Johnson Complete Flashcards
What political experience had Johnson acquired by 1964?
- he won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1930
- Won a seat in the Senate after WW2
- Ran against Kennedy for the Democrat nomination but Kennedy chose him as his running mate in the ‘60 election and VP after
When did LBJ take over as President?
After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963
How was Johnson able to get his way?
He used intimidation, for example the ‘Johnson treatment’
How many pieces of legislation did Johnson pass as President?
60
What did Johnson use far less than Kennedy to govern?
Executive Orders
How did Johnson continue Kennedy’s domestic policy foucs, what were the names of his policies/
Great Society and War on Poverty
What issues did the Great Society address?
Poverty and inequality
Describe Johnson’s 1964 election victory.
A complete landslide
What did Johnson’s success in the 1964 election mean that he had for his policies?
His policies had a clear mandate
By 1976, what % of Americans were using Medicare and Medicaid?
20%
What did Johnson persuade Congress to pass to coordinate the war on poverty?
the Economic Opportunity Act and an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)
How had Johnson’s anti-poverty legislation been successful by 1965?
- 44 states had anti-poverty legislation
- 53 job corps centres were created
- over 4 million were recieiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
What aided Johnson to be able to pass the Social Security Act of 1965, creating Medicare and medicaid?
Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress
Who was Medicare meant to help? WHo was Medicaid meant to help?
Medicare - providing normally unaffordable treatment to the elderly
Medicaid - providing normally unaffordable treatment to the very poor
What did COngress agree to with the federal expenditure on education?
They agreed to double it to $8bn a year
Which acts were passed in 1965 which directed funds towards poorer states for education?
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act
How had Johnson’s War on Poverty succeeded?
There were 15 million fewer poor families in ‘68 than there had been in ‘59
What did the Fair Housing Act do and when was it passed? Was it successful?
1968, it was designed to end discrimination in the sale and rental of housing, but it failed because of white resistance
Between 1965 and 1973, how much money was spent on the war on poverty and how much was spent on VIetnam?
$15.5bn on the War on Poverty, $120bn on Vietnam
Describe the economy under the first two years of LBJ?
He pushed through JFK’s proposed tax cut giving him an extra $4-5bn to spned in his first 2 years. GNP rose by 9% and inflation was low at 1.4%
Why were Southerners suspicious of LBJ after Kennedy’s death?
He had refused to sign the Southern Manifesto
What was LBJ seen as when it came to the economy?
A ‘safe pair of hands’
How did the economy become a problem for LBJ from 1967?
In ‘67 the federal budget deficit prompted Johnson and Congress to raise taxes and by 1968 the deficits and inflation weakened the dollar, unemployment was rising and 60% of Americans viewed the high cost of living as their major concern
How many advisers were there in Vietnam when Johnson became President?
17000
What did the SCLC and NAACP organise in ‘64?
Freedom Rides and Sit Ins
Why did Johnson continue the uS involvement in Vietnam?
- containment and domino theory
- Kennedy administration had collueded in assassination of Diem
- Continuing the Kennedy legacy
- Did not want to be first President to lose a war
Who reported that the war was unwinnable after the Tet Offesnive?
Walter Cronkite - a famous broadcast journalist who was known as ‘the most trusted man in American’
What the Northern liberal Democrats worried about with LBJ after Kennedy’s death?
Worried Johnson had southern values
What did the North Vietnamese and Vietcong launch in January 1968 against South Vietnam?
The Tet Offensive
How did LBJ honour the legacy of Knnedy?
He continued his policies including the tax cut, the civil rights bill and the New Frontier -> Great Society. The NASA launch centre in Florida was named after him
When did Operation Rolling Thunder begin?
Feb ‘65
By 1968, how many American ground troops were there in Vietnam?
535,000
How many Americans approved of Rolling Thunder?
67%
Who was the commander of American troops in Vietnam?
William Westmoreland