**Lyndon B. Johnson**

~~~analyzed by Tricia Fernandez and Emily Griffin~~~

Circumstances of the Presidency

Abroad:

• Vietnamese rebellion
  • Used military force in Vietnam without officially declaring war
• War controversy
  • Avoided fully releasing the numbers of soldiers sent out to Vietnam
• Communist threat

At Home:

• discrimination against "colored" races in the South for jobs and public places
  • had been going on since Civil War
• poverty was a large issue; there was a significant gap between rich and poor
• potential round of McCarthyism in response to Vietnam
• at start of presidency, public was mourning JFK and still slightly in shock
• under obligation to finish what Kennedy was interrupted in doing - civil rights
• Democrats were originally a majority but by the end of the terms they were not

Presidential Hats

Commander In Chief

Lyndon B. Johnson was not a very good commander in chief, and his people knew it.  As more men died in Vietnam, Americans began to grow sick of their president, who was showing an increasing inability to end the war successfully.  Lyndon B. Johnson was, first-and-foremost, a politician; this showed during Vietnam(Kunheardt and Kunheardt III, 121).  His sheer lack of honesty regarding the exact number of troops sent overseas in the face of growing anti-war sentiment was almost unforgivable(McPherson, 264).  Furthermore, he is the only American president to date who has lost a war(McPherson, 264).

Chief Executive

As a chief executive, Lyndon B. Johnson was practically unrivaled.  Issues in Vietnam excluded, when he wanted something done, he got it done, and he stopped at almost nothing to achieve it.  His methods of persuasion, which consisted of a rather unorthodox blend of cajolery and intimidation, made sure that Johnson got his way around the White House.  He set up his cabinet and federal agencies using this distinctive persuasive ability, and through them, he managed to push for ambitious works of legislation, an exceptional example being his “Great Society” plan.  This agenda included aid for underprivileged Americans, conservation of natural resources, and consumer protection, much of which was realized through measures such a new public housing program, a “highway beautification” act, and a Public Broadcasting Act(Domestic). 

Chief Diplomat

Diplomacy was not exactly Lyndon B. Johnson’s forte.  To quote Eric Goldman, a presidential historian, foreign policy to LBJ was “‘something you had, like measles, and got over with as quickly as possible’”(McPherson, 263).  He kept away from foreign conflicts as far as possible, preferring to focus his energies on matters at home.  Unfortunately for him, his most memorable dabbling in foreign affairs is, and most likely will always remain, the unsuccessful and unpopular Vietnam War, which was an utter disaster.

Ceremonial Head of State

The only example of any pagentry on Johnson's part was his signing of laws: he would use a different pen for each one and give the pens to people as gifts - but only if he thought they deserved it.  He would sometimes sign laws outside the White House, like his Immigration Act of 1965, which was signed at the Statue of Liberty.  But, as the Miller Center of Public Affairs from the University of Virginia states, "...the Johnson family cut back on the lavish entertaining that had been a Kennedy hallmark".  This president didn't seem to care much about pomp and circumstance.  He was not much of a figurehead.

Manager of the Economy

Johnson's tactic for managing the economy was to use his "persuasion" skills (which were really intimidation skills) to pass a large amount of legislation helping the poor.  He set up CAAs (Community Action Agencies) in poor communities to help regulate all of the programs he has put into place.  These CAAs were required to have participation.  He also instituted the food stamps program, Medicaid and Medicare, and federal aid for education.  These were programs that worked and are still with us today.  This is Johnson's economic legacy.

Party Leader

Johnson was not a shining example of a party leader.  Yes, he relied on the Democrats to get him into office, but once there he didn't advance his connection.  His first election was accompanied by the people electing a huge majority of Democrats to the houses of Congress.  Johnson was a good politician, so he took advantage of this skew, but he didn't augment it by extra campaigning.  He worked with his party, but didn't advance or change it.

National Leader

A national leader is one who expresses the opinions of the general public and influences these opinions in a positive way.  Johnson did positively influence the public in that he managed to pass an unheard-of amount of civil rights legislation.  Since the Civil War the nation had been struggling with the concept and enforcement of civil rights.  Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African-Americans equal rights in public places and at the voting booth.  However, Johnson also diverged from public opinion by involving the country ever deeper in the Vietnam War, a war which was highly disputed.  He also concealed the full involvement of the United States, so the public didn't know much of what he was doing.  This is not a very good personification of a national leader. 

So in ways Johnson was and was not a national leader.  Unfortunately for him, his disastrous Vietnam war overshadowed his stellar domestic reforms, and in the public's eyes Johnson did not express the majority view.

Overall Evaluation

President Lyndon B. Johnson only wore two of his hats well: Manager of the Economy and Chief Executive.  He did a passable job on being a national leader, but his efforts were wrecked by the Vietnam war.  Whatever positive civil and economic reforms he made were offset by this failure.  His one great legacy was his failure to resolve the Vietnam crisis.  As James M. McPherson explains in his book To The Best of My Ability, "...there are two certainties about Johnson: One is that his prestige will always suffer from his having been the only American president to lose a war.  The other is that his larger-than-life personality, coupled with his significant record of both achievement and defeat, will ensure that, unlike so many other presidents, he will never be forgotten" (McPherson 264).

Works Cited

Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt. The American President. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1999.

“Lyndon Baines Johnson.”  Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia.  American President: An Online Reference Resource.  8 May 2007. <http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/lbjohnson>.                                                                                          

"Lyndon B. Johnson talking to staff member."  (Photo).  The American President.  New York: Penguin Putnam, 1999.

“Lyndon B. Johnson.”  PBS Online.  American Experience: The Presidents.  8 May 2007. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/index.html>.

“Lyndon B. Johnson.”  PBS Online.  The American President. 8 May 2007. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/main_episode04.html>.

“Lyndon B. Johnson.”  The White House.  Past Presidents.  8 May 2007. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/lj36.html>.

McPherson, James M. To the Best of my Ability: The American Presidents. New York: DK Publishing, 2002.