There were numerous obstacles for Johnson in winning passage of landmark Civil Rights legislation. From an oppositional Congress to the Machiavelli-like orchestrations of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, Johnson waged a committed and dedicated war to overcome numerous obstacles to promote racial equality and justice. Hoover, convinced Martin Luther King, Jr. was associated with Communist attempts to undermine American society, often authorized wiretaps and other surveillance operations against King. Though King was not a Communist, these operations did reveal the minister had carried on more than one affair. Hoover wanted to publish these revelations but Johnson fought his efforts to do so, even though there were times when Johnson encouraged HooverÆs efforts to gain leverage in his relationship with King. Kotz (246; 218) suggests that ôIn terms of violating civil liberties, the FBIÆs war against the Klan was just as ruthless as its campaigns against targeted civil-rights activists,ö and that had the FBI made one mistake Johnson would have had ôhis own Watergate.öhern-controlled Congress. Johnson, in contrast, did everything from using his personal power of persuasion to bribing Senators and Representatives with promises of aid and other perks for their states to win the votes necessary to pass Civil Rights legislation. Ironically, though Johnson is often viewed as a crude and self-interested politician backed by Texas oil interests, in the matter of Civil Rights he was a passionate moralist committed to the cause. In contrast, King is often viewed as moral, but KotzÆ book demonstrates just how much of a brilliant political strategist he was during his relationship with Johnson. Though often in conflict about how to progress, Kotz (Front Matter) argues that at its best their relationship was characterized by a ôpassion for equality and a dedication to improving the lives of those left out of AmericaÆs affluent society.ö Though at the time of his |
