Lyndon B. Johnson and Main Ideas Behind His Presidency

Johnson always had an outlook like Franklin Roosevelt he was a liberal, but during this election he was running against the union. He instead supported big businesses and spoke strongly against civil rights. As Texas was changing so was Johnson, he presented himself more anti union compared to his opponent Stevenson. The race between the two were so close and no one could call who would win. After the poles closed votes were still coming in and Stevenson was winning by a handful, it looked like Johnson had lost again. But Johnson was bound and determined not to lose again. Six days after the poles closed two hundred thirteen new votes had been accounted for, all favoring Johnson except for two.

Stevenson was outraged because he thought the election was stolen from him. He later challenged the election at the Texas state democraric convention. He ended up being shut down because Johnson and his team were to powerful and Johnson ended up winning by eighty-seven votes. Someone stole the election for him, but he had no idea and he never ordered anyone to do such a thing. So in 1949 Johnson was Texas new senator, he had little to no power but he eventually worked his way to being the youngest majority leader ever.

He worked hard in Congress and it resulted in the first and largest electric cooperative and first federal public housing project, and was also appointed to the House Committee on Naval Affairs. In 1940 Johnson was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, Johnson became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the armed forces(U.S. Navy). Lady Bird Johnson, Lyndons wife, ran the Congressional office while he was deployed overseas. He received the Silver Star on June 9th, from General Douglas MacArthur for his heroic efforts in the aerial combat mission over hostile positions in New Guinea. He was released from active duty on July 16, 1942.

Climb to Presidency

November 2nd, Johnson was re-elected to the U.S. Senate for a second term. In August he suffered a severe heart attack and entered the hospital. He didn't return to Capitol Hill until later that year in December. In 1956 Johnson was nominated for President at the Democratic National Convention as the favorite. Johnson helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was the first civil rights bill in 82 years. In 1958, he assisted with the first space legislation, the National Aeronautics Space Act of 1958. This called for peaceful exploration of space. He was nominated for president against Kennedy in the November election. John F. Kennedey was elected the 35th President of the United States on November 8, 1960. He became the Vice President and was elected for his third term in Senate. On November 22, 1963, he swore his oath as President of the United States after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on the plane in Texas. On that day, Johnson became the 36th president of the United States.

President of the United States

After he took his oath no one really beleived he could do it, everyone thought he would fail. They also thought he had something to do with the assasination of Kennedy. Johnson knew he had one time and one time only to prove his name, he must grasp the power of the president and lead with his very best foot forward considering most of his cabinet was kennedy people who wanted nothing to do with Johnson. Johnson had many struggles and problems to deal with during his years of presidency. Civil rights was one of the many problems. He had to deal with all of the protesters and all of the riots in the streets and he hated every bit of the movements. He knew that something must be done in order to keep the sanity between everyone. He stated “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.”-Lyndon Johnson.

He did his very best to finish a bill that Kennedy started. He was constantly on the phone making deals trying to get people to vote for the bill. The southerners didnt like his idea at all because it would basically be tearing the south a apart but since Johnson was a southerner himself he knew that is was the right thing to do. In the end the bill passed and Johnson was pleased. He was questioned several times as to why he changed his mind about civil rights, why he threatened senators just to get a vote for the bill to pass. I feel like he signed that bill because that was his way to make his place in history, because a southern president ended the southern way of life by making everyone equal.

Veitnam was probably one of Johnsons biggest problems and hardest thing to overcome. During veitnam Johnson promised that he will pass and do everything kennedy failed to do. Johnson didnt start the war three presidents before him sent troops there. He just inheritd the war. Vietnam was split into two countries North Vietnam witch is where the gorilla army was with a will so strong and powerful it was quite intimidating. And then south vietnam which was weak and depended on American aid to support them.

A month before Johnson became president outh Vietnam was on the edge of collapsing. Robert McNamara presented that we should send more troops to vietnam in order to help, secure and stop the rising of the gorilla army because if they didnt they might just try and take over South East Asia. Johnson agreed but he gave the war to McNamara because he never wanted to truly fight this war and he thought he could handle it. Johnson gave it away because hesaid he had bigger things to do right here at home, he wanted to fight the war aginst but McNamara because he thought he could handle it. McNamara knew the troops could conqure and adapt to the jungle warfare, but he never wanted to truly fight this war. He said he had bigger things to do right here at home. He wanted to fight the war.