The American

Does this document show that Johnson’s position on civil rights was driven by principle orpolitics? Explain your thinking.

Yet all Johnson’s rhetoric could not entirely disarm the suspicions of civil

rights advocates. (Roy Wilkins* asked him) if he had felt so strongly about the
issue, why had it taken him so long to act on it? Johnson wrinkled his brow and
said: “You will recognize the words I’m about to repeat. Free at last, free at last.
Thank God almighty, I’m free at last.”... Johnson was describing himself as
liberated from his southern political bonds or as a man who could now fully put
the national interest and moral concerns above the political constraints imposed
on a Texas senator.

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In the text you've presented, we can infer that Johnson originally neglected to address Civil Rights because he was a senator in a southern state. Likely, he would have alienated his voters had he overtly supported civil rights as a Texas senator. As president, Johnson wasn't accountable to a single state, he was working on behalf of the nation.

Who was Johnson quoting in his response to Wilkins's question?