Lyndon B. JohnsonEssay Preview: Lyndon B. JohnsonReport this essayLyndon B. Johnson was successful with his program “The Great Society,” was unsuccessful with the Vietnam War, and was ultimately defeated by his personal crusades.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 assisted young Americans who lacked skills, who did not complete their education because of hardships and because they were too poor, by creating a job Corps, a Work-Training Program, and a Work Study Program . The creation of the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1964 helped administrate programs such as Community Action, Head Start, VISTA, as well as others ; it helped with the distribution of federal funds targeting poverty. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the requirements that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, provided federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50 percent of eligible voters registered, provided for Department of Justice oversight to registration which included the Departments approval for any change in voting law in districts that were composed of at least 5 percent African-American population .
In November of 1966, Robert McNamara concluded that the administration would have to increase troop strength to 400,000 and possibly 600,000 in 1967; this would not guarantee success or victory, but seemed likely to forestall a Communist takeover of the Sourth or as a “no-decision,” with U.S. killed in action running at as many as 1,000 a month . The North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front kept winning, even as Johnson poured more money, firepower, and men into the war effort and ultimately, the President came to be identified personally with a war that seemed unwinnable; the result, his popularity sagged drastically, dipping below 30 percent in approval ratings . Ultimately, because of Johnsons desire to push his Great Society programs forward, he guided the US to play a defensive role on the Vietnam war and this resulted in the massive loss of life because you cannot win a war on the defensive.
Johnson had devoted a lifetime to politics, had acquired an unusually large amount of power, and had used it to promote change. But he had tried to do more than the resources of his nation, his office, and his talents would allow. He had tried to control events thousands of miles from home at the same time that he attempted to reshape the life of the US. Johnsons accomplishments were not insignificant, but they fell short of the magnitude of the problems he faced. As 1966 came to a close, Johnsons frustration with trying to defeat the Communists in Vietnam, hold the economy together, sustain Great Society programs, and position himself and the Democrats for another successful election campaign in 1968 became almost more than he could bear and was a prelude for worse to come. Johnsons death came quietly, in lonely seclusion, after a stormy life played out largely in public view. All of the stress and turmoil as
In 1966, the Democrats would be able to keep a slim majority of the House and to retain power among the Senate. But the Republicans’ success in losing their majority in 1968 would be short lived (as a Democrat, Johnson would be on only four terms as President) and Johnson lost his House seat to Rep. Robert C. Andrews, the next President. Johnson would then become the first Democrat elected to the highest office. He took to his radio program, “All Things Considered,” on June 24, 1969, to highlight what he wrote about George W. Bush (a Republican who led the way in the election of 1968): “We have found no other candidate who will do as well as President Bush. Let us hope that a small party, dedicated to public service and a party that will be strong in principle, will succeed in bringing to an end the war that Bush has been waging ever since he created the most war-making force in US history — a foreign government.”
Johnson saw, with his own eyes, the danger he was about to face in his political career. Not only was he likely to become a martyr for the Democrats, he is probably being used as a political prisoner in the Democratic Party. “I would call anybody who calls me ‘war hero,’ and most of them say, ‘What do you think I am today?'” he is told at one point. His name did not appear in the national elections. (Johnson was a Democratic gubernatorial candidate since his first run as governor of New York.) When The Guardian reported of the political prisoner, a reporter in the Johnson press office had asked:
“How did you manage to become president?”
“My name was John [Johnson], and I am now the President of the United States.”
“How do you run for president?”
“I don’t have much time for that.”
“I have spent most of my life working on behalf of the People, and a lot of my adult life being on the defense side of things. I came to Washington about two weeks ago when things were worse…. I don’t know if they even know it. I’ve taken up a few different fields, but in general I have taken for granted that the country can be well-governed by men of principle and good sense. I think everybody is very wise and goodly. I really feel that it is very good to get things done.
Of course, in 1972, during his first term, Johnson received much better pay than he had received in office. Johnson, for example, earned the nickname “The Iron Man.” In 1973, there were only 53 federal elected officials who had been paid less than Johnson gave. That ratio was more than twice that for the incumbent Republican or Democrat and even more than that for the Republican incumbent. As the Republican incumbent lost to Nixon, Johnson lost to Gerald Ford in 1988. And the Democratic incumbent was also only paid about 2% more than the Democratic incumbent for his term than for his first term. All this gave Johnson much more than the Republican incumbent earned. Johnson gained almost no ground, but at least he did not have to win a lot to win an unusually high number of votes. As president, he would lead the country on national television and radio; the presidency would give him unprecedented office — and virtually the same campaign results. Johnson’s second term came with his own disaster. In the final years of his second year in office, “Johnson was so far gone I had to ask his wives to take me to see what she