President Lyndon B. Johnson Essay

James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), was a highly talented and celebrated African American writer. He was a poet, songwriter, novelist, literary critic, and essayist. Along with his wide-ranging literary accomplishments, Johnson also served as a school principal, professor of literature at Fisk University, attorney, a diplomatic consul for the United States in Venezuelaand Nicaragua, and secretary for the NAACP from 1920-1930. He is considered one of the founders of the Harlem Renaissance and the first "modern" African American.

In her book The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, author Marilyn Young examines the series of political and military struggles between the United States and Vietnam, a nation that has been distinctively separated as the South and the North. Young chooses to express the daily, weekly, monthly progresses of the affairs collectively called the Vietnam Wars, focusing on the American interventions in the foreign soil. She seeks to provide an answer to a question that has haunted the world for years: What was the reason behind the United States interfering in the internal affairs of a foreign country in which it had no claims at all? Young discloses the overt as well as covert actions undertaken by the U.S. government officials regarding the foreign affairs with Vietnam and the true nature of the multifaceted objectives of each and every person that’s involved had.

For the sake of conciseness, and in order to focus the bulk of the content on the main topic, this essay will make certain assumptions. Most importantly, the essay assumes that the conflict in Vietnam was, indeed, lost by the US. It also presupposes that � due to the political climate in the US � the war itself was unavoidable. Finally, the essay takes for granted

Many Presidents over the years have shown greatness through their leadership. Each has shown this in their individual way. It takes the ability to deal with whatever may come up, as far as politics are concerned, and handle it with care. Also it takes making a difference in society instead of just settling for the United States being ok as it is. The extra step that some take, separates the normal from the great. Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the Presidents who stood out by taking the extra step. LBJ showed presidential greatness through passing groundbreaking legislation and improving society.

Lyndon B. Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near the central Texas community of Johnson City. He graduated from Southwest State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas on 1930. To help pay for his education, he taught at a school for disadvantaged Mexican-American students in South Texas. The way he looked at the effects of poverty and discrimination on his students made a deep impression on Johnson and caused in him a lifelong desire to find a solution of those problems. Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36h president of the United States due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 1963. Thanks to him today we have the following: Medicare, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. He also had a deep and huge

Lyndon B. Johnson was born August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr., a politician, farmer, cotton speculator, and newspaper owner, and Rebekah Baines Johnson, a homemaker and sometime newspaper editor (Smallwood). He was he first born of five children. Johnson started school school near his home along the Pedernales River in the Texas hill country at age four. Although at age four, Johnson attended the nearby one-room, one-teacher Junction School, his formal education began in 1913 when he was enrolled in first grade in the Johnson City Elementary School. He also attended a school in the small community of Albert. Johnson’s father, Sam Johnson, was a small-time farmer whose first love was politics; he served several terms in the Texas legislature. He also was able to gain a measure of financial security which allowed him to re-enter politics. In 1917, he won a special election and regained his seat in the Texas legislature. Johnson was introduced to the fascinating world of politics as small boy. When Sam Johnson decided to move, Johnson then transferred to high school nearby Johnson City. He did exceptionally well as a student. He was elected senior class president, was a leader of the school debate team, finished second in a graduating class of six, and gave the student oration at graduation. Johnson’s classmates recall that he always wanted to be the leader and always wanted to

In 1965, he “ordered an increase in U.S. military forces in Vietnam, from the present 75,000 to 125,000”(History). Immediate reaction followed from this, and communist leader attacked him for this decision. This became “a major turning point, as it effectively guaranteed U.S. military leaders a blank check to pursue the war”(History). Johnson's future tactics included more men and many bombings and plans such as operation rolling thunder. These failed due to the fact that the Vietcong was not defeated stepping down from war. The more men he sent overseas just generated more chaos in America and deaths in Vietnam. In addition to this, North Vietnam had significantly less troops than we did in the South, they had about “10,000 troops...meanwhile we have an occupation force of 500,000 ground troops”, this doesn't include the naval and air command(Doc G). Lastly, the biggest shock for not only the President but the citizens lied in the fact that everyone believed it wasn't “possible for us to lose the war. We are too strong…”(Doc F). Johnson along with the generals aimed to “fight it with the least cost to ourselves and the greatest cost to our enemy”(Doc F). Unfortunately, it did the exact opposite with the failure through the President's failed military tactics and policies.

Lyndon Baines Johnson introduced the Great Society, a strategic plan of action to propose environmental cleanup, decreasing poverty, and helping to further fund education during his state of the union address in 1965 in a poetic manner. He spoke of it as a destination that the American people would work toward. Johnson’s address gave many Americans hope and faith in a better world after feeling so much pain following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Americans were anxious to move forward as a nation in support of the changed Johnson proposed.

     Andrew Johnson, the 17th president, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 29th, 1808. At the young age of three years old, Andrew’s father. Jacob Johnson passed away while drowning in an attempt to save the life of Editor Henderson from the Raleigh Gazette in 1812. Andrew’s mother, Mary Johnson, worked hard as a seamstress and washerwoman in order to support Andrew and his three brothers, and her; but she was unable to afford to send them to school. From the age of 14 until 16 he worked as an apprentice to a tailor but talked to his mother and stepfather about moving and starting a new life. He then opened a tailor shop in Greenville, Tennessee, married Eliza McCardle on May 17, 1827 and

Lyndon B. Johnson was the vice president and became the 36th president after John F. Kennedy assassination. Johnson had many legislature accomplishments. Before John. F. Kennedy had died he had a large amount of American economic, troops sent overseas and was not willing to withdraw from the war. Lyndon B. Johnson had represented the Texas in the United States senate. When John F. Kennedy died Lyndon B. Johnson had receive the presidency. Lyndon B. Johnson had support Kennedy through everything. Although Mr. Johnson had took charge as an anti-communist he handled different situations, continued the programs and even respected Mr. Kennedy wishes without increasing the war. Kennedy wanted to limit the number of troops that would attend the war, but Lyndon Johnson had escalated the danger of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War loomed predominantly over three U.S. presidencies. When John F. Kennedy came to the presidency, he immediately inherited Dwight Eisenhower’s commitment to assist Saigon in its struggle

Lyndon B. Johnson wanted equal opportunity, freedom, and justice for all. In the “We Shall Overcome” address he states, “There is no Negro

          President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program of relief, recovery, and reform that aimed at solving the economic problems created by the Depression of the 1930’s, was referred to as the New Deal. The Great Society was the name given to the domestic program of the U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson. Both programs had similar yet opposing points.

“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War.” –Richard Nixon, 1985. Since the Vietnam War, there has been almost fifty years of remembrance, various readings, and the publication of military documents. However, Richard Nixon’s quote still has a certain veracity. The United States has fought in many wars, but none have compelled Americans to question our motives like the Vietnam War. The United States should not have gotten involved in Vietnam, because it was illegal, unjustified, and unethical.

The US initially viewed the Vietnam War simply as a testing ground for the new ‘flexible response’ policy of dealing with international aggression. However as the war progressed it quickly became evident that the war would become a serious problem for the existing and future US administration. The war was not, by any means, a victory for the United States and did not accomplish any of the goals set like deterring future aggressions, enhancing US credibility or ‘saving’ Vietnam.