Lyndon Johnson Analysis Essay, Research Paper

Overall Rating of the President

The blackwash of President Kennedy elevated Lyndon Johnson to the White House, where he rapidly proved a consummate, reassuring leader in the kingdom of domestic personal businesss. His chief accomplishments shone through on his base against the unfairness directed towards minorities, and through his Great Society policy. However, his determination to go involved in Vietnam, would rule non merely his full foreign policy, but overshadow his ambitious domestic plans. Vietnam merely led to disaster for America and Lyndon Johnson s political calling. America began anti-war protests, they had a feeling of misgiving in the authorities, constitutionality during war attempts was in hazard, and worst of all, immature American work forces were deceasing in important Numberss. Johnson s attempts to acquire America out of war came excessively late, doing a peace-loving retreat unachievable.

One issue above all that would prove Johnson & # 8217 ; s ability to hammer consensus would be the issue of civil rights. Johnson was particularly adept in procuring a strong Civil Rights Act in 1964. In the old ages to come it proved to be a critical beginning of legal authorization against racial and sexual favoritism. He besides passed a Voting Rights Act, which gave the inkinesss in the South more power than of all time to ordain some alterations of their ain. However racial tenseness began to sharpen, climaxing in widespread urban race public violences between 1965 and 1968. But President Johnson did seek to stand house by doing countrywide addresss to denounce the unfairness that was happening. He did more than any other President since Abraham Lincoln for the black community.

Johnson & # 8217 ; s victory in 1964 gave him a authorization for the Great Society, as he called his domestic plan. Congress responded by go throughing the Medicare plan, which provided wellness services to the aged, O.K.ing federal assistance to simple and secondary instruction, supplementing the War on Poverty, and making the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Great Society was able to chiefly better the lives of destitute Americans. & lt ;

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However, at this point Johnson began the rapid deepening of U.S. engagement in Vietnam ; every bit early as February 1965, U.S. planes began to bomb North Vietnam and American troop strength in Vietnam began to increase dramatically. Many influences led Johnson to such a policy. Among them were personal factors such as steadfast anti-communism. Johnson thought that the United States must be steadfast or incur a loss of credibleness, which was a rational idea at the clip, but would be spurned after many lives would be lost.

It was the policy of military escalation in Vietnam, nevertheless, that proved to be Johnson & # 8217 ; s undoing as president. It deflected attending from domestic concerns, resulted in crisp rising prices, and prompted lifting unfavorable judgment, particularly among immature, draft-aged people. The populace, through televised hearings of antiwar positions by Senator William Fulbright, began to recognize that they were beguiled into believing false grounds for American engagement in Vietnam. This resulted in a big spread between the authorities and the people. The war, with the engagement of the CIA undercover agent missions and the FBI s anti-peace motion, besides threatened to secede the Constitution. This made the FBI expression like a oppressive secret constabulary, non a defender of democracy.

The drawn-out battle made Johnson even more close, dogmatic, and allergic to unfavorable judgment. His political effectivity was neglecting. Johnson eventually made the determination non to run for re-election. He chiefly tried to concentrate on peacefully stoping the war in the Vietnam slaughterpen. Although Johnson in 1966 and 1967 stopped bombing in North Vietnam, he failed to do existent grants at the peace tabular array, and the war dragged on, killing 1000s more of immature American work forces.

Johnson & # 8217 ; s presidential term became a casualty of the Vietnam War. His exceeding jurisprudence doing attempts to profit minorities and those less fortunate were marred by his obstinacy in believing that the struggle in Vietnam was winnable. Johnson s unruliness in the war and untruthfulness finally began to rupture at the sewing, which was urgently keeping the state together.