Lyndon B. Johnson
1963-1968
Election of 1964
- Johnson took office after assassination of JFK in 1963
- Ran for presidency following year- 1964
- Lyndon Johnson - Democrat
- Senator Barry Goldwater - Republican
- Electoral College: 486 to 52 in favor of Johnson
The Great Society
The Great Society
- popular set of New Deal-type economic and welfare measures taken to change the American way of life
- The Other America 1962 - Michael Harrington; revealed drastic poverty rates in America
24th Amendment
- Johnson noticed few blacks were registered to vote
- Ratified January 1964
- abolished poll tax in federal elections
- Freedom Summer - blacks & civil rights workers joined together for a massive voter registration drive
Tonkin Gulf Resolution & Vietnam War
- August 2nd & 4th - two U.S. ships off the coast of North Vietnam were allegedly fired upon
- Passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution - lawmakers gave up war-declaring power & handed president pass to use further force in Southeast Asia
- Operation Rolling Thunder - full scale bombing attacks on North Vietnam
Civil Rights Act of 1964 & Voting Rights Act
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 - banned racial discrimination in most private facilities open to public, strengthened federal government's ability to end segregation in schools
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 - outlawed literacy tests and sent federal voter registrars into southern states
1968
- Tet Offensive (January) - Viet Cong attacked 27 SV cities. Caused America to demand immediate end of war. Devastating amount of casualties
- MLK Jr. (April 4) - Assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee
- Robert Kennedy (June 5) - Shot and killed for pro-Israel views