Kajol Shah

APUSH/ Daka

April 15, 2010

Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson was a Democrat that came into the presidency after the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Johnson was greatly supported by the

Democratic Party, and as president he designed the "Great Society" that included laws

which defended civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, and aid to education. Under Johnson,

the country made spectacular explorations of space, one of them being that three

astronauts successfully orbited the moon in December 1968. Johnson put efforts into

ending the Communist Aggression and achieve a settlement during the Vietnam War. He

startled the world by withdrawing as a candidate for re-election so that he could devote

his full effort into the quest for peace. He also tried to help the poor in his "War on

Poverty." Johnson was a good president because he worked for civil rights, created the

idea of the Great Society, and funded education.

With the civil rights movement, Johnson overcame southern resistance and

convinced the Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act outlawed most

forms of racial segregation. It authorized the Justice Department to institute suits to

desegregate public schools and other facilities. It also created the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission and provided technical and financial aid to communities

desegregating their schools. Groups such as the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the National

Council of Churches, and the American Jewish Congress made the case for a strong civil
rights bill. President Kennedy had already proposed the Act and had gotten the necessary

votes in the House of Representatives to pass his civil rights bill by the time of his death.

However, Johnson was the one who pushed it through the Senate. He signed it into law

on July 2, 1964. While signing the aid, Johnson told an aide, "We have lost the South for

a generation," because he expected the South to disagree with his step on creating the act;

therefore, Johnson's Democratic Party did not get a lot of Southern white votes that year.

In 1965, he also passed a second civil rights bill, the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed

discrimination in voting. This bill allowed millions of southern blacks to vote.

The “Great Society” program, became Johnson's main goal for Congress. Two

main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial

injustice. In August 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act launched the War on Poverty.

The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) coordinated a network of federal programs

designed to increase employment opportunities. The most innovative element of the OEO

was the Community Action Program(CAP). The program invited local communities to

establish community action agencies (CAAs), to be funded through the OEO. However,

the largest sums went to Medicare. The Social Security Act of 1965 authorized Medicare

and provided federal funding for many of the medical costs of older Americans.Congress

sometimes ammended Johnson’s goals, but mostly followed Johnson’s recommendations.

The Great Society had so much influence on the people of America that President Nixon

and President Ford continued to enact some of the programs. Johnson proposed a tax cut

later on which increased the Gross National Product ten percent. Also, in the first year of

the tax cut, economic growth averaged a rate of 4.5 percent.

 Johnson believed that education was the solution for both ignorance and poverty,

and was an essential part of the American Dream. The most important educational

component was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It was signed into

law on April 11, 1965. It ended a long-standing political taboo by providing significant

federal aid to public education, initially allotting more than $1 billion to help schools

purchase materials and start special education programs to schools with a high

concentration of low-income children. Also, The Higher Education Act of 1965 increased

federal money given to universities, created scholarships and low-interest loans for low

income students, and established a National Teachers Corps to provide teachers to

poverty stricken areas of the United States. The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 offered

federal aid to local school districts in assisting them to address the needs of children with

limited English-speaking ability. Johnson also helped private schools for the first time.

About twelve percent of ESEA’s budget was set aside for private schools.

In conclusion, Johnson’s presidency was productive and he helped America

become a better country. His plans for civil rights, the Great Society, and education were

all successful. Even though his terms in office have been back leashed by some people,

he was a good successor of Kennedy and improved the government and economy of the

country.