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LBJ; American Experience Documentary
Topic Started: Oct 22 2012, 10:05 AM (154 Views)
tomdrobin
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Fire & Ice Senior Diplomat
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Last night I watched a 4 hr long documentary on the life and politics of LBJ. It was originally on PBS's American Experience, but is now available for streaming on netflix. I remember the era and LBJ, but mostly impressions and bits and pieces, and wanted to learn the whole story.
Any time LBJ is brought up the term "Great Society" comes to my mind. It was his ambitious goal to fight poverty and provide opportunity. I always assumed it was mostly about welfare, but he accomplished much more than that.

Quote:
 
Major legislation signed
1963: Clean Air Act of 1963[124]
1963: Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963[125][126]
1963: Vocational Education Act of 1963[127]
1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964
1964: Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964
1964: Wilderness Act
1964: Nurse Training Act of 1964[128]
1964: Food Stamp Act of 1964
1964: Economic Opportunity Act
1964: Housing Act of 1964[129]
1965: Higher Education Act of 1965
1965: Older Americans Act
1965: Social Security Act of 1965
1965: Voting Rights Act
1965: Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965
1966: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
1967: Age Discrimination in Employment Act[130]
1967: Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
1968: Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
1968: Bilingual Education Act
1968: Civil Rights Act of 1968
1968: Gun Control Act of 1968


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson

It appears that after Kennedy was assassinated he felt it was his duty to follow Kennedy's platform, and he did so quite aggressively. With his arm twisting and other persuasionary abilities he was able to get most of what he wanted. It's hard to say if he was motivated by true conviction or the desire of his own legacy.

The Viet Nam war was his biggest failure. Even after his close advisors had changed their minds on the war, he still would not bail out, fearing he would be tagged as being the 1st president who lost a war.
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Brewster
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From what I remember, and what I've read, if it weren't for Viet Nam, he would rank very close to the top as one of the most effective Presidents ever.

As you say, many of his accomplishments were originally Kennedy's ideas, but he was far better at actually getting things done - Kennedy was a dreamer.
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Neutral
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:smile: "I am the President" with his hands in the air.
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