In the United States of America, people are protected by civil rights. It is these rights that allow all citizens of America to be protected under the laws of the constitution. Unfortunately, that was not the case more than 100 years ago. In the late 1800's slavery was at its end. It was because of a fine leader and president by the name of Abraham Lincoln who decided it was time to rid the United States of slavery and passed what is called the emancipation proclamation. This was one of the first steps toward a long civil rights movement.
In the year 1866, after President Lincoln was assassinated and President Andrew Johnson took over, congress passed the Civil Rights Act. The President, however, originally vetoed this act. This was the first time congress had ever gathered enough votes to pass legislation over the presidents veto. This act stated that all citizens of the United States were given full rights under the constitution. Unfortunately the act wasn't enough to solve all the discrimination problems in the United States and was revised many times over.
One of the major revisions of the Civil Rights Act happened in 1963. A Negro activist by the name of Philip Randolph and his colleague, Bayard Rustin, had decided to demand certain civil rights that would limit the discrimination in employment. They did this by organizing what was called the "March on Washington". These demands included: integration of public schools, fair employment by prohibiting job discrimination, and job training and placement. After the march had ended, Randolph and nine other men including Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy met to discuss the demands of the march. This major event proved to be very successful in getting what the people deserved.
The black population liked President John F. Kennedy because of his actions toward equal rights. The only action President Kennedy had done up until the march was to establish a committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
