...Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency was extremely active! In addition to pursuing the Vietnam war, President Johnson pressed on with an expansive slate of programs labeled as the great society that included three landmark civil rights bills and medicare. But Vietnam's impact damaged Johnson’s political base severely and he declined to run in the 1968 United States presidential election. In the presidential campaign of 1960 , President Johnson was elected Vice President under President John F. Kennedy. Johnson ran as Kennedy’s running mate in the campaign. When President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson was then sworn in as the 36th president of the United States of America. President Johnson’s vision was to build...
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...Thomas 1 Lady Bird (Claudia Alta Taylor) Johnson: The Emergence of a Public First Lady with Private Influence “The Evolution of the role of First Lady in America during the past half century has been….almost as dramatic as the expansion of the Role of the Chief Executive.” [1] Katie Louchheim in the March 1964 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal observed this phenomenon. The most significant development was the power acquired by the first lady through her position as a public figure: “Regardless of her distaste for public life, her role can no longer be a private one; she acquires indirect power when her husband takes the oath of office as President of the United States.”[2] In the Era of 1964-1977 the role of the first lady began to transform from one of a political celebrity to the first lady as a Political savvy activist. One of the First Ladies during this era instrumental in the emergence of the first lady as a proactive political activist was Lady Bird (Claudia Alta Taylor) Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Through exploring Lady Bird’s roles as a wife, mother, conservationist, businesswoman, philanthropist and First Lady, one will further understand how her influences and actions transformed the role of the modern First lady and how she used her platform to eventually transform not only cities and states but an entire nation well after her role as First lady. In order to fully understand Lady Bird Johnson’s...
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...man, woman, and child is endowed with equal rights and it is a crazy notion to suggest otherwise. However in the spring of 1964 not every man was considered equal, especially in the south. However, at the same time, a movement was building to codify equal rights spearheaded by Lyndon B. Johnson. Of course there were so many individuals and factors involved in the passage of the bill, however, in this paper I will focus mainly on LBJ and his contribution to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the initial bill was brought before Congress during JFK’s presidency, his assassination led to Johnson successfully shepherding the bill to passage. Johnson’s success can be attributed to his headstrong endurance, long time relationships with members of Congress, and the policy window due to the death of President Kennedy that finally got the legislation passed. In order to fully examine and give context to Johnson’s struggle for passage of this important bill, this paper will also touch upon who LBJ was before his presidency and what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did for him, his perception, and his presidency. Lyndon Baines Johnson really got his start in government when he entered the Senate in 1949. Johnson had been a Representative to Texas’ 10th district; his win was due to the death of James P. Buchanan which created an open seat, prior to winning his Senate seat. His real drive and passion for politics showed in the amount of time and effort LBJ put into his work. Like most Americans...
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...Civil Rights had a huge effect on how people in society look at life now and how we as African Americans are being treated. Civil rights were a way to desegregate everyone from race to sex. Equality was a characteristic that pleaded its case for years and years. People can now realize that we once didn’t have the same privileges we have today. For example, Blacks couldn’t use the same facilities as white people or even attend to the same school as team. Not only were the blacks striving for freedom but they also strived for justice. Everyone didn’t have the honor to be an influence and make history but many other people did. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the historical individuals that left memories on this earth. After reviewing his and Former president Lyndon Johnson’s speeches, I have made many inferences that can not only do good to society today but as well as society from back in the day. In Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, on August 28th in Washington D.C. As if Martin was writing a paper, he started his announcement with an attention grabber saying, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” He expressed the feelings he had towards the African American race not being treated fairly. As a Civil rights activist he put in effort to not only gain equality but to change minds. He encouraged whites to consider giving...
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...LYNDON B. JOHNSON HIS223: Major Issues in U.S. History INTRODUCTION Lyndon B. Johnson, most commonly known as LBJ, was an American Vice President and President who served in the White House from 1960 – 1969. In 1963, Vice President Johnson was abruptly sworn in as President of the United States after the unexpected assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. President Johnson would go on to serve not only the remainder of this term, but he would be selected by the people of the nation to serve one more term as nominated and elected president. Strongly backed by the Democratic Party, President Johnson soared and dominated domestic politics while he struggled to navigate foreign affairs. Throughout his time as President of the United States, President Johnson gained much praise as a domineering leader; however, he also faced much criticism over his failure to bring a successful end to the Vietnam War. Throughout his years in the White House, President Johnson developed many insurance and education programs (among others) that have greatly affected Americans over the past 40 years. Many of these programs are still in use today and have become a part of the American way of life. His dream of a “Great Society” and “War on Poverty” helped millions of Americans rise above horrendous poverty and racial discrimination of their day. President Johnson was forced to face the up and coming counterculture that occurred...
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...Impact of US Foreign Policy on the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is one of the most talked about wars in history. It began in 1959 and did not end until 1975. These years saw protests, conflicts, casualties, and confusion for the United States, as well as the terms of three presidents: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. When U.S. involvement in the war began under Kennedy, it was originally put out as a plan for the United States to only aid the South Vietnamese, but, after his assassination, Johnson was put in charge. The path that the war took under Johnson was filled with controversy and large numbers of casualties. When Johnson did not run for a second term, Nixon was left in charge to ultimately turn things around. Soon, all of the American troops were removed from Vietnam, and the war slowly began to come to a close. But what was it about Nixon’s foreign policy that was so much more successful than Johnson’s? Was Nixon’s policy more closely related to Kennedy’s successful strategy than Johnson’s was, and, if so, why didn’t Johnson do a better job modeling his policy after Kennedy? These are all questions that political scientists still look at today as a way to solve the many questions that are still being posed about the war. I have looked deeply into these questions, and found answers through researching the history of Vietnam as well as the three presidents. As I read about each event that unfolded, it became clear to me why there were such...
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...local governments, nonprofit organizations, and grassroots groups—created a new institutional base for antipoverty and civil rights action and, in the process, highlighted growing racial and ideological tensions in American politics and society. Marked by moments of controversy and consensus, the War on Poverty defined a new era for American liberalism and added new layers to the American welfare state. Legislatively, the first two years were the most active. Between President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union address in 1964 and the liberal setbacks suffered in the congressional elections of 1966, the Johnson administration pushed through an unprecedented amount of antipoverty legislation. The Economic Opportunity Act (1964) provided the basis for the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), the Job Corps, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Upward Bound, Head Start, Legal Services, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, the Community Action Program (CAP), the college Work-Study program, Neighborhood Development Centers, small business loan programs, rural programs, migrant worker programs, remedial education projects, local health care centers, and others. The antipoverty effort, however, did not stop there. It encompassed a range of Great Society legislation far broader than the Economic Opportunity Act alone. Other important measures with antipoverty functions included an $11 billion tax cut (Revenue Act of 1964), the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Food Stamp Act (1964), the Elementary...
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...against injustice. The eight resources below provide information about several historical leaders that made an impact on the Civil Rights Movement. These resources may be used to create assignments to help students develop a deeper understanding of the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, students will benefit from meaningful classroom discussions about these heroic leaders. Important People There are numerous well-known historical figures that influenced the Civil Rights Movement leading up to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is probably one of the most powerful leaders involved in the fight for civil rights. Coretta Scott King worked and marched alongside her husband, Dr. King and continued his fight for justice after his death. In addition, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American judge on the Supreme Court appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball which contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. African-American, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955. Collectively, these heroic leaders merged the separate worlds of whites and African-Americans together as one. Informational Books There are numerous biographies written for children that recognize...
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...Historical Report on Race: African Americans Frederik Seixas ETH 125 Jennifer Friedrich, Ph.D. 01/26/2014 It is an undeniable fact that, throughout history, the African American community has dealt with its fair share of discrimination. This is of particular historical significance to those living in the United States because it is an essential component of the founding of this country, and will continue to be a reoccurring theme in the curricula of educational institutions and in the headlines of current events. Historically, Africans were first brought into the Jamestown colony in 1619 for the purpose of harvesting tobacco (Slavery in America, 2012). Their arrival had a huge influence on the course of American history, so much so that it is no exaggeration to say that, without the presence of the African American people, our country would not be what it is today. Unfortunately theirs is a tale of enslavement and mistreatment, and with current-day discrimination still posing a threat to this particular race, it is impossible to deny that African Americans have weathered some of the most horrifying struggles possible. In many ways, the battle for freedom and equality is still very much alive, and, as a historian, I simply cannot ignore my duty to share the story of one of the most resilient races our country as ever known. Let us begin with some historical references on the matter of the African American community's experience in the United States. In terms of politicAfrican...
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...James Bennett Professor George J. Prokopiak HIS-114-OL010 Written Assignment 5 16 February 2015 Vietnam War and a New World Order with the End of Cold War Written Assignment 5 Question #1: As far as Vietnam is concerned, how did President Johnson "Americanize" the war? What was Nixon's policy of Vietnamization? Was anything achieved at the peace talks? What are the legacies of the Vietnam defeat? President Johnson “Americanized” the Vietnam War by many different avenues of approach taking a more aggressive posture. The president first started by supplying the South Vietnamese army with American military and economic assistance (Roark, 976-981). He significantly increased the American troop presence from 16,000 in 1964 to over 553,000 by 1969 displaying a much larger American presence (Roark, 976-981). America had stepped up bombing throughout Vietnam and neighboring countries (Roark, 976-981). In hopes of getting the backing of the American people and government, he strategically thought out who and where the bombs would be dropped (Roark, p. 980-981). He did not bomb near the northern border of Vietnam (Roark, p. 980-981). President Johnson did not want to provoke China or the Soviet Union into the war (Roark, p. 980-981). He did not want to make the same mistakes as Korea with the Chinese. He also thought about collateral damage. He tried to focus the bombings to low populated areas to minimize civilian casualties (Roark, p. 980-981). The bombing campaign was known...
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...glittering generalities, name calling, and stacked cards are the best political propaganda strategies to use when running for President of the United States because in today’s society, American citizens are commonly influenced by advertisements that allow a candidate to appear superior to the other. There are seven different types of propaganda: endorsement, glittering generalities, bandwagon, stacked cards, name calling, plain folks, and image molding. Propaganda is bias advertisement used to persuade the reader. Many candidates use propaganda to gain the support of citizens for any upcoming election. The goal of using political propaganda is to win an election. Walter Mondale used bandwagoning, which is convincing people to support a candidate because other people do, to show the supporters that he already had in attempt to gain new ones. His campaign manufactured buttons with sayings, such as “retirees support”, “united paperworkers for Mondale”, and “Asian...
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...the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. "Who was chosen for the job?" you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964,it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors "to take affirmative action to ensure that applicannot s are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights)." When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who controlled the hiring and firing of employees...
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...South-Vietnamese villages. However, because Kennedy did not have congressional permission to send soldiers into a foreign war, these soldiers were referred to as advisors. Their primary purpose was to aid solely Southern villages, but were drawn further into conflict when more and more South-Vietnamese civilians began moving to north to support the communist government that would eventually take reign. Thus, our military involvement would steadily increase over the next several years. The reason as to why our government felt it was necessary to enter and remain in this war for so long is commonly debated. However, the mindset of many government officials can be fairly accurately typified by assistant secretary of defense John T. McNaughton. In an excerpt of the Pentagon Papers written in 1965, McNaughton placed the aim of ensuring a better, freer way of life for those in Vietnam at ten percent of the reason we continued to fight, and the aim of avoiding a humiliating U.S. defeat at seventy percent. He states that “it is essential—however badly Southeast Asia may go over the next 1-3 years—that U.S. emerge as a ‘good doctor’” (McNaughton). In an address to the American public on April 7 of 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson (United States president from 1963-1969) similarly stated “We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired. We will not withdraw either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement” (Johnson). In this address, Johnson was attempting to defend his decision of sending...
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...compare the difference of opinion between these particular writers and directors, towards racism and the civil rights movement in the 1960’s The movement truly got underway with civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King jr. and Malcolm X in the early 1960’s. Students who wanted to bolt on the equality and protest bandwagon quickly followed. Most of the students went to the Southern states (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, etc.), to stop the racism and hate crimes. The truth of the matter is that the violence and abhorrence would get worse before it got better. The Klan became stronger and more violent, committing many more lynching and gruesome murders. Bit by bit most of the Caucasian Americans came around to the idea of integration, and did not believe that the African Americans as a ‘threat’ anymore. The only reason that this great monumental change occurred was because of the great leadership of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King jr., and not to mention the thousands of other less famous civil rights leaders, that worked to change the views of their community. There also where lobbyist and protesters that risked there lives and went out on a limb to struggle against injustice. All factors, put together, made one of the better most changes of the twentieth century. Rob Rheiner (the director of Ghost of Mississippi) has successfully portrayed the blatant dishonesty towards blacks by the police force and Mississippi courts. On one occasion when the accused murderer was in court, the...
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...freedom of religion and more; opportunities that should be a right to all people. In 2008 about 11 million people were reported to be undocumented (Presten, 2012 ). While it is amazing to live in a country that can provide all these chances for people, there are several controversial issues that have arisen among the years due to the copious amounts of illegal immigrants in the residing in the country. One of the most talked about issues is that immigrants are able to readily use our resources such as health care, welfare and schools but are not legally able to pay the proper taxation for those services. In this country immigrants are often categorized as hinders to our country but they can be considered the backbone of the American society. It is more than a necessity that the American government quickly establish an equal footing for every immigrant coming from worldwide. Currently the United States government places all immigrants and illegal aliens from every country in world in one group and place Cubans in an entirely different jurisdiction. For this reason the United States has encountered an unforeseeable problem brought on by The Cuban Readjustment Act of 1966....
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