what were lyndon johnsons policies

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What were Johnson's Great Society policies?

The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, removal of obstacles to the ...

What was Lyndon Johnson's approach to Vietnam?

For Johnson, the decision to continue the Vietnam commitment followed the path of his predecessors. He was committed to maintaining an independent South Vietnam and to achieving success in Southeast Asia.

What were Johnson's goals for the Vietnam War?

Limiting American Operations. Johnson's goal of 1964 was to provide just enough American support to bolster South Vietnam. He refused to introduce combat troops into the region because he believed that the South Vietnamese were responsible for conducting the war.

Why did President Johnson choose to escalate the conflict in Vietnam?

Johnson believed that if he permitted South Vietnam to fall through a conventional North Vietnamese invasion, the whole containment edifice so carefully constructed since World War II to stop the spread of communism (and the influence of the Soviet Union) would crumble. There were also domestic considerations.

What did Johnson do in the Vietnam War quizlet?

What did he use to increase US involvement in the war? Johnson used the clash between US Navy ships and North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin to increase US involvement in the war. What did the Tonkin Resolution give him? It gave him unlimited power to rage war.

What differing opinions Did Johnson's advisers have about Vietnam?

What differing opinions did Johnson's advisers have about Vietnam? George Ball argued against sending troops. He warned that once we were fully involved, it would be difficult to get out. Dean Rusk, however, stressed that the defeat of communism in Vietnam would be vital to the future of America and the world.

What did President Johnson do to help the poor?

LBJ also created the Work Study program and made it available to college students as a way to 'work off' or offset some of their college expenses. President Johnson believed not only in bettering the people but also communities. He created the Model Cities Program, which provided funding to inner cities plagued with violence and poverty, working with local governments to improve the lives of its citizens.

What is Medicare and Medicaid?

Under his leadership, Medicare and Medicaid were passed. Medicare provides insurance to people over the age of 65 and people under the age of 65 that are disabled. Medicaid provides insurance to people with low incomes. Civil Rights.

What did Lbj do for education?

The ESEA doubled the amount of federal money allocated for public schools, with the idea of providing a major chunk of the money to school districts with a majority of its families living below the poverty line. The second major piece of education legislation is the Higher Education Act of 1965, which allocated college funding for lower income students . LBJ also wanted to ensure that education was available at home. In 1967, he created the Public Broadcasting Act which created educational television programs. To ensure that education was spread throughout society, in 1965 the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts were passed to protect and support the humanities and the arts. Both still exist today.

What was the LBJ agenda?

Over the course of his term as President, LBJ designed his domestic agenda around the notion of a 'Great Society,' focusing on the creation and development of programs improving the lives of Americans across a variety of facets.

What was the immigration and nationality act of 1965?

This act doubled the number of immigrants from previously overlooked parts of the world like Asia and Mexico.

What was the golden ticket for the American dream?

Education alone may have paved the path to American dreams for poor, American citizens, but for others outside the United States, a path toward American citizenship was their golden ticket. In 1965, President Johnson passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, ending a biased admittance system.

What was the second major piece of education legislation?

The second major piece of education legislation is the Higher Education Act of 1965, which allocated college funding for lower income students. LBJ also wanted to ensure that education was available at home. In 1967, he created the Public Broadcasting Act which created educational television programs.

What was Johnson's foreign policy?

Privately, Johnson agonized over the consequences of the U.S. escalation in Vietnam and raged at the incompetence of the succession of military juntas that tried to govern that country and carry on a war against Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars. Publicly, he was determined not to lose the war.

How many troops were in Vietnam in 1968?

Publicly, he was determined not to lose the war. As a result, in 1968 there were 500,000 American troops in South Vietnam and no end in sight to the conflict. After an extensive re-examination, President Johnson decided to disengage from a struggle lacking U.S. domestic support.

Who was the secretary of state for inter-American affairs?

Johnson was also concerned about Latin American policy, which was another of his special interests. He chose Eisenhower official Thomas C. Mann to be Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

What was the foreign policy of the Lyndon Johnson administration?

Foreign policy of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The foreign policy of the Lyndon Johnson administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1963 to 1969, when Lyndon B. Johnson served as President of the United States. Johnson held office during the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between ...

What was the foreign policy of the United States during the 1963-1969 presidency?

The United States foreign policy during the 1963-1969 presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson was dominated by the Vietnam War and the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Johnson took over after the assassination promising to keep Kennedy's policies and his team.

What was the goal of the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War began in 1955 as North Vietnamese forces, with the support of the Soviet Union, China, and other Communist governments, sought to reunify Vietnam by taking control of South Vietnam. Under President Eisenhower, who sought to prevent the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia, the United States replaced France as the key patron of South Vietnam. Eisenhower and Kennedy both dispatched U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam, and by the time Johnson took office, there were approximately 16,700 American military personnel in South Vietnam. Despite some misgivings, Johnson ultimately came to support escalation of the U.S. role in Vietnam. He feared that the fall of Vietnam would hurt Democratic credibility on national security issues, and he also wanted to carry on what he saw as Kennedy's policies. Finally, like the vast majority of U.S. political leaders in the mid-1960s, he was determined to prevent the spread of Communism.

What was Johnson's policy?

Johnson was committed to containment policy that called upon the U.S. to block Communist expansion of the sort that was taking place in Vietnam, but he lacked Kennedy's knowledge and enthusiasm for foreign policy, and prioritized domestic reforms over major initiatives in foreign affairs.

What was the Cold War?

Johnson took office during the Cold War, a prolonged state of very heavily armed tension between the United States and its allies on the one side and the Soviet Union and its allies on the other. Johnson was committed to containment policy that called upon the U.S. to block Communist expansion of the sort that was taking place in Vietnam, but he lacked Kennedy's knowledge and enthusiasm for foreign policy, and prioritized domestic reforms over major initiatives in foreign affairs.

What policy did Johnson pursue?

Johnson pursued conciliatory policies with the Soviet Union, setting the stage for the détente of the 1970s. He was nonetheless committed to a policy of containment, seeking to stop the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

How did Johnson's policy affect India?

Johnson hoped that a more evenhanded policy towards both countries would soften the tensions in South Asia and bring both nations closer to the United States. He ended the traditional American division of South Asia into 'allies' and 'neutrals' and sought to develop good relations with both India and Pakistan by supplying arms and money to both while maintaining neutrality in their intense border feuds. His policy pushed Pakistan closer to Communist China and India closer to the Soviet Union. Johnson also started to cultivate warm personal relations with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan. However, he inflamed anti-American sentiments in both countries when he cancelled the visits of both leaders to Washington.

What did Lyndon Johnson say about the Great Society?

After routing Republican candidate Barry Goldwater by more than 15 million votes in the 1964 presidential election, Johnson introduced a slate of new reforms that he said would build a “ Great Society ” for all Americans.

How many votes did Johnson get in the primary?

After crisscrossing Texas by helicopter, Johnson managed to eke out a victory in the primary by just 87 votes. Once he reached the Senate, Johnson showed a deft political touch. In 1953, at age 44, he became the youngest person ever to serve as minority leader of the Senate.

How many troops did Johnson have in Vietnam?

As part of this effort, Johnson steadily escalated U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. The number of American troops in Vietnam soared from 16,000 when he took office in 1963 to more than 500,000 in 1968, yet the conflict remained a bloody stalemate.

What did Lyndon Johnson do to improve the lives of millions of Americans?

His wide-reaching achievements improved the lives of millions of Americans and contributed to economic growth and prosperity .

How many times was Johnson reelected?

Quickly earning respect as a smart and hardworking legislator, he was re-elected five times. After an unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat in 1941, Johnson became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the military when the United States entered World War II.

What was the impact of Johnson's programs?

Many of the programs he championed—Medicare, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act—had a profound and lasting impact in health, education and civil rights. Despite his impressive achievements, however, Johnson’s legacy was marred by his failure to lead the nation out of the quagmire of the Vietnam War.

When was Lyndon Johnson elected to the Senate?

In 1948 , Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate following a bruising Democratic primary. After crisscrossing Texas by helicopter, Johnson managed to eke out a victory in the primary by just 87 votes.

What was the Great Society?

Johnson’s Great Society was a sweeping set of social domestic policy programs initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson during 1964 and 1965 focusing mainly on eliminating racial injustice and ending poverty in the United States. The term “Great Society” was first used by President Johnson in a speech at Ohio University.

How did Johnson help Kennedy?

To succeed in moving Kennedy’s initiative forward, Johnson utilized his skills of persuasion, diplomacy, and extensive knowledge of the politics of Congress. In addition, he was able to ride the rising tide of liberalism spurred by the Democratic landslide in the 1964 election that turned the House of Representatives of 1965 into ...

How did President Johnson die?

Although Vietnam War-ending peace negotiations had begun when President Johnson left office, he did not live to see them completed, dying of a heart attack on January 22, 1973, at his Texas Hill Country ranch .

Why did Johnson use his political power?

While Johnson would continue to use his political power in an attempt to end segregation and maintain law and order, few solutions were found. Even more damaging to the goals of the Great Society, ever larger amounts of money originally intended to fight the war on poverty was being used to fight the Vietnam War instead.

What law did President Kennedy pass?

By the time he was assassinated in November 1963, President Kennedy had persuaded Congress to pass only a law creating the Peace Corps, a law increase in the minimum wage, and a law dealing with equal housing.

What was the New Frontier plan?

Many of Johnson’s Great Society programs were inspired by the social initiatives included in the “New Frontier” plan proposed by Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy during his 1960 presidential campaign. Although Kennedy was elected president over Republican Vice President Richard Nixon, Congress was reluctant to adopt most of his New Frontier initiatives. By the time he was assassinated in November 1963, President Kennedy had persuaded Congress to pass only a law creating the Peace Corps, a law increase in the minimum wage, and a law dealing with equal housing.

What was the Wilderness Act?

From January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1967, Congress enacted: The Wilderness Act, which protected over 9 million acres of forestland from development;

What did Lyndon Johnson do after Kennedy's death?

Just two hours after Kennedy’s death in 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson was inaugurated as the U.S. President. However, many of Kennedy’s advisors strongly supported the idea of “emphasizing continuity with Kennedy’s policies”1. Johnson suddenly becoming the American President “asked the Kennedy team to remain with him”2. Johnson, like Kennedy, was a strong supporter of containment and believed that the U.S. main foreign policy should be to stop communist expansion. Several days after Kennedy’s death, Johnson approved “NSAM 273”3, a document drafted during Kennedy’s presidency, which affirmed the American commitment to assist South Vietnam.

What is the purpose of the Vietnam book?

The purpose of this text is to analyze the eight steps that deepened the American commitment to South Vietnam, starting with the Kennedy administration.

What is the value of the Tonkin Resolution?

The value is that the readers can see and understand why Johnson and his advisors acted as they did, and how they justified their decisions. The main limitation is that it practically only deals with Johnson’s actions and barely connects to the previous foreign policies of Kennedy. The overview of Johnson’s foreign policy is also quite limited, since the focus is primarily placed on the Tonkin Resolution, where all the other events are stated in relation to it and not independently.

What was the first sustained U.S. military operation in Vietnam?

Additionally, by the “spring of 1965”11 there were constant American aerial raids on North Vietnam, which was a part of an operation called “ Rolling Thunder” Johnson and his advisors greatly supported this operation in the hope of damaging “North Vietnam’s war-making infrastructure and its lines of supply” This operation which emerged from the Tonkin resolution also set Johnson’s foreign policy apart from Kennedy’s. It was the “first sustained U.S. military operation in Vietnam”, which demonstrated Johnson’s much greater military commitment to Vietnam then Kennedy’s, whose foreign policy at the time did not include or plan such an operation. This trend of continuously sending more and more American troops continued, which can be clearly seen when Johnson finally decided “in July of 1965 for an open-ended military commitment”

What is the purpose of the second text album of the Vietnam War?

The origin of the second text An Album of the Vietnam War is a historical book and also a secondary source, attempting to explain Johnson’s foreign policy on Vietnam and how this effected the U.S. involvement. The purpose of this source is to explain how Johnson exploited his power through the Tonkin Resolution, ...

How many troops did Johnson send to Vietnam?

After deciding for an open-ended military commitment to Vietnam in 1965, Johnson eventually sent more than half a million American troops to Vietnam by 1968, which was the end of his presidency and clearly showing that his foreign policy was different from Kennedy’s.

What was the NAM 273?

Several days after Kennedy’s death, Johnson approved “NSAM 273”3, a document drafted during Kennedy’s presidency, which affirmed the American commitment to assist South Vietnam.

What did Johnson say about Vietnam?

As a senator, he had embraced "containment theory," which predicted that if Vietnam fell to Communists, other Southeast Asian nations would do the same. Johnson was deeply sensitive about the judgment of history, and he did not want to be remembered as a President who lost Southeast Asia to Communism.

What was the Tet Offensive?

Known as the Tet Offensive, it held some similarities to the unsuccessful strategy attempted by the Japanese two decades earlier with their kamikaze attacks: inflict great casualties regardless of cost to your own forces, sap enemy morale, and force the dispirited foe to adopt your terms. Only this time, the strategy worked. Despite fearsome losses by the North Vietnamese—nearly 100,000—American opposition to the war surged. Although the North Vietnamese Army was never able to defeat U.S. forces on the battlefields of Vietnam, Hanoi's political strategy defeated America's will to continue to escalate the war. Television screens brought images of endless and seemingly pointless battles to living rooms across the nation. Although Americans still supported the goal of a non-Communist Vietnam, public confidence in the President and Johnson's popularity continued their sharp declines.

What was the impact of the Vietnam War on the Great Society?

The Vietnam War cut short the promise of the Great Society. Democrats took large losses in the midterm elections of 1966, though they retained majorities in the House and Senate. By late 1966, Johnson could no longer get most of his domestic measures through Congress.

What was the major initiative of Lyndon Johnson?

Lyndon B. Johnson: Foreign Affairs. The major initiative in the Lyndon Johnson presidency was the Vietnam War. By 1968, the United States had 548,000 troops in Vietnam and had already lost 30,000 Americans there. Johnson's approval ratings had dropped from 70 percent in mid-1965 to below 40 percent by 1967, and with it, his mastery of Congress.

What was the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North and South Vietnam, but it had global ramifications. The North was led by a Communist and nationalist regime that had fought against the Japanese in World War II and against French colonial rule in the late 1940s.

What was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution?

By a vote of 98 to 2 in the Senate and a unanimous vote in the House, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing the President to take all measures necessary to protect the armed forces.

What was the first military operation in Vietnam?

On February 13, 1965, Johnson authorized Rolling Thunder, the sustained bombing of North Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, two Marine battalions, 3,500 troops, went ashore near Da Nang to protect the airfields, with orders to shoot only if shot at—this was the first time U.S. combat forces had been sent to mainland Asia since the Korean War. On April 3, Johnson authorized two additional Marine battalions, one Marine air squadron, and an increase in logistical support units of 20,000 men. He also authorized troops to go on active "search and destroy" missions. By mid-April, Marines had moved to full-scale offensive operations. By November 1965, there were 175,000 troops and by 1966, an additional 100,000. The number would surge to 535,000 by the end of Johnson's presidency.

War on Poverty

The Great Society

• In 1964, LBJ ran against Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater on a platform of building a Great Society. He outlined his vision on May 22, 1964, in the commencement speech at the University of Michigan. Here, Johnson asked the nation to move not only toward "the rich society and the powerful society but upward to the Great Society." With it, America wou...

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LBJ and Vietnam

Johnson's Early Years