United StatesWho was Lyndon B. Johnson?
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), a Texas Democrat, served in the House and Senate, where he became an influential Senate Majority Leader, before serving as John F. Kennedy's vice president. He became president after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963 and won a landslide election in 1964 over Barry Goldwater. Johnson used his legislative experience to pass a broad domestic program he called the Great Society, covering civil rights, poverty, health care, education and immigration. The escalating Vietnam War divided the country, and he did not seek re-election in 1968.
Political views
Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public facilities and banned employment discrimination.
Source: millercenter.orgPursued the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to end state barriers that had denied Black citizens the vote in the South.
Source: millercenter.orgSigned the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare for older Americans and Medicaid for low-income families.
Source: millercenter.orgDeclared a War on Poverty that produced programs such as Head Start and legal services for poor families.
Source: millercenter.orgSigned the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which phased out quotas based on national origin.
Source: millercenter.orgObtained the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and expanded U.S. forces in Vietnam to 536,000 troops by the end of 1968.
Source: millercenter.orgBrought the United States into the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Source: millercenter.org
Legacy
Supporters view Johnson as one of the most effective legislative presidents, crediting him with landmark civil rights laws, Medicare and Medicaid, federal aid to education and an immigration system without national-origin quotas. Conservative critics argue that Great Society programs expanded federal spending and dependency without ending poverty and shifted power from the states to Washington. Critics across the spectrum fault his escalation of the Vietnam War and the gap between official statements and conditions on the ground, which eroded public trust, and his approval ratings fell sharply by the end of his term.
In their words
The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time.