President Lyndon B. Johnson was a man of true equality and stood behind civil equality one-hundred percent. His “We Shall Overcome” speech on March 15, 1965, was one of deep impact and high importance. Working towards making Americans equal as countrymen rather than dividing by skin color, religion, and other traits is a difficult task which to this day is still being struggled to reach.
President Johnson’s entire speech was full of intellectual and deep thoughts, so it’s hard to choose which is more important because all of his words had an emotional and intriguing thought process. When Johnson stated, “Above the pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States it says in Latin, "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 but believe that He truly understands and that He really favors the undertaking that we begin here tonight,” I thought he made a crucial point. In this quote and throughout his entire speech, Johnson speaks of himself and his countrymen as one. Not men and women, not white and black, but as only Americans. This speech of pushing to help reach equality for African Americans really set a tone as to how important it is to stand together as one.
“There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem, and we are met here tonight as Americans--not as Democrats or Republicans; we're met here as Americans to solve that problem. This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose,” was one of Johnson’s strongest points which should not be overlooked. The pursuit of happiness should not be denied to the African Americans, it should be able to be pursued by any and all American.
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