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Lyndon b johnson and the vietnam war
Spread of communism causing Vietnam conflict
Vietnam war what is communism
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Communism has been and still remains as one of the biggest threats to a democratic government. The tensions between North Vietnam, which was communist, and non-communistic South Vietnam’s governments occurred over the desire to gain absolute control and eradicate the other opposing rival government. Vietnam, during this time period, was fighting a civil war composed of the Northern regions and Southern regions in which the North wished to change the democratic governments that were currently in effect. The speech “On Vietnam and Not Seeking Re-election” by Lyndon B. Johnson, explains the Vietnam War and why he did not seek to be re-elected.
The 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson was born August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas. Johnson was raised in a small farm house with very little. He was the youngest of 5 children and was guided through childhood by his grandfather, Samuel Johnson. He was unfortunately pronounced dead later on in his life on January 22, 1973 in his hometown Stonewall, Texas. Johnson was the vice president as of January 20th, 1961 to November 22nd, 1963. He unplanningly inherited the presidency after John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. Johnson’s term in office was fairly short considering his plan to turn down re-election, which he clearly stated by sharing his speech. LBJ was only president from November 22nd, 1963 to January 20th, 1969. Instead of creating a popular image for himself, like John F. Kennedy was capable of doing, Lyndon B. Johnson caused much hatred, riot, and outburst throughout the country of Vietnam.
Johnson did not wish to seek re-election for various reasons. The U.S. citizens were pretty infatuated with this decision. On March 31, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his “On...
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... the War in Vietnam during Lyndon Johnson's Presidency. Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, Web. 09 May 2014.
"The Wars for Viet Nam." Excerpts from Speech Given by President Johnson at Johns Hopkins University, April 7,1965. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War: Introduction to the Digital Edition." Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson Digital Edition. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
"Vietnam War History, Speeches, Commentary." Vietnam War History, Speeches, Commentary. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
30, March. "Why LBJ Bowed out." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
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Jones, James R. "Behind L.B.J.'s Decision Not to Run in '68." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Apr. 1988. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Miller Center." Speech on Vietnam (September 29, 1967)-. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Anderson, D. (2002). The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Johnson was put into office as the 36th president of the United States after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November of 1963, his first task was one close to his heart, which was to alleviate poverty and create what he called a “Great Society” for all Americans. This is where Medicare and the Head Start program came from which led to better healthcare, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. Despite his amazing achievements at home in the US, he was also known very well for his failure to lead the nation out of the devastation of the Vietnam War which was travesty from 1954 to 1975. It was after this that he decided not to run for office again and he quietly retired to his ranch in Texas in January of 1969 (History.com Staff.
LBJ Biography. http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/lbj_bio.asp (accessed May 2, 2014).
Benson, Alvin K. “Bo Jackson.” The Eighties in America. Ed. Berman Milton. 3 vols. Salem Press,
"Overview of the Vietnam War." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
As part of his campaign, Linden B. Johnson directed his efforts toward the improvement of life of those in poverty, focusing little attention to the Vietnam War. Yet once elected, he brought upon “the escalation of the Vietnam war to an intensity that few Americans expected when they cast their ballots for him” (Walsh). Johnson’s increased interest and support for the war created a major issue of misrepresentation, his election came from his ideas aimed at the “Great Society,” yet he authorized the increase of the original “20,000 U.S. troops to more than a half million” to serve in Vietnam (Walsh). The policies that the former president was elected under was what the general public hoped would come from his stay in office, yet his legacy would go on to be almost entirely regarding his involvement in the war. Not only did he bring the United States deeper into the war, he also failed “to honestly discuss how badly the war was going and to reveal the true costs of the conflict” (Walsh). This duplicity on the part of the former president, forged for a severe difference in preference and policy between him and the majority of United States public that had elected him into office for his first official presidential term in
Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, is not one of the most well-known presidents to have ever served in office though he did do some good things during his presidency. The vice president’s journey to the presidency began after the assassination of the beloved president, John F. Kennedy. Before serving as president, he was the youngest Senator to ever serve as a majority leader and he sat in the House of Representatives. Although Johnson served two terms as president, he only ran in one election because of the death of Kennedy. However, the one election he ran in, he won in by a landslide (Ridings & Melver 231). Lyndon B Johnson, the Democratic president, who served from 1963-1969, might have been infamous for the decisions he made during the Vietnam War, but his Great Society and Civil Rights Act helped shape the nation in a good way.
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
He was also a Gulf War veteran who commanded an armored cavalry. His desire in writing this book was to examine, through the recently declassified documents, manuscript collections, and the Joint Chief of Staff official histories, where the responsibility for the Vietnam foreign policy disaster lay, but also examine the decisions made that involved the United States in a war they could not win. This book details the discussion of government policy in the stages of the Vietnam crisis from 1961-July 1965. It examines the main characters of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara, in addition to the military, which included the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It began in the Kennedy era amidst the Bay of Pigs incident and how that led to mistrust of the military planning by advisors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Los Angeles: A Tale Of Two Trials." Newsweek 120.7 (1992): 37. MAS Ultra - School Edition.
“In July 1965, Lyndon Johnson chose to Americanize the war in Vietnam.” Although Johnson chose to enter America into the war, there were events previous that caused America to enter and take over the war. The South Vietnamese were losing the war against Communism – giving Johnson all the more reason to enter the war, and allowing strong American forces to help stop communism. There were other contributing factors leading up to the entrance of the war; America helped assist the French in the war, Johnson’s politics, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and the 1954 Geneva Conference. President Johnson stated, “For 10 years three American Presidents-President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President--and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam.”
On April 4th, 1968 Senator Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning to be the Democratic Presidential Nominee. As he was boarding his plane to Indianapolis, he was told that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Civil Right’s movement had been shot. When he landed, he was told that Dr. King had been pronounced dead. Even though the Indianapolis police warned him that they could not guarantee his safety , Kennedy delivered an un-scripted speech, which was ranked as the seventeenth most important speech in American Politics . In just over six minutes, Kennedy was able to do what most candidates were never able to do; talk about a severely important domestic issue without pandering but with sensitivity and understanding. He consoled and inspired many, and on top of that showed what he felt the true image of the Presidency was, a leader who can inspire and extract hope in times of terrible despair.
My Grandmother was a young mother when Lyndon B. Johnson came to the presidency in a way that shocked the entire nation. Understandably, she most strongly remembers the image of young Jackie Kennedy standing on Air Force One, covered in her husband’s blood, as she watched Johnson take the Oath of Office. She also remembers various conspiracy theories at the time, claiming that after feeling held back by America’s Golden Boy, Kennedy, Johnson took it upon himself to have Kennedy assassinated. Aside from that, my Grandmother mostly remembers the horror that Johnson inflicted upon her own personal life with his involvement in the Vietnam War, or as my Grandmother still refers to it, “A war we knew we could not win.”
Willbanks, James H. "The Real History of the Vietnam War." ARMCHAIR GENERAL Nov. 2007: 54-67. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.