28.1 A Texas President

A Texan In The White House President John F. Kennedy who had been elected in 1960, believed that the U.S. stood “on the edge of a New Frontier”. His administration planned to cut taxes, reduce unemployment, protect African Americans’ civil rights, and to increase international trade. President John F. Kennedy

A Texan In The White House In 1963, Kennedy came to Texas to attend several political gatherings. As he was riding in a motorcade through downtown Dallas on November 22 with Texas governor John Connelly and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, shots rang out. Motorcade through downtown Dallas, November 22, 1963.

A Texan In The White House The President and Governor Connelly were hit. Kennedy died a short time later at Parkland Memorial Hospital. At 2:28 pm on the day of the assassination, Johnson was sworn in as the new president.

A Texan In The White House Johnson was born near Stonewall, Texas in 1908 and grew up in nearby Johnson City. He attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. After earning a teacher’s certificate, Johnson taught school and served as principal. Ambitious and hardworking, Johnson became involved in politics during his college and teaching years.

A Texan In The White House In 1935 he became director of the Texas division of the National Youth Administration. Johnson was a strong supporter of the New Deal and President Franklin Roosevelt. Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937 and to the U.S. Senate in 1948. Lyndon B. Johnson shaking Roosevelt’s hand.

A Texan In The White House He became one of the most skilled politicians in the national government. As a senator, he was an expert on getting bills passed that he supported. As a Democrat, Johnson became majority leader in the Senate in 1955. This is a leadership position held by a member of the party that has the majority of seats.

A Texan In The White House In this powerful position, Johnson influenced policy in a number of areas, including civil rights and space exploration. These issues would become even more important during his presidential administration. President Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When Lyndon B. Johnson became president, he took up and expanded many of John F. Kennedy’s plans. President Johnson believed that the U.S. should provide equal rights , education, jobs and decent housing for all of its citizens. Johnson won the 1964 election by a landslide. The Great Society 1964 Election Results

The Great Society Using this support, he launched a program that he called the Great Society. Under this program, Congress passed laws establishing health care for older and disabled Americans. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided funding for public schools, while another act set up scholarships for poorer students.

The Great Society Congress also passed acts to protect natural resources and to regulate water and air quality. The Economic Opportunity Act launched another Great Society program. Part of this act provided funds for job training and create community action programs.

The Great Society The act also provided funds for the Job Corps, which trained young people for employment. In addition, Congress passed a new immigration act that allowed more people from Latin America and Asia to come to the U.S. Partly, as a result of this act, Hispanic and Asian immigration contributed significantly to the growth of Texas in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Great Society Although many Americans supported Johnson’s Great Society programs, some people argued that the federal government was spending too much on social programs. Others thought that these acts gave the federal government too much power over the states.

The Vietnam War At the same time that President Johnson was working for change in the U.S., conflict was brewing in Southeast Asia. The government of South Vietnam was fighting against communist forces backed by North Vietnam. Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy had supported sending American military advisers to South Vietnam to help train military forces.

The Vietnam War The in 1964, upon Johnson’s request, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. This measure gave the President the authority to order troops into combat. U.S. soldiers, bombers, and weapons were sent to Vietnam by the thousands.

The Vietnam War More than 500,000 Texans served in the military during the Vietnam War. In addition, industrial production increased a great deal to meet the military’s growing needs. The booming defense industry boosted the Texas economy.

The Vietnam War As casualties mounted, so did opposition to the war. Some Americans criticized President Johnson’s handling of the war. Others demanded that he bring troops home. On college campuses across the country, students demonstrated against the war

The Vietnam War Protesters followed Johnson everywhere he went, including in his home state. Johnson worried about the deep division in the country over the war, and about his own health. On March 31, 1968, he announced that he would not run for re-election.

The Vietnam War Johnson had little success in finding a way to end the war, which continued into the 1970s. Of the some 58,000 Americans who lost their lives in the war, more than 2,100 were Texans. In Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, millions were killed.

The Vietnam War Thousands of others became refugees, many of whom came to Texas. Large Vietnamese American communities grew in Texas cities such as Houston.