasiclegalprotections.

Indeed, as the word promise denoted potential as well as guarantee, Johnson's

narrative emphasized the nation's  potential to become a "Great Society" (a common

themeinhisrhetoricduringthistime):anationinwhichcitizensareeducated,healthy,

housed, and employed; a nation in which the experience of freedom and democracy

flowsfromthoseprinciples.



Studying President Johnson's speech is significant as a reminder  that the

languageof theAmericanPromisehasbeen asite ofstrugglethroughoutthe  nation's

history. Though they are universal terms in American political rhetoric, freedom and

equality are part of an ongoing process of definition and redefinition, of ongoing

debates about their meaning. Neither freedom nor equality embodies a single idea;

rather each symbolizes a mixture of values and meanings. For example, freedom  has

meant—at various times—the right to political self‐determination, the right to make

individual choices free from coercion, the capacity for ethical action, and more. The

meanings

 of equality have included  equal rights, equal treatment, and actual parity.

Though their meanings change, freedom and equality remain authoritative terms in

politicaldiscourse:Toseizecontroloftheminapoliticaldebateistoacquiresignificant

rhetoricalpower.OneoftheverytermsJohnsonsoughttoredefinetogainsupportfor

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley31

his civil rights program is in the process of being redefined. Participants in recent

debates about affirmative action, including court cases about college and university

admissions policies,  seek to define and control the meaning of equality. Even the

meaning of civil rights—a term whose meaning has been identified strongly with

the

civilrightsmovement—isnowcontested,astheadvocatesofstateballotproposalsto

outlawaffirmativeactionprogramsrefertothemas"civilrightsinitiatives."



Since Johnson's speech helped establish the meaning of freedom and equality

as employed during the congressional deliberations over the Voting Rights Act, his

messagemaycontinuetohavesignificantinfluence.ThelawrequiresthattheCongress

mustperiodicallyreviewand,ifdeemedappropriate,renewsomeoftheprovisionsof

theVotingRightsAct:Themostrecentrenewalcamein2006.Federallegislatorsoften

looktotheintentofformerCongresseswhenrenewingpreviouslyenactedlaws,andin

1965 the 89th Congress described its intent in the president's terms of fulfilling the

American Promise of freedom and equality. Despite some wrangling during the 2006

deliberations,membersofCongressultimatelyseemedtoagreethat"'thelibertiesand

freedomembeddedintherighttovotemustremainsacred.'"



Finally,studyingJohnson's speechshouldencouragereflectiononthenatureof

presidentialrhetoric,especiallyonmattersperceivedtohaveamoraldimension.That

presidentswillusetheirofficeasabullypulpittoserveasthenation'smoralleaderand

spokesperson is a common assumption of the modern presidency. Like all orators,

presidents are susceptible to misusing of the power of moral leadership: They may

reducecomplexproblems tosimple questionsof rightorwrong,demonizethose who

oppose them, assert moral consensus when none exists, appeal to listeners' base

motives in the language of virtue, or enact the role of moral spokesperson with

arrogance rather than humility. Even so, the nation sometimes needs its president to

ascendtothebullypulpittoexhortittowardapublicgoodthatwouldnotberealized

withoutmoving,inspiringoratory.Butfindingasharedmorallanguageout ofwhicha

president can fashion a persuasive appeal is difficult. President Johnson effectively 

grounded his appeals in a potent narrative that focused on public morality—his

listeners'civicdutytokeepandfulfillthesacredAmericanPromise.Butasthecitizenry

continues to become more religiously and culturally diverse, less schooled in the

narratives of the nation's

 history, more aware of how such narratives can be used to

justifydepravedcausesaswellas honorableones, andperhapslessinfluencedbythe

moralauthorityofthepresidency,presidentsmayfinditespeciallytrickytobuildmoral

consensus through oratory. Consider this problem from a perspective afforded by

studying Johnson's speech. He usedoratorytohelp secure the significantpublic good

of equal voting rights, primarily by appealing to the American Promise—of which the

Constitution is one expression—rather than the Constitution itself. But could Johnson

havecraftedsuchastirring,persuasiveappealonthebasisofconstitutionalguarantees

alone? Would his listeners have found it as moving, meaningful, and motivational?

Wouldwefinditaseloquenttoday?

________________________



VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley32

Garth E. Pauley (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University) is associate professor of

rhetoric in the Department of Communication Arts & Sc iences at Calvin College in

GrandRapids,Michigan.



Notes



1StephenE.LucasandMartinJ.Medhurst,WordsofaCentury:TheTop100

AmericanSpeeches,1900‐1999(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2007).

2DavidZarefsky,"LyndonB.Johnson,"inAmericanOratorsoftheTwentieth

Century:CriticalStudiesandSources,ed.,BernardK.DuffyandHalfordR.

Ryan

(Westport,CT:GreenwoodPress,1987),224;HarvardSitkoff,TheStruggleforBlack

Equality,1954‐1992,rev.ed.(NewYork:HillandWang,1993),182‐183.

3RobertDallek,FlawedGiant:LyndonJohnsonandHisTimes,1961‐1973(New

York:OxfordUniversityPress,1998),113‐114.

4Dallek,LoneStar

Rising:LyndonJohnsonandHisTimes,1908‐1960(NewYork:

OxfordUniversityPress,1991),367‐370.

5RobertA.Caro,TheYearsofLyndonJohnson,vol.3,MasteroftheSenate

(NewYork:AlfredA.Knopf,2002),862‐1011;Dallek,LoneStarRising,517‐527.

6SeeRobertMann,TheWallsofJericho:LyndonJohnson,HubertHumphrey,

RichardRussell,andtheStruggleforCivilRights(NewYork:HarcourtBrace,1996),318;

andStevenF.Lawson,"CivilRights,"inExploringtheJohnsonYears,ed.,RobertA.

Divine(Austin:UniversityofTexasPress,1981),97.

7AlexanderKeyssar,TheRighttoVote:TheContestedHistoryofDemocracyin

theUnitedStates(NewYork:BasicBooks,2000),108‐111,244‐249,257‐264.

8TaskForceIssuePaper:CivilRights,June17,1964,OfficeFilesofBillMoyers,

Box94,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary.

9LouisMartintoJohnBailey,November17,

1964,LegislativeBackground:

VotingRightsActof1965,Box1,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary;Matthew

ReeseJr.toLyndonJohnson,December1964,OfficeFilesofLeeWhite,Box3,Lyndon

B.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary;LyndonJohnsontoNicholasKatzenbach,December14,

1964,RecordingsofTelephoneConversations,WH6412.02,LyndonB.Johnson

PresidentialLibrary;LyndonJohnson,PublicPapersofthePresidentsoftheUnited

States:LyndonJohnson,1965,vol.1(Washington,D.C.:GovernmentPrintingOffice,

1966),5;LyndonB.JohnsontoMartinLutherKingJr.,January15,1965,WH6501.04,

RecordingsofTelephoneConversations,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary.

DavidJ.Garrow,BearingtheCross:MartinLutherKingJr.andtheSouthern

ChristianLeadershipConference(NewYork:WilliamMorrow,1986),378‐395;"Negro

VotingRights,"CongressionalQuarterlyWeeklyReport23.8(1965),269.

11TestimonyfromHoseaWilliams,JohnLewisetal.v.GeorgeWallace,

GovernorofAlabamaetal.,

NRCA‐21‐ANMCVCA‐2181‐TESTMNY,NARASoutheast

Region,NationalArchives.

VoicesofDemocracy3(2008):17‐33Pauley33

12"Selma—AnAssessment,"ChristianScienceMonitor,March15,1965,14;

NanRobertson,"JohnsonPressedforaVotingLaw,"NewYorkTimes,March9,1965,1.

13EricSevareidscript,"WalterCronkiteandtheNews,"LegislativeBackground:

VotingRightsActof1965,Box1,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary;LyndonB.

JohnsontoNicholasKatzenbach,March11,1965,WH6503.06,Recordingsof

TelephoneConversations,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary.

14RobertBaker,"JohnsonMayAskBanonVoterLiteracyTests,"Washington

Post,January6,1965,A1.

15LyndonB.Johnson,VantagePoint:PerspectivesofthePresidency,1963‐1969

(NewYork:Holt,Rinehart&Winston,1971),164.

16Speechdrafts,President'sRemarkstoAccompanyVotingMessage,March

15,1965,StatementsofLBJ,Box141,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary;Johnson,

VantagePoint,164‐165;LadyBirdJohnson,AWhiteHouseDiary(Holt,Rinehart&

Winston,1970),252‐253;JackValentitoLyndonJohnson,March16,1965,Legislative

Background:VotingRightsActof1965,Box1,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary.

17LyndonB.Johnson,PresidentJohnson'sVotingRightsAddress,March15,

1965,WHCA269/70,AudioCollection,LyndonB.JohnsonPresidentialLibrary.Allof

theremainingpassagesfromJohnson'sMarch,15,1965,speechbeforetheU.S.

Congressarecitedwithreferencetoparagraphnumbersinthespeechthat

accompaniesthisessay.

18EricFoner,TheStoryofAmericanFreedom(NewYork:W.W.Norton,1998),

xvi.

19SeeRobertN.Bellah,BrokenCovenant:AmericanCivilReligioninaTimeof

Trial,2nded.(Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress,1992),3;RoderickP.Hart,The

PoliticalPulpit(WestLafayette,IN:PurdueUniversityPress,1977),12;andRussellB.

Nye,ThisAlmostChosenPeople:EssaysintheHistoryofAmericanIdeas(EastLansing:

MichiganStateUniversityPress,1966),165.

20"America'sConscience,"ChristianScienceMonitor,

March17,1965,14;"Mr.

Johnson'sStrongCalltoAction,"KansasCityStar,March16,1965,26.

21"WeShallOvercome,"NewYorkTimes,March17,1965,44.

22U.S.Congress,Senate,89thCongress,1stsession,CongressionalRecord,111,

pt.4,5105,5223,5163,pt.11,11025,11076,pt.

12,16280,16267,pt.14,19200;

LyndonB.Johnson,PublicPapersofthePresidentsoftheUnitedStates:LyndonB.

Johnson,1965,vol.2(Washington,D.C.:GovernmentPrintingOffice,1966),811‐815.

23SeeLyndonB.Johnson,PublicPapersofthePresidentsoftheUnitedStates:

LyndonB.Johnson,1965

,vol.2(Washington,D.C.:GovernmentPrintingOffice,1966),

635‐640;andDavidZarefsky,"LyndonJohnsonRedefines'EqualOpportunity':The

BeginningsofAffirmativeAction,"CentralStatesSpeechJournal31(1980):85‐94.

24Foner,StoryofAmericanFreedom,xiv‐xviii.

25LaurieKellman,"HouseRenewsVotingRightsActUnchanged,"July

14,2006,

CBSNews.com,August13,2007,

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/14/ap/politics/mainD8IRNHO85.shtml.