American Experience

Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the most astute, effective, and perplexing politicians in modern American history. An "accidental" president but a master legislator, he was determined to "out-Kennedy the Kennedys" by pushing through historic social legislation on a scale that rivaled FDR's New Deal. A Southerner who championed civil rights, LBJ put into motion many of the programs that would continue to shape American life throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a package of reforms known as the "Great Society." But as his authority was undermined by an increasingly unpopular commitment of U.S. forces to Vietnam, his presidency began to unravel. Opposition to the war spurred protest movements and a youthful counterculture. In 1968, he stunned the nation by announcing he would not seek reelection. A larger-than-life figure in his day, LBJ is appreciated for his vast domestic accomplishments, but his presidency continues to be overshadowed by his failure to end the war in Vietnam.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the most astute, effective, and perplexing politicians in modern American history. An "accidental" president but a master legislator, he was determined to "out-Kennedy the Kennedys" by pushing through historic social legislation on a scale that rivaled FDR's New Deal. A Southerner who championed civil rights, LBJ put into motion many of the programs that would continue to shape American life throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a package of reforms known as the "Great Society." But as his authority was undermined by an increasingly unpopular commitment of U.S. forces to Vietnam, his presidency began to unravel. Opposition to the war spurred protest movements and a youthful counterculture. In 1968, he stunned the nation by announcing he would not seek reelection. A larger-than-life figure in his day, LBJ is appreciated for his vast domestic accomplishments, but his presidency continues to be overshadowed by his failure to end the war in Vietnam.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the most astute, effective, and perplexing politicians in modern American history. An "accidental" president but a master legislator, he was determined to "out-Kennedy the Kennedys" by pushing through historic social legislation on a scale that rivaled FDR's New Deal. A Southerner who championed civil rights, LBJ put into motion many of the programs that would continue to shape American life throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a package of reforms known as the "Great Society." But as his authority was undermined by an increasingly unpopular commitment of U.S. forces to Vietnam, his presidency began to unravel. Opposition to the war spurred protest movements and a youthful counterculture. In 1968, he stunned the nation by announcing he would not seek reelection. A larger-than-life figure in his day, LBJ is appreciated for his vast domestic accomplishments, but his presidency continues to be overshadowed by his failure to end the war in Vietnam.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the most astute, effective, and perplexing politicians in modern American history. An "accidental" president but a master legislator, he was determined to "out-Kennedy the Kennedys" by pushing through historic social legislation on a scale that rivaled FDR's New Deal. A Southerner who championed civil rights, LBJ put into motion many of the programs that would continue to shape American life throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a package of reforms known as the "Great Society." But as his authority was undermined by an increasingly unpopular commitment of U.S. forces to Vietnam, his presidency began to unravel. Opposition to the war spurred protest movements and a youthful counterculture. In 1968, he stunned the nation by announcing he would not seek reelection. A larger-than-life figure in his day, LBJ is appreciated for his vast domestic accomplishments, but his presidency continues to be overshadowed by his failure to end the war in Vietnam.