Nation Torn, A: 1968, The Year the Dream Died
The trauma and turmoil of the 1960s seem to converge on the year 1968. On March 31 in this year of the TET Offensive, President Johnson addresses the nation to announce his decision not to run for re-election. Many things have been unraveling for th...
Nation Torn, A: U.S. Intensifies Involvement in Vietnam
Late in 1964, the situation in Vietnam appears to be getting worse despite the investment of American forces and the bombing of coastal positions in North Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin). In 1965, Johnson makes a series of executive decisions, endorsed by ...
Nation Torn, A: Disillusionment Spawned by Vietnam Conflict
The Vietnam war and racial struggles at home creates a wedge between the American people and their government. In retrospect journalists like Marvin Kalb feel they were systematically lied to by the U.S. government, and as a result unknowingly misle...
Nation Torn, A: History of the Vietnam Conflict
Lyndon Johnson enters the presidency with even less experience in international affairs than John F. Kennedy. In his initial days in office, the country's foreign policy is dominated by the bitter civil war in Vietnam. At first it appears to be litt...
Restless Society: Johnson Assumes Presidency Upon Kennedy Assassination
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas in November of 1963. Just hours after Kennedy's death, Vice President Johnson is sworn as the nation's 36th president aboard Air Force One. Because of his mastery of Congress, Johnson is abl...
Restless Society: Republican Revival, The
By the late 1950s a growing restlessness lurks beneath the surface of American society. Anxiety about America's position in the world, growing pressure from African Americans and other minorities, and the increasing visibility of poverty are beginni...
Restless Society: Great Society: Assault on Poverty in U.S, The.
Johnson expands on Kennedy's idea of a war on poverty and lays out an agenda for what he calls the "Great Society." In an effort to create full employment, Johnson instigates an $11 billion tax cut and creates programs poor people can use to bring t...
Restless Society: Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement
Racial injustice is no longer limited to South or rural areas. Sixty-nine percent of blacks now live in cities, often in embattled inner-city neighborhoods where there is a growing sense of abandonment and anger. The Watts Riot in the summer of 1965...