Lyndon B. Johnson, famously known as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States who was in power when the Vietnam War took place. Though Johnson made many controversial decisions while in office, his goal was to ensure the security and welfare of the United States. LBJ once said, “If we quit Vietnam tomorrow we’ll be fighting in Hawaii and next week we’ll have to be fighting in San Francisco” (Important People). This is one outcome of many that could have resulted if he didn’t send 500,000 American troops to Vietnam. After assuming office following Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson was known for being a public supporter of South Vietnam against the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong (Rosenberg). At first, LBJ stood down from his …show more content…
But the fallout of that war will always hover over his presidency with endless “what-ifs” and “how much furthers” his Great Society programs might have reduced poverty, increased opportunity, or extended the penetration of the federal government into our lives…” (Califano XVI)
Although Johnson’s main focus was keeping the security of the United States and its people in check, he wanted to do so with both the approval and support of American citizens through eliminating poverty and injustice in America. This is exactly what his ‘Great Society’ did for Americans during the war.
In the end, Johnson was right in his decision to send American troops to North Vietnam. Although he did risk his position as President and put the lives of many men and women in danger, he knew what the outcome would’ve been if he hadn’t acted in the way he did. After Operation Rolling Thunder, even congress showed its support of Johnson when they voted 88 to 2 in the Senate and 416 to 0 in the House of Representatives in response to his actions (Trueman). He also created a sense of wellbeing for the people of the United States through his Great Society by passing the Civil Rights Bill and the Economic Opportunity Act. This shows how, while controversial, his decisions both ensured the security and prosperity of the United States and American
Johnson was put into office as the 36th president of the United States after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November of 1963, his first task was one close to his heart, which was to alleviate poverty and create what he called a “Great Society” for all Americans. This is where Medicare and the Head Start program came from which led to better healthcare, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. Despite his amazing achievements at home in the US, he was also known very well for his failure to lead the nation out of the devastation of the Vietnam War which was travesty from 1954 to 1975. It was after this that he decided not to run for office again and he quietly retired to his ranch in Texas in January of 1969 (History.com Staff.
JOHN F. KENNEDY IN VIETNAM There are many critical questions surrounding United States involvement in Vietnam. American entry to Vietnam was a series of many choices made by five successive presidents during these years of 1945-1975. The policies of John F. Kennedy during the years of 1961-1963 were ones of military action, diplomacy, and liberalism. Each of his decision was on its merits at the time the decision was made. The belief that Vietnam was a test of the Americas ability to defeat communists in Vietnam lay at the center of Kennedy¡¦s policy. Kennedy promised in his inaugural address, Let every nation know...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. From the 1880s until World War II, France governed Vietnam as part of French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos. The country was under the formal control of an emperor, Bao Dai. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese struggled for their independence from France during the first Indochina War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South. For this reason the United States became involved in Vietnam because it believed that if all of the country fell under a Communist government, Communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia and further. This belief was known as the domino theory. The decision to enter Vietnam reflected America¡¦s idea of its global role-U.S. could not recoil from world leadership. The U.S. government supported the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. government wanted to establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), which extended protection to South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in case of Communist subversion. SEATO, which came into force in 1955, became the way which Washington justified its support for South Vietnam; this support eventually became direct involvement of U.S. troops. In 1955, the United States picked Ngo Dinh Diem to replace Bao Dai as head of the anti-Communist regime in South Vietnam. Eisenhower chose to support Ngo Dinh Diem. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass., on May 29, 1917. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940 and joined the Navy the next year.
When Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded the presidency after John F. Kennedy's assassination he spoke of his vision of a Great Society in America. This Great Society included "an end to poverty and racial injustice," and also was intended to turn America into a place where kids can enhance their mind, broaden their talents, and people could restore their connection with the environment. In order to reach his goal, LBJ enacted numerous proposals involving taxes, civil rights, poverty, and much more. For the most part Johnson did an excellent job on delivering his promises, but international affairs threatened the Great Society and although LBJ won the presidency in a landslide victory in 1964, by 1966 he and the Supreme Court began to face serious criticism.
Lyndon Johnson was a teacher at WElhusen Elementary School in Coltulla Texas. During this time he seen that the children's parents are giving them all they can, an they are hardworking people. Having money, eating, and learning was difficulties to them at this time, but the Civil Rights Acts guarnteed all Americans the right to use the facilties. The White House wasn't LBJ's the natural habbit, he wasn't used to the luxary. Texas is a long from way from the White House, and their attitude was a lot different than he was used to. Johnson put in a lot of effort to changing things in American.
This book follows Johnsons political career, from a eager hard-working congressional secretary to the landslide victor of the 1964 presidential election. It discusses his "liberal" political views, It seems as though Johnson thought he could help the American people single-handedly and he seemed determined to do it. Johnson is He is praised for his vast legislative record and his stand on poverty and eventually, civil rights. He is criticized for his methods and
President Andrew Johnson lifted himself out of extreme poverty to become President of the United States. He was a man with little education who climbed the political ladder and held many different high offices. As a strict constitutionalist, Johnson believed in limiting the powers of the federal government. President Johnson was one of the most bellicose Presidents who “fought” Congress, critics, and many others. President Andrew Johnson faced numerous problems post-Civil War Era including reconstructing the Southern states to combine peacefully with the Union, his battles with Congress, and his career ending impeachment.
As part of his campaign, Linden B. Johnson directed his efforts toward the improvement of life of those in poverty, focusing little attention to the Vietnam War. Yet once elected, he brought upon “the escalation of the Vietnam war to an intensity that few Americans expected when they cast their ballots for him” (Walsh). Johnson’s increased interest and support for the war created a major issue of misrepresentation, his election came from his ideas aimed at the “Great Society,” yet he authorized the increase of the original “20,000 U.S. troops to more than a half million” to serve in Vietnam (Walsh). The policies that the former president was elected under was what the general public hoped would come from his stay in office, yet his legacy would go on to be almost entirely regarding his involvement in the war. Not only did he bring the United States deeper into the war, he also failed “to honestly discuss how badly the war was going and to reveal the true costs of the conflict” (Walsh). This duplicity on the part of the former president, forged for a severe difference in preference and policy between him and the majority of United States public that had elected him into office for his first official presidential term in
The initial policy decision made by President Lyndon B. Johnson was to “Americanize” the Vietnam War (Tindall and Shi, p. 1341). This meant that American troops would be sent to Vietnam in large numbers to fight. The goal was to keep South Vietnam from falling to Communism, and
Lyndon B. Johnson became president in 1963. As many know LBJ had the mandate to get things done. His most notable achievement being ‘The Great Society’. While The Great Society was a great thing for many people and achieved never before seen progress in civil rights and poverty, it was very expensive. The Vietnam War that LBJ escalated was very expensive as well. As it is noted in McDougal Littell’s The Americans, “In February 1964 Congress passed a tax reduction of over $10 billion into law” (Source 10). While tax cu...
His Great Society improved the lives of so many people. Some of the programs, like the Medicaid and Medicare Acts, which are still used today, created a safer and more reliant community. He was also a huge factor in helping abolish discrimination. By signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Johnson made it clear that discrimination in the United States was coming to an end. Then, he signed the Voting Rights Act which gave all American the right to vote regardless of a person’s race, a person’s color, or a person’s knowledge. After that, he abolished the poll tax which stated that citizens no longer had to pay a tax to go to the polls and vote for a president. He was also the president during the Vietnam War. People say that he caused the death of hundreds of thousands of American lives during the Vietnam War. In the future, people will look back at Lyndon B Johnson’s presidency and call it one of the most controversial terms served in presidential
Johnson wanted to continue with Kennedy’s unfinished work of the “New Frontier” after Kennedy’s term. The “Great Society” a term that Johnson coined, was one of the greatest reform agendas since Roosevelt’s “New Deal”. (US History, 2014) The great society included ideas to help put an end to poverty and of racial injustice, as well as major spen...
Johnson faced a number of defining moments during the tumultuous 1960s: he advanced the Kennedy legacy, presided over the Great Society, but started the Vietnam War. Johnson’s legacy was very controversial. He achieved a vast expansion in domestic policies through his efforts in constructing the Great Society, and is essentially considered as one of the most successful domestic policy presidents in U.S. history. Nevertheless, his tragic handling in foreign affairs ruined his reputation. The Vietnam War not only dragged his approval rating from “78 percent in December 1963 down to 49 percent in Jan 1969,” but also switched his legacy from a triumph to a tragedy. Nowadays, he is, in fact, most remembered for his failure in the Vietnam War. Admittedly, Johnson’s mistakes in the Vietnam War harmed American deeply. Many claim that his administration has been the worst in the modern-age presidency. Nevertheless, while acknowledging his tremendous accomplishments in domestic affairs, Johnson’s legacy still deserves more respect.
Johnson was a very versatile man whom, while being extremely involved in politics, he also took part in the U.S Naval Reserve and on June 21st, 1940, he was appointed as the Lieutenant Commander. With this versatility he became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the armed forces, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Months later Johnson actuall...
“In July 1965, Lyndon Johnson chose to Americanize the war in Vietnam.” Although Johnson chose to enter America into the war, there were events previous that caused America to enter and take over the war. The South Vietnamese were losing the war against Communism – giving Johnson all the more reason to enter the war, and allowing strong American forces to help stop communism. There were other contributing factors leading up to the entrance of the war; America helped assist the French in the war, Johnson’s politics, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and the 1954 Geneva Conference. President Johnson stated, “For 10 years three American Presidents-President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President--and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam.”
During the LBJ administration, Johnson was focused on ending the War on Poverty, the centerpiece of his presidency, and bringing justice to his fellow men and women. However, his pressing desire was to give the “Great Society a chance to grow and prosper! Johnson inherited the presidential seat after the death of John F. Kennedy. Immediately, Johnson was concentrated on establishing himself in the office of the Presidency, and to continue the legacy of JFK. Johnson quickly administered a group of domestic programs which he called the “Great Society”. Johnson’s vision for the Great Society drew on both his own primary identification with the New Deal (which he supported heavily) and his commitment to go beyond the achievement of FDR to create an America worthy of leadership in the twenty-first century. For America, this was the perfect time to build a Great Society. LBJ was confident that this was a time to prove that our material progress is only the foundation on which we will build a richer life in mind and spirit. He believed that the Great Society rested on an abu...