Lyndon Baines Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as L. B. Johnson, was our 36th President of the United States following the
assassination on John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). Upon taking office, Johnson, a Texan who had served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, launched an ambitious slate of progressive reforms aimed at alleviating poverty and creating what he called a "Great Society" for all Americans. Many of the programs he introduced--including Medicare and Head Start--made a lasting impact in the areas of health, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. Despite his impressive domestic achievements, however, Johnson's legacy was equally defined by his failure to lead the nation out of the quagmire of the Vietnam War (1954-75). He declined to run for a second full term in office, and retired to his Texas ranch after leaving the White House in January 1969. (History.com) 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 first took office in 1963 to more than 500,000 in 1968, yet the conflict remained a bloody stalemate.(History.com) Lyndon B. Johnson's Speech on The Vietnam War 1966
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L. B. Johnson was encouraged by his advisors to take a more forceful approach the the Vietnam conflict and to send in U.S. troops. He knew that politically his was not a good move on his part considering that he was facing an election in 1964. In the lead up to the 1964 presidential election, Johnson was said to be too soft in his approach to the North Vietnamese. In response, Johnson told the public that he was not prepared to send US troops thousands of miles overseas to do what the South Vietnamese Army should be doing – protecting its people. Johnson won the 1964 presidential election with ease. It was not long before US troops were sent to South Vietnam. |