The presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were marked by a turbulent era in American history, filled with challenges such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. However, their legacies were also defined by their domestic policies, which aimed to address economic and social inequalities, civil rights, healthcare, and education reform. Although Kennedy and Johnson shared similar goals, their strategies to achieve them were quite different. This essay has explored and analyzed the similarities and differences between the domestic policies of these two presidents, shedding light on their respective visions for a better America. Both Kennedy and Johnson pursued domestic policies to address economic and social inequalities.
What does it take to be the president of the United States of America? The Constitution lists only three qualifications for the Presidency — the President must be at least 35 years of age, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years, but is that really all it takes? No! Even if you meet all of those requirements you still have quite a bit of work cut out for yourself. It is a very long process to even be considered in the running for president, with campaigning your way throughout the country, then having to be selected by the citizens themselves.
Two presidents emerged from the Cold War era of the 20th century that have influenced American policy even up to the present day. Reagan, a Republican during the “New Conservative” movement, held many differing views when compared to Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat from the 1960s who created the "Great Society." These two leaders had contrasting views on a range of issues, including the role of government, social issues, and foreign policy. One thing Reagan believed in was limited government. One of the main things the New Conservatives were worried about was the government overstepping their bounds when it should just be left up to the States.
The domestic policy of the Cold War era truly went on to shape the country we see to this day. Two of the presidents that had the greatest impacts on the modern United States were Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Regan. The administrations under these two men would, through their policies on the environment, poverty, and civil/ human rights, make lasting changes to how the government would handle these issues. Lyndon B. Johnson was the president when some of the first claims of global warming and acid rain reached the White House. Johnson’s administration began a wave of new environmentalism with new policies branded under his Great Society plan.
He has been described as ‘reluctant’, ‘intimidated by congress’ and with ‘moral passion missing’ as King once said. His fear of congress did limit his moves when acting for Civil Rights as it happened during the freedom rides and the sit-in protests of the early 1960’s. Many also argue that the Civil rights ‘was not his top priority’, ‘He was busy with many other issues, especially foreign affairs, that he didn't give it the kind of energy and attention that we might wish in retrospect,’ argues Barrett, who studies the Kennedy Administration. The President did not exert his power in domestic affairs, nor made efforts to influence congress , as Johnson did later on. His major concerns were the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and communist containment, nothing domestic
In the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson times were extremely confusing. Domestically, the civil rights movement was in full effect and the war in Vietnam was raging overseas. Another major implication on these two mens presidencies was the Cold War and the fight for democracy to rule over communism around the world. Thus, many of the stances these two presidents had on Vietnam involved being aggressive in the war and not letting communism defeat the “free” world. Their decisions were both aggressive and extremely stubborn when the scope of the war began to take shape.
The presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were marked by a tumultuous era in American history. From the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War, these two Democratic presidents faced significant challenges that tested their leadership and vision for the country. However, their legacies also extended to the domestic policies they implemented during their time in office. In particular, comparing their approaches to addressing economic and social inequalities, civil rights, healthcare, and education reform provides valuable insights into the ways in which they attempted to shape American society. While Kennedy and Johnson shared similar goals of addressing societal issues, their strategies to achieve these goals differed greatly.
President Lyndon B. Johnson tragically stumbled into the presidency immediately following the assassination of John F Kennedy. In a time of nationally unrest and uncertainty, Johnson aspired to draw the country together. This would start with what he dubbed the “war on poverty”- the crux of his plan for establishing a Great Society. In what would eventually establish him in the memories of Americans as a champion of civil rights legislation, Johnson stepped in to fulfill the dreams of Kennedy’s New Frontier, expanding the original social goals. His efforts in attempting to achieve the Great Society brought about many changes to a pliable America.
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president. When he came into office he had these grand ideas for America, and he called these set of ideas the New Frontier. Lyndon B. Johnson was Kennedy’s Vice President and the 36th president after J.F.K. was assassinated. President johnson, like Kennedy, wanted to change America with new programs, but Kennedy was not as successful in implementing his ideas as Johnson, because he didn’t have the strong personality like his V.P. L.B.J.,like Kennedy, also had ideas and plans for America, which he called the Great society. President Kennedy and Johnson both had similar ideas for what they wanted for America, but what they were able to accomplish were different.
Six – Johnson’s Great Society The accidental President, Lyndon B. Johnson became electorally validated with a landslide victory in 1964 (Hamby 1992, 249). Successfully carrying the wishes of John F. Kennedy, Johnson’s victory instilled a predisposition to carry FDR’s New Deal Liberalism to a greater level. Johnson’s mission of liberal “hyperaccomplishment” was a product of a combination of craving success, deep insecurities and first hand witness to underprivileged growing up (Hamby 1992, 233).
Following his presidency, President Truman’s “Fair Society” and President Johnson’s “Great Society” programs continued to seek economic security and successfully raised the middle class of all groups, yet Liberals had limited political power, making discrimination and poverty still weighing on the backs of Black men and women. Though generally successful in ending the Depression and offering aid for most Americans, in the face of conservatism, sexism, and racism, Black men and women were disproportionately held back from reaping the benefits of the New Deal
Lyndon Johnson’s desire to build a “Great Society” came from his childhood rearing. While growing-up in Texas, he viewed poverty as being more of a cause of being hostile towards people than race (Schultz,2014). President Johnson intended to change American liberalism through a series of programs that he implemented to end poverty and expand education. The “Great Society is where no child will go unfed and no youngster will go unschooled” (Schultz,2014). He also visioned that every child having a good teacher and every teacher have good pay, and both have good classrooms.
After the momentous accomplishment of the Civil Rights act and Voting Rights, the Great Society changed the direction of equality for all citizens. Multiple programs produced by the legislation did not last. After the War Lyndon Johnson faced one against communism in Vietnam, the immediate result was the policies that failed. One being the Economic opportunity as it lacked educational ability and backfired, because of this movement the democratic constituencies were fighting poverty. There were issues correlated with the increased dependency on the government that hurt poverty.
Lyndon Baines Johnson proposes his plan with a hopeful tone through the diction of “inspire” and “we can” (Johnson) to make the American people have a better relationship with the government in order for them to “prevent an ugly America” (Johnson), and to emphasis that as American citizens if we come together, America can be a stronger country than ever before. In addition to Lyndon Baines Johnson’s optimistic and hopeful tone, he dwells on the problems of the cities, education, and the environment. This is thought provoking because President Lyndon Baines Johnson uses these problems to show the graduates and the American citizens that there needs to be change. American citizens can create this change by everyone coming together with the government to create a “Great Society” which will resolve these
President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all,” in his speech that changed American’s views on society and the outcomes that can occur (“Great Society”).With the death of President Kennedy in November of 1963, it was Johnson’s duty to follow the path of Kennedy’s vision of making America and its future great for everyone. President Johnson named his vision and passion for the future of America that he strived to lead the Great Society(“Great Society”). Johnson’s speech on May 22, 1964 was played out for America and its people to educate the importance to supply our society with wealth, wisdom, and experience to successfully build a country where the struggled labor becomes a value for the
The Kennedy-Johnson years (1961-1969) provided the stimulant for social and economic re-form, but most of their policy initiatives were confounded by domestic strife and foreign policy failure. Discuss. The 1960s heralded a period of both social and economic change as both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to continue the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’. However, “competing domestic and foreign policy constituencies” stymied some of their efforts at reform therefore whilst in many cases their policies stimulated reform in later decades much of their energies in the 1960s were focused overseas.