Maurice+J.+-+LBJ+-+SP10

Born August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas- Death January 22nd, 1973 Terms of Office: 1st term (1963 to 1964) -2nd term (1964-1969) Vice President: Hubert Humphrey Political Party: Democratic

**__Thesis__** After the assassination of Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson took on the position of President and set out to complete the wishes for America set out from America’s former President John F. Kennedy. Johnson dealt with the problems at home and abroad in the best manner possible but it was not the best way to deal with it and because of it he had failures abroad but because of his success domestically I believe he deserves a grade of “B+”. After Johnson or “LBJ” as he was known was sworn into office he carried on with the majority of Kennedy’s goals. The one’s he fought most greatly for were tax cuts and the civil right’s movement and accomplished both of them as well as the majority of his own goals were accomplished as well. When he was re-elected in 1964 he promises that the Vietnam will be no larger than it was. But, this is one goals he did not meet his handle on foreign affairs was poor and because of this the problems in Vietnam only escalated which led eventually to him loosing most of his credibility as President. However, LBJ created the “Great society” which helped provide much needed services at home ranging from poverty to civil rights and even environment protection. LBJ helped provide other things such as Medicare and Medicaid. So almost every goal was met except for his promise abroad. Johnson was accepted completely by Congress he was loved by the people and his party, which were the majority. For most of Johnson’s presidency Congress’s focus was Great society. Most of what the Great society was is a passing of legislation made by LBJ to increase the prosperity of America. The legislation he passed mainly dealt with improving impoverished areas as well as increase the civil rights of minorities. Some of the major acts that he helped get passed we the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and also his creation through Congress the systems of Medicare and Medicaid. With the Vietnam War not going the way that LBJ wanted there were the Democrats that supported him and his ideas and then there were those whom were against it caused a schism to form and the Democrats causing only more problems in LBJ’s presidency. Some of Johnson’s best outcomes of his presidency were his contributions towards the civil rights movement and his passing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Also other good outcomes were in his battle against poverty and his passing through congress of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. During Johnson’s presidency poverty overall in America declined greatly he kept fighting to make sure people had jobs and money in their pockets.
 * __Goals as President__**
 * __President and Congress__**
 * __Positive Outcomes__**

Although Johnson had numerous successes he also had catastrophic failures such as the problems that happened to be occurring in Vietnam. In the Vietnam War Johnson made the promise that the Vietnam War would not escalate to any higher a level than it is now. However, this is not what happened if anything the polar opposite occurred it became worse and the soldiers in Vietnam rose exponentially. Not only did Johnson add more soldiers but he also wasted an enormous amount of money on the war effort and put America into an even deeper economic debt than it was already in. As well as created a schism in the Democratic Party made the passing of legislation difficult at times when unity was very much needed in Congress.
 * __Negative Outcome__**

Some of his greatest influences on the future came from his decisions he chose in the cases of the Civil Rights movement. As well as the law that went along with that the Voting Rights act. Johnson through his legislation and passing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act created headway for the Civil Rights movement and allowed the spread of racial equality throughout America truly begin. LBJ gave these many liberties to minorities and played a definite part in the advancement of racial equality. Lyndon B. Johnson had became the President of the U.S. in a time where a strong leader was greatly needed. When it came to helping at home Johnson excelled beyond anyone’s expectations but when it came to foreign affairs Johnson did little to nothing significant if anything he only made things worse. His strong beliefs in military power made his ideals on foreign policy look weak as well as people started to not like him as much as they used to he was spending too much money and was sending more Americans than what might have been necessary and for these reasons he deserves a “B+” he had a weak foreign policy and it led to his downfall. Works Cited "American Experience . The Presidents . Lyndon B. Johnson | PBS." //PBS//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. []. "LBJ Biography." //Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library & Museum//. N.p., n.d Web. 20 May 2010. []. "Lyndon B. Johnson | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. [].
 * __Influence on the Future__**
 * __Conclusion__**