By , nearly , troops were in Vietnam. Following the Tet Offensive in and facing dwindling public support for the war, Johnson announced that he would not seek a second term as President. Though preoccupied with Vietnam, the Johnson administration faced challenges elsewhere. In Latin America, riots in Panama in led to concessions that still preserved U. In an unpopular move, Johnson sent troops to the Dominican Republic in to intervene in their civil war and prevent another Cuba.
Johnson warned that the United States would oppose aggression by any state in the area but encouraged diplomatic negotiations. In , the administration faced another major crisis when the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia. Following the election of Republican Richard M. Nixon, Johnson left office on January 20, Menu Menu. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Milestones: — For more information, please see the full notice.
Johnson President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson at Legislative Leaders Meeting, February 7, Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President. His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty. Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation.
His vision of America extended to the quality of the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society. He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations.
But the hard reality of the Communist challenge remained. Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland.
The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space.
Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe. In , at age 44, he became the youngest person ever to serve as minority leader of the Senate. Two years later, when Democrats won control of Congress, Johnson became the Senate majority leader. His ability to work productively with Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower and unite his party behind important legislation made him a powerful figure in Washington.
In , John F. Kennedy , the Democratic presidential nominee, invited Johnson to be his vice-presidential running mate. On November 22, , Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. His ambitious legislative agenda created the Medicare and Medicaid programs to provide federal health insurance for elderly and poor Americans. It also included measures aimed at improving education, preventing crime and reducing air and water pollution. Johnson also made great strides in attacking racial discrimination by signing the historic Civil Rights Act of and Voting Rights Act of His wide-reaching achievements improved the lives of millions of Americans and contributed to economic growth and prosperity.
Like the three presidents before him, Johnson was determined to prevent North Vietnamese communists from taking over the U. As part of this effort, Johnson steadily escalated U. The number of American troops in Vietnam soared from 16, when he took office in to more than , in , yet the conflict remained a bloody stalemate.
As the war dragged on and American and Vietnamese casualties mounted, anti-war protests rocked college campuses and cities across the U.
When it appeared that he might face a stiff challenge for the Democratic presidential nomination, Johnson announced his decision not to run for re-election.
Johnson explained that he wanted to focus on the peace process and pressing domestic issues during his final months in office without the distraction of a political campaign. The conflict in Vietnam, though, brought him nothing but pain and frustration until his last days in office, and U. Following the inauguration of Republican President Nixon, Johnson retired to his Texas ranch, where he spent the next few years establishing his presidential library which opened in on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin and writing his memoirs.
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Rutherford B. Hayes , the 19th president of the United States, won a controversial and fiercely disputed election against Samuel Tilden. He withdrew troops from the Reconstruction states in order to restore local control and good will, a decision that many perceived Andrew Johnson , the 17th U.
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