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Lyndon Baines Johnson (8/27/1908 - 1/22/73) Democrat In office from 1963 to 1969 V.P- Herbert H. Humphrey (2nd term)

Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy's vice president, came in office after Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Although many believe that Johnson fulfilled many of the objectives that Kennedy was to accomplish during his presidency, Johnson and his administration were very effective while in office. The domestic policies, which were referred to as his "Great Society" plan were extremely effective and groundbreaking, ultimately giving rights to the underprivileged citizens and people of that time. The protection of consumers and natural resources was also part of his domestic agenda. But, as far as foreign policy, Johnson was in office while there were conflicts in Vietnam causing the nation to become involved. This later proved to be a major problem for America. But, due to the efficiency of his presidency,especially regarding domestic policy Johnson deserves an B. An A+ would have been rewarded if he had found a way to isolate America from the involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Although it was a strategy to promote and preserve democracy, the war turned out to be far more worse than expected. An A+ would also have been awarded if Kennedy's view on a subject didn't influence the policy that he and his administration enacted.

The goals of Lyndon B. Johnson were clearly expressed in his inaugural address for his second term, but in his first term his policy was heavily influenced by Kennedy's positions on topics. Many people claim that Johnson had passed legislation that Kennedy was supposed to sign before his assassination. Therefore, many of them discredit many of Johnson's policies during his first term. But, during his second term many goals were implied through the policies that were passed. In his inaugural speech he proposed many goals such as unity, justice, and change. But those are very general goals which almost every president hopes to achieve. Some of the goals were the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, educational funding from the federal government, and assistance with housing and poverty. These goals were concluded from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (which established federal public school funding), the Revenue Act of 1964 (which helped fight poverty), and the establishment of HUD. these were all part of his "Great Society" agenda.

Lyndon B. Johnson had a great relationship with Congress. During his terms he was able to enact many of the policies that he proposed as part of his "Great Society" plan. There were the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, the voting Rights Act of 1965, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and the Bilingual Education Act, just to name a few. During the 89th and 90th Congress' the House majority were also both Democrat. This also aided Johnson in the process of getting his policies enacted that were relative to his agenda. He also vetoed 30 bills during his terms, which were not overridden by Congress. Therefore, he showed great executive power during this time, mostly eliminating the policies which did not favor his goals. This included the proposition of tariffs and compensation for a natural disaster which occurred in the West.

During Lydon B. Johnson's presidency, there were many decisions made and policies which were created that proved to be beneficial to the nation, but others that weren't. A decision that proved to be disastrous for the U.S was the involvement in the Vietnam War. although America had been assisting the South Vietnamese for a year previous to 1965, in 1965 Johnson ordered operation Rolling Thunder, which authorized the Air Force to bomb North Korea. Shortly afterward troops were being deployed to Vietnam to help fight the battle against Communism. This led to over 500,000 troops being sent to Vietnam by the end of Johnson's last term, with roughly a tenth of them being killed after the war ended much later. the most beneficial policy that was passed during Johnson's term was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This ended segregation in public places and facilities. Johnson saw this as a duty to fulfill for Kennedy, since Kennedy was the one that proposed it in 1963. Therefore, Johnson, who was raised in a segregated environment, put aside his reputation to pass this landmark piece of legislation. This ended the Jim Crow laws in the south and helped make racism more subtle. Although it was not the end of racism, the subtlety was the a giant step towards equality and respect towards all types of people.

The actions made by the Johnson administration had some of the largest impacts on future generations. It created a system to help with housing and urbanization (HUD). They created landmark policies, which strove for equality, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. The administration also created Medicare and Medicaid. These two programs became entitlements, which along with Social Security, became a major issue domestically. The two programs were used to provide health care for the poor and elderly. But, it eventually branched off to other forms of means tested problems such as disabilities. But, these two programs are responsible for a large part of the federal budget. They are also currently responsible for the large debt burden that America currently has. Therefore, although there were many policies that had a positive impact, there were a few major ones, which had large negative impacts.

Overall, the Johnson presidency did a good job during the presidency. Although they created many policies which strove to ensure equality and a safety net for citizens, there were a few that over time proved to be disastrous. Therefore, the the grade of a B is rightfully deserved for Johnson and his presidency. He did help make the nation a fair place by placing the American values of equality and justice first. But, he also got the U.S involved in a war that caused many casualties and created two programs which are responsible for a large portion of the current national debt.

Works Cited Germany, Kent. "American President: Lyndon Baines Johnson: A Life in Brief." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 19 May 2011. .

Johnson, Lyndon B. "Lyndon Baines Johnson: Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More//. Web. 19 May 2011. .

"Lyndon B. Johnson." Web. 19 May 2011. .

"Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Art & History - 89th Congress." //Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Art & History - Art & History Home//. Web. 19 May 2011. .