Mark+C.+-+LBJ+-+SP10

=//**Lyndon B. Johnson**//=


 * August 27, 1908** //**-** January 22, 1973//
 * Party -** //Democrat
 * Presidential Terms** **-** November 22, 1963 - January 20, 1969 (2 terms)
 * Vice President -** Hubert Humphrey
 * VP Terms -** 1965 - 1969 (2 Terms)//

It was a dark day on November 22, 1963. This was the day when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon Baines Johnson was the Vice President at the time and was hastily rushed into the position of President of the United States. LBJ pledged to keep JFK’s political agenda which was a very smart decision on his part. He was able to accomplish many of JFK’s goals which gained him much support and earned him a grade of a B+.

LBJ kept many of the same goals as JFK when he became president. two of the main goals that he retained were in the areas of Civil Rights and Space Travel. Lyndon succeeded in taking action for Civil rights. His first piece of legislation was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This outlawed most forms of racial segregation. The second act that he passed for this was the Voting Rights Act. This outlawed all discrimination in voting and led to millions of more votes coming from the black population. His other goal was also accomplished. At the beginning of Kennedy’s presidency, he said that by the end of the decade, an American would step foot on the moon. LBJ accomplished this in December of 1968. This was a major step in space travel for the entire world.

Johnson had a great relationship with both houses of Congress. Both were majority democrat which worked well in his favor. Because of this, he was able to pass a lot of legislation. He passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act to end discrimination in the United States. He also passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Acts and the Higher Education Act which helped to fund schools in poorer neighborhoods. His support also showed in the Vietnam War. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed in both the House and the Senate with only two people in the Senate voting nay. This really helped him be a good President.

One of the greatest achievements during his presidency came in the areas of civil rights, education and poverty. As shown in the above two sections, Johnson was a big help in the areas of civil rights and education. What you may not know is that he also took a big step towards ending poverty. Johnson called this the “War on Poverty” and under this movement created many bills and acts that are still in place today. Some of the programs that were created were Food Stamps, Medicare and Medicaid.

Johnson only had one major blunder during his terms. This blunder was concerning the Vietnam War. The problem was that there was not much support for the war in America. Johnson had the power to do what he wanted because of the Tonkin Resolution but was afraid to lose the public support. He started to take action secretly. Eventually, some of the actions became known by the public and many people were angry. He lost a lot of support for his programs as well which furthered the state of his support.

The major thing that influenced the lives of people in future generations resulted from his war on poverty. Almost all of the programs that he started are still in use today to help the poor. Food Stamps are used today to provide food to poverty stricken families. Medicare and Medicaid are also used today to help people with health care. They help the people pay the immense bills associated with health care. These programs are great because there is no downside and they help many people all across the country.

In conclusion, LBJ handled the abrupt start of his presidency very well. He retained many of the programs started by Kennedy which boosted his support right from the start. He also accomplished a lot of great things throughout his presidency. It was only nearing the end of his presidency that he started to lose support and that was because of the Vietnam War. Due to the fact that many of his programs were very successful, the good out ways the bad which is why he deserves a B+ for his presidency.

=**Bibliography**=


 * "American President: Lyndon Baines Johnson." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. 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. .


 * "President Lyndon Johnson." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the largest and most complete history site on the web//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. .


 * mid-1950s, the, and Senator Johnson was clearly altering. "Lyndon Johnson." //History Learning Site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. .