>>>Not quite true. Liberals were staunch supporters of segregation well into the 1960's as a means of "protecting" minorities - it was the Eisenhower, for instance, who demanded the integration of the US armed forces and he was no liberal.
>>>
>>>Historically, the two most ardent champions for minorities were definitely not liberal: Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. The two most liberal presidents, Wilson and Soosevelt were either outspoken or tacit supporters of segregation.
>>>
>>>As to women's rights, I'll grant you that one as Wilson was the one who supported the 19th amendement, after being shamed by a group called the
>>>Silent Sentinels.
>>>
>>
>>You seem to be confusing political party affiliation with liberal vs. conservative. No question that in Lincoln's time (and probably in TR's), the Republicans were the more liberal party. But there's never been an exact correlation.
>>
>>Tamar
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>I can't find John's message (this thread started last SEPTEMBER! (lol)) so am replying to him here. LBJ's name should be added to that list. That's not a matter of party affiliation, just a matter of credit where credit is due. He was in many ways a crummy President but he did more for civil rights than anyone else. Way more than JFK, who talked the talk but didn't walk the walk.
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>In doing so he crippled the Democratic Party in the south. You (Tamar) are only a year younger than me so are old enough to remember when it was called "the solid south," meaning solidly Democratic. That arrangement was based on a don't-ask-don't-tell acceptance of racism. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the peace marches led by Martin Luther King and others blew that all to hell.
>
>If you want to read a great biography pick up any of the three volumes of Taylor Branch's magisterial bio of MLK. I gave away the first volume but remember a couple of passages in particular. One described a speech he gave as a young minister in Atlanta, describing "an iron boot heel of oppression." It said the audience erupted in waves of applause. "He was 27 years old and would live the rest of his life in the public eye. He had not quite 12 years to live." The other was at the very end. "Race was the issue that would lift him up among world leaders and lower him down to die among garbage workers in Memphis. To keep going, he became a pillar of fire."
JFK did a bit to help civil rights but he died too soon. Whever LBJ as President wanted to get congress to vote for civil rights bills he would say, "President Kennedy would have wanted this"! The advantage LBJ had was that he knew how to work with congress.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/john_kennedy_and_civil_rights.htm
