Lyndon B. Johnson
By Karl Bailey
The Rise of Johnson
Assassination of Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald
- Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in while being flown to Washington D.C.
- Johnson retained many policies of Kennedy
- Johnson kept many people chosen by Kennedy
Election of 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson
Party - Democratic
Running Mate - Hubert Humphrey
Popular Vote - 43,129,566
Electoral Vote - 486
Barry Goldwater
Party - Republican
Running Mate - William E. Miller
Popular Vote - 27,178,188
Electoral Vote - 52
The Great Society
Johnson's Great Society
- Great Society - name for Johnson's domestic program
- Encompassed economic and welfare reforms
- Resulted in Medicare, Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Supported by recent increase of Democrats in Congress
The 24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment
- 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes in federal elections
- Poll taxes had been protests before
- Served to allow poor to vote
- Allowed many impoverished blacks in the south to vote
Tonkin Gulf Resolution & Vietnam War
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave Johnson capability to use military force in Vietnam without declaring war
- Prompted by attack on US Destroyer (shown) in Gulf of Tonkin
Vietnam War
- After attack on USAF base Johnson orders bombings of North Vietnam
- Known as "Operation Rolling Thunder"
- War became increasingly unpopular back in America
Civil Rights
Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in privately owned public businesses
- Facilitated creation of EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
- EEOC served to remove racial discrimination in hiring
- Act also enforce gender equality
Voting Rights Act
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed literacy tests and sent federal voting registers into the south
- Led to violence in civil rights movements such as the Watts riots (shown)
1968
The Year of 1968
- Johnson refused to run in 1968
- 1968 Democratic Convention met with protests and riots outside
- Assassination of MLK caused turmoil
- Riots occurred in many cities