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Lyndon B. Johnson Born – August 27, 1908 Died – January 22, 1973 Political Party - Democrat Term – 36th President, 1963-1965, no Vice-President 1965-1969, Hubert Humphrey – Vice President

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice President at the time, became our 36th president. Although following in the foot steps of Kennedy and his goals and ideals, Johnson’s presidency had to deal with the lengthy troubles in Vietnam. The war took precedence over his agenda of a ‘Great Society’, which led to an unpopular status amongst the citizens. “C” is a fair grade for Johnson, mainly due to the war.

In the Presidents first term, his goals were to carry out the programs that Kennedy had started. He even kept many of Kennedy’s staff in place to accomplish this. Johnson was reelected in 1965 with 61% of the vote and vowed to continue on with the Kennedy programs, but at this point, he had his own agenda as well. The President coined the phrase ‘Great Society” in one of his speeches, referring to programs he was introducing to Congress in 1965. His goals were for the people; aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime, expanding the right to vote. Many of his recommendations were enacted. In his funding for education, the Elementary and secondary Education Act was passed in 1965, giving large amounts of Federal money to public schools. He also signed the Public Broadcasting Act in 1967 to create educational television programs. His administration met many of his other goals as well, including the Revenue Act of 1964 and the Economic Opportunity Act, both fighting poverty. In 1965, the Medicare amendment to the Social Security Act was adopted, which gave lower income, elderly people, government funded medical assistance. Civil rights were also a major issue. In a time with so much focus on domestic affairs like voting rights (mostly in the South), ending segregation in public places and greatly increased government funding for the poor, you’d think it unlikely the country would be in disarray with urban riots. However, from Harlem to Los Angles, racial tensions turned into cities burning, especially after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. This was about the end of the Great Society effort for Johnson; he turned his attention to foreign affairs.

The President, although not always seeing eye to eye, had a good working relationship with Congress and totaled 30 vetoes during his two terms. During both terms, Congress majority was democratic, so legislation was rarely heavily opposed. As well as the Acts listed above, Johnson protected millions of acres of federal land with the Wilderness act of 1964 and a tariff (the Chicken Tax) on European products (potato starch, brandy, dextrin and light trucks). The tax, equivalent to about 25% was put on these products after France and West Germany placed taxes on US chicken imports. It was mainly established as retaliation for the tariff on chicken imports, but ultimately limited competition in truck sales from Germany, it is still in place today. There were many other laws as well that were established in Johnson’s administration that have helped to shape our country.

With many accomplishments to his credit, including his desire for a Great Society, Medicare, education funding and so on. My favorite is the Apollo 8, manned space flight to the moon. In the middle of an era of unrest and race riots, The Johnson administration and NASA sent astronauts to the moon. It seems fairly common place by today’s standards, but back in the late sixties it was a tremendous engineering feat that helped pull our country together. It also showed other countries, including Russia, who we were in a “Space Race’ with, our technological abilities. Many of today’s technologies were born in the NASA programs from the sixties and seventies.

It probably goes without saying; the most negative outcome during Johnson’s presidency was the deaths of 58,000 American troops during the Vietnam War. Johnson approved NSAM 273 shortly after he took office in 1963. This act directed the US government “to assist the people and Government of South Vietnam to win their contest against the externally directed and supported Communist conspiracy.” From that point on, the number of American troops continued to escalate till the end of Johnson’s presidency in 1969. At that time there were 535,000 troops in Vietnam. As with all wars, it was a lose-lose situation for Johnson. Without the increase of troops and a win at any cost determination he would have looked weak to the public and other counties. But because of his pursuit to defeat communism, he lost his ability to create the lasting changes he sought in his Great Society. Either way it was tragic and devastating to the United States, Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians. It wasn’t until after Johnson’s death in 1973, that Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment, which prohibited any direct military involvement in Vietnam. The War between North and South Vietnam ended in 1975

The decision to remain involved in the Vietnam conflict, even with the public dissention and protesting, showed a disregard for popular opinion. Johnson saw his approval rating plummet. To many, the war was “unwinnable”, though his administration could not find a way out. It seems these are the lessons to be learned by other administrations. History seems to repeat itself on a smaller scale today in the Middle East. Is the current administration making the same mistakes? But on a more positive note, the actions he took regarding civil rights were an important effect on Americans. He fought hard for racial equality and the reforms he made can still be seen today, such as Medicare or voting rights.

With all the facts in place, Johnson was not a bad President. His ideas of a Great Society, a better life for all was very admirable. His Presidency wasn’t riddled with scandals or moral mistakes, but his legacy is the deaths of so many men. Unfortunately, this is probably, not a fitting epitaph for a man who fought for civil rights, racial inequalities and education. I don’t feel the country was better off with LB Johnson as President. He performed his duties as he saw fit, I see them as unfinished.

Works Cited:

"American President: Lyndon Baines Johnson." //Miller Center of Public Affairs //. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <[]> "Lyndon B. Johnson." //The White House //. The White House. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. < [] >. "Lyndon B. Johnson." //Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia //. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. +, 14 Dec. 2009. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. < [] >. "Vietnam War." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia //. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <[]>.