Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969)

 

By: Amrith Shettigar and Alex Yang

 

 

 

 

Challenges that Lyndon B. Johnson faced:

 

Social Circumstances:    

HOME:

       -Lyndon B. Johnson became the thirty sixth president of the United States of America after John F. Kennedy, the previous president, had been brutally murdered. The nation was now in an unconsolable state of sorrow and it was up to Lyndon B. Johnson to help the wounded country to get back on its feet. One of the first actions that LBJ took as president was to organize a special commmision to investigate the death of President Kennedy.

 

      -When Lyndon B. Johnson became president he was faced with persisting racial injustice, segregation and inequality in a caucasian dominated society. Johnson was left to pick up the broken pieces of a dream from John F. Kennedy for a society in which all humans were granted equal rights and assured equality.

 

      - Also  summer riots began occuring within major cities such as Detroit, Newark and Watts due to the lack of dramatic change that was present in other cities.

 

 

ABROAD:

       -President Lyndon B. Johnson lost much of the support of the American people because of his numerous poor desicions in Vietnam and his badly timed entrance to the war. Also there was the threat of the Soviet Union using nuclear weapons in outer space or in orbiting, this could result in the Soviet Union getting a dangerous upper hand in the world by using force.

 

Political Circumstances:

HOME:

       -When Johnson was running for reelection in 1964 came across Bobby Roosevelt while searching for a running mate. Though they had seemed a perfect pair to run for office Lyndon B. Johnson and Bobby were actually political enemies. Their minor political aggressions had grown while Lyndon was the vice president and it had become apparent that Bobby roosevelt thought of Johnson as an "usurper of his brother's glory". Lyndon feared that Roosevelt would use vice presidency to create a strong platform from which he could run for president in the following election. However, these fears were to be meaningless because Bobby Roosevelt withdrew his name from the ballot.

 

ABROAD:

       -Lyndon B. Johnson was also faced with a new threat in the Middle East after the Arab-Israeli War, there was a potential for a nuclear missile crisis. 

 

Economic Circumstances:

HOME:

       - As America continued on the path to prosperity many citizens were still left behind. Throughout Lyndon's presidency he had to face an ever widening gap between the very wealthy citizens and those in poverty. Also unemployment rates of young african males skyrocketed from 8% to about 25%. The number of children on welfare programs increased drastically from 1.6 million to 2.4 million.

 

ABROAD: 

      - America began to enter a crisis as the questionable war in Vietnam began to take its toll. The war was extremely expensive and not only took its pay in money but also in the loss of American citizens.

 

 

Lyndon's Presidential Hats: (Grading scale out of 10)

 

Commander in Chief:

     -Of all the Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential roles this was potentially the weakest. Infact his efforts in this area of expertise were virtually complete failures. Unexperienced and unaware Lyndon B. Johnson commited his first mistake by getting the involved the North and South Vietnam conflict under the pretense that he was protecting South East Asia from Communism; In late 1963 he approved a national security agency memorandum that allowed troops to go to Vietnam in order to assist South Vietnam against communism. In late 1964 Johnson was given the right to do what ever he deemed nessesary in Vietnam. By the end of his presidency the number of troops in Vietnam had risen from 20,000 to 535,000 people. Even with relentless bombing and a drastic increase in troops it became apparent that the American's were losing. This caused extensive protests against the war back in America andAmerican citizens held Lyndon completely responsible for the war. Therefore this event caused many of Johnson's other accomplishments to be overlooked or ignored.

     - Also Lyndon B. Johnson was critisized for supporting Reid Cabral who had lost by popular vote to Juan Bosch in the Dominican Republic. Johnson sent 20,000 marines in order to help Reid gain and maintain power in the Dominican Republic.

 

      - However Lyndon Johnson was successful in suppressing a riot (with violence) in Panama that was geared toward controling the American controlled Panama Canal. However after many negotiations the Canal Zone returned to Panama in 1999.

 

        - Over all Lyndon's efforts as Commander in Chief were in vain and his inability to cope with crisis results in a ruined reputation despite his extensive success in other areas. President Lyndon B. Johnson's hat of Commander of Chief must have fallen off because he was extremely weak in this area.

 

GRADE: 3

 

Chief Executive

 

        - In the Area of Chief Exuctive, Lyndon B. Johnson was extremely successful. During the course of his Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson managed to pass 200 pieces of legislation. Of these his first and most famous, the Civil Rights, legislation was passed due to Johnson's expertise in politics. He was well known for his methods of persuasion which were described as "An incredibly potent mixture of badgering, flattery, threats, reminders of past favors, and future advantages". With a head full of ambition Lyndon B. Johnson barreled through all political barriers. With political experience from becoming the Senator for New Jersey he used his skills to get what he deemed necessary.

 

        - Also Lyndon Johnson created many social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, immigration reform and the National Endowments for the arts and humanity.

 

        - Lyndon passed numerous laws that guaranteed equality in education, public buildings/facilities, and the unalienable human rights. Of these the most prominent were the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act. Both guaranteed minority races the same rights as everyone else. Unlike previous presidents Lyndon B. Johnson made sure that these laws were strictly enforced.

 

       -Johnson was an extremely good politician due to his experience in the political field and his ability to cope with political instability and issues. With his political talents Johnson became extremely resourceful while facing the issues that were put before him

 

Grade: 9

 

Chief Diplomat:

 

 

       -Lyndon B. Johnson had many ups and downs in his ability with foreign diplomacy. Despite Johnson's complete failure in Commander and Chief his abilities as Chief Diplomat.

 

      - Lyndon B. Johnson was extremely valuable in facing a potential nuclear catastrophe in a post Arab-Israeli war Middle East. After careful negotiations and extensive persuasion. Both sides decided to abort all hostile nuclear activity and come to a fragile peace.

 

      -Also Johnson was key in resolving another issue. Soviet Union was planning on launching nuclear missiles to outer space and to orbit the Earth. Lyndon immediately made contact with Soviet Union and convinced them not to follow through with their plans. Also in order to prevent further emergencies Johnson helped the United States become part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which outlawed the transportation of nuclear weapons to other countries. Therefore shattering any hope of a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also he passed laws that outlawed the launching of Nuclear Weapons in to outer space.

 

      - However Lyndon B. Johnson failed miserably in his Diplomacy with The North Vietnamese Leader, Ho Chi Mihn. This is because his signature aggressive style was completely ineffective with an adamant leader. In fact even when the U.S.A. paused its bombing of Vietnam the Vietnamese leader would not negotiate. Ho Chi Mihn was not intimidated and therefore Lyndon's inexperience with other political tactics caused him to be out played in the Vietnam War.

 

GRADE: 7

 

Ceremonial Head of State: 

 

      -Lyndon B. Johson did not create significant advances as the Ceremonial Head of State. However he made public apperances and appeals in order to pass legislation and gain much needed public support.

 

      - During the beginning of his presidential career Lyndon B. Johnson traveled to the University of Michigan and revealed his plan for the future of the United States of America. This extremely ambitious plan, aptly named "The Great Society", was complete social reform of American society that would result in elimnation of racial inequalities and equal opportunites for economic success.

 

      - During the course of his Presidential Career President Johnson often met with the leader African American Civil Rights' Activists, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lyndon made his support for Civil Rights and MLK apparent to the public. This resulted in Lyndon winning the hearts of the African American citizens in the society.

 

      -Lyndon B. Johnson did not extensively use the rights endowed upon him as Ceremonial Head of State due to the major distractions that resulted from the Vietnam War.

 

GRADE: 6 

 

Manager of the Economy:

 

      -LBJ accomplished a lot for the economy when he was president because he knew how to persuade the congress and get his legislations passed. This made Johnson’s administration one of the most efficient at passing legislation. He passed many acts that dealt with issues such as unemployment, poverty, and helped to improve people’s quality of life. These acts also dealt with some of the countries domestic affairs, such as health, education, and welfare, in order to help improve America’s economy.

 

      - President Lyndon B Johnson passes the Tax Bill that was initiated by Kennedy on Feb. 26, 1964. Leading to the $11.5 billion tax cut that also reduced marginal income tax rates by about 20%, from 90% to 70%.

 

      - In 1964, LBJ passed the Economic Opportunities Act in order as part of his effort to fight the War on Poverty. The act created many programs to help people get more economic opportunities, while also helping the poor and the unemployed. It also helped the countries health, education, and welfare while creating more jobs. These programs were created and funded by the OEO (Office of Economic Opportunities), which was created as part of the Economic Opportunities Act. By 1969 there were about 1000 agencies covering 2,300 out of 3,000 counties in the US that were recognized by the OEO.

 

      - LBJ also passed the Higher Education Act in 1965 that gave more federal funding to schools and colleges for each

student that attends the school. This act also offered more scholarships and created more low-interest student loans to help improve education.

 

       - However Lyndon B. Johnson was unable to maintain an economic advantage due to the enormous losses of resources from the Vietnam War the huge funds that were required to maintain the offensive.

 

GRADE: 8 

 

Party Leader:

 

       -He managed to keep the Democratic Party under control during the troubling time of hat Vietnam War and effectively passed legislation on domestic issues, after he took over for JFK. Johnson did a few good things for his party but also became unpopular and lost support for Democratic Party because of the Vietnam War.

 

       - The New Deal and Great Society were main reasons that the Democratic Party won the almost all the elections from beginning of 1930’s to the end of the 1960’s. LBJ created his own social reforms called the Great Society based on the New Deal by FDR. The Great Society focused on poverty and racial injustice and helped to improve the lives of the American people.

 

       - LBJ effectively took over the presidency after the JFK was assassinated and passed many of Kennedy’s legislation and followed through towards the best interests of the Democratic Party.

 

       - However Lyndon lost most of his public support for Democratic Party because of his actions during the Vietnam War, which were highly unpopular and protested.

 

GRADE: 5

 

National Leader:

 

       -LBJ was a great national leader and had many new ideas and laws that he put into action.

He did a lot for domestic affairs in the US. He focused also on education, transportation laws, poverty, health care, civil rights, and welfare. LBJ accomplished a lot during his administration; he passed an unimaginable amount of legislation that greatly helped to develop many domestic issues in America. All of these actions were influenced by his Great Society reform plan and his unconditional War on Poverty. But despite his many great accomplishments, LBJ became very unpopular during the Vietnam War because of the many decisions he made. The Vietnam War greatly impacted his presidency and continuously overshadows the many great things he did.

 

        - LBJ created the OEO and other agencies through the Economic Opportunities Act.

 

        - He created expanded health care and created programs such as Medicare and Medicaid for the people.

 

        - He passed the immigration act in 1965 and the Wilderness act in 1964. This dealt with the issue of immigration and protection of the environment.

 

        - Passed the Higher Education Act in 19651965 that gave more federal funding to schools and colleges.

 

        - President Lyndon B Johnson passed the Tax Bill that was initiated by Kennedy that created huge tax cuts.

 

        -LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination of any kind based on race, sex, religion, etc…

 

GRADE: 9

 

Overall Assessment:

 

“The presidency of Lyndon Johnson was a watershed presidency, one of the great divides in American history in the evolution of the country’s policies, both foreign and domestic. It was a presidency that changed America forever.”

         Lyndon B Johnson was unrivaled at persuading Congress to pass legislation, infact his political talent was one of his greatest strengths. His presidency has greatly impacted the country’s domestic issues of education, healthcare, welfare, poverty, and many other policies that still affect our lives to this very day. Also Johnson directly addressed the issue of the widening gap between the rich and the poor  by creating the "War on Poverty". He created many programs to eliminate poverty, end discrimination, and he strove for racial equality.Unfortunately, one of the most ambitious plans in all of presidential history, Lyndon's "Great Society", was completely ruined by horrors that were caused by the Vietnam War. In fact almost all of Lyndon B. Johnsons important accomplishments are completely overlooked, such as passing the Civil Rights, and he is thought of as the President that led America in to the Vietnam War. The War conceals the greatness of this President and therefore Lyndon B. Johnson is not understood to his full potential.

 

 

Final Grade: 6.7 (Above Average)

 

 

 

MLA Works Cited:

 

Bacon, Paul. “Lyndon B. Johnson.”  PBS Online.  The American President. 8 May  

           2007. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/main_episode04.html.>

 

“Lyndon B. Johnson.”  PBS Online.  American Experience: The Presidents. 7 May 2007.   

         <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/index.html.>

         

 

“Lyndon B. Johnson.”  The White House.  Past Presidents. 6 May   

         2007.<http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/lj36.html>.