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Key Terms
Lyndon B. Johnson Civil Rights Act “The Great Society” The Big Four Legislative Achievements Vietnam War
Pre – Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson was born near Stonewall,
Texas, on August 27, 1908 June 28 1941 he was defeated in a senatorial race December 9, 1941 Johnson serves on active duty in
the U.S. Navy November 2, 1948 Jonson was elected as a Texas
senator after changing his platform to be more conservative
Senator and Vice President Johnson
January 5, 1955 elected senate majority leader July 14, 1960 Johnson Becomes JFK's running
mate November 8, 1960 JFK was elected President and
Johnson his VP
November 22 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated
Later that day Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in to the presidency aboard Air Force One
Domestic Policies
After becoming President Johnson was notably more liberal than in his days as a Texas Senator
July 2, 1964 Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964
This outlawed racial discrimination in most public places and gave the government greater power to end segregation
Civil Rights Act (cont.)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created to end discrimination in who was hired
Republicans added an equal rights for women section to the bill hoping that would remove its ability to pass, which backfired when it passed anyways
War on Poverty
Johnson began a $1 billion “War on Poverty” which he added to one of Kennedy’s old tax bills that had not yet passed
He gained support for this “war” from the statistic that 20% of Americans were impoverished
Johnson deemed his domestic plans and reforms “The Great Society”
1964 Election November 3, 1964 Johnson defeated Barry
Goldwater in the presidential election Many voters were scared of Goldwater's “trigger
happy” foreign policy and seeming non-discretion in nuclear weapons use
Johnson's Second Term
In his second term Johnson had large Democratic majorities in both houses of congress allowing him to increase his war on poverty
He doubled funds to the Office of Economic Opportunity and granted $1 billion to redeveloping Appalachia
The Big Four Legislative Achievements
Johnson's Big Four Legislative Achievements were aid to education, medicare and medicaid, immigration reform, and a new voting rights bill
Aid to Education
Johnson's plan gave educational aid “to students not schools”
This allowed much needed funds to go to schools with religious education without violating separation of church and state
Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare for elderly and Medicaid for the poor allowed medical insurance to millions who could not afford it
Immigration Reform
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the national origin quota system, doubled number of immigrants allowed to enter annually, limited the number coming from the Western Hemisphere, allowed admission of close relatives of those who were already citizens, over 100,000 people utilized this per year
Voting Rights
The Voting Rights Act, August 6, 1965, suspended literacy tests in counties where below 50% of the eligible voters had cast ballots in 1964
It also began the process of ending Poll taxes which where ultimately removed by the Supreme Court in 1966
Vietnam
August 2 & 4, 1964 American destroyers were allegedly fired upon by the North Vietnamese
details of these events remain uncertain Johnson used this to order a “limited” retaliation
and he claimed he did not want a full scale war
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Congress then passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which essentially removed their role in declaring war and gave Johnson full power to utilize force in Southeast Asia
Vietnam escalates
by 1968 There were almost 500,000 American troops in Vietnam
US focus began to shift to offensive tactics as opposed to just defending the South
Operation Rolling Thunder: 1965-68 Johnson ordered bombings of North Vietnam to stop supplies and men from reaching resistance in the South
Tet Offensive
Despite problems Johnson feared his strength and word would be doubted if he pulled out of Vietnam
On January 30, 1968 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong Began Tet offensive
Over 100 cities and military bases in South Vietnam were attacked, and the US embassy in Saigon was briefly occupied
Tet Offensive (cont.)
In the end the campaign was a military failure for the North but had a dynamic impact on the American home front as it showed that Johnson's strategy of slowly escalating the war until the North could not keep up would not work
The public demanded a swift end and protests began gaining strong support
Many began criticizing that Johnson's war policies were depleting funds available for popular “Great Society” programs
The End Of Johnson
American leaders requested a 200,000 troop increase, causing many to doubt the strategy after this seemingly unrealistic request
Johnson began to lose support, even among his own party and support for having Eugene McCarthy as the democratic nomination for president grew
Robert F. Kennedy (JFK's brother) announced himself as a candidate as well. Both he and McCarthy operated on antiwar platforms