Lyndon
Johnson was the Senate Majority Leader before he agreed to become Kennedy’s
Vice President. He was chosen for the Vice Presidency because Kennedy was
weak in the South and he believed that the Texas Senator would help. Many believed that if Lyndon Johnson were not on the ticket
with Kennedy, Nixon would have won because Texas would have gone to the
Republican.
President Lyndon Johnson succeeded President
Kennedy after the assassination and he immediately started implementing
most of President Kennedy’s agenda that was languishing in the Congress.
Using his extensive knowledge of the Congress, he was able to pass most
of the legislation. After completing the remaining term of President Kennedy’s
term, he ran against Barry Goldwater and won in one of the largest election landslides
by focusing on domestic issues, specifically his Great Society
proposal and civil rights.
However, after winning, he was
forced to pay more attention to foreign policy because of the mounting
casualties in the Vietnam War. He was unable to accomplish many things he wanted to
because the war was eating up the money that was supposed to go towards his
programs. His refusal to disclose the truth about the
situation in Vietnam angered most reporters, who eventually turned against him.
He
was forced to end the race for re-election after his poor showing in New
Hampshire Primary.
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Johnson v. Goldwater 1964 |
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