John F. Kennedy Kennedy graduated from Harvard in 1940 and entered the navy In 1943, despite injuries, led survivors to safety after his PT boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer After the war, he became a Democratic Congressman and advanced to the Senate in 1953 In 1955, he wrote a book called Profiles in Courage and won the Pulitzer Prize In 1956, he almost gained democratic nomination for vice president, and 4 years later got the first ballot nomination for president q=john+f+kennedy

JFK’s Role in the Vietnam War JFK believed that the U.S. could shape the destiny of world’s developing countries In Vietnam, he wanted to protect the South from communism as well as help them through stages of economic growth Kennedy wasn’t sure about a solution; did not want communism to stand in Vietnam Vietnam was a test of U.S. resolve; he hated the idea of failure; always “had to win” Escalated American involvement thinking that the war would be quick and easy

Involvement in the War Both sides of Kennedy’s administration clashed about sending troops to Vietnam In 1963, Kennedy was told that the war would be fast and that he could start taking out troops by the end of the year; by then he had sent in about 11,000 troops Kennedy agreed for the CIA mission to assassinate Diem Even after the assassination, Kennedy was still unsure about what to do, and had already spoken to advisors about pulling out of Vietnam Kennedy was assassinated in November of es/vietnam-war-category.jpg

Lyndon B. Johnson Born and raised in Johnson City, Texas Taught at a poor High School for several years Began his political career in the House in 1937 as a New Deal Democrat Joined the U.S. Navy in1941, until coming back in 1948 to win a seat in the Senate with a more conservative approach Established himself in the Senate, became Minority Leader in 1951 and Majority Leader in 1957 Used his influence to help pass civil rights bills and gain favor with the Eisenhower administration After failing to get the Democratic Presidential Nomination Johnson took an offer to be Vice President under Kennedy in

Vice Presidency Johnson campaigned in the South to help Kennedy beat Nixon in 1960 Johnson did not like his role as Vice President under Kennedy because he liked to be at the center of power Johnson, who had worked from poverty to success, did not get along well with the aristocratic Kennedy Johnson took roles such as Head of the Space Program and President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, but felt that Kennedy did not respect him enough to take more serious roles Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963 and Johnson became President ohnson.jpg

Role in the Vietnam War Johnson inherited conflict in Vietnam from Kennedy along with his Presidency Campaigned and pledged not to get more involved in Vietnam and won re- election in 1964 in a landslide After an alleged attack by Viet Cong forces on American patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving Johnson power to take “all necessary measures” Johnson greatly increased the number of troops and ordered various bombing campaigns As the war in Vietnam went on and became a stalemete, it became unpopular and a large anti-war movement formed Suffering from depression from the Vietnam conflict, Johnson decided not to run for re-election in

Works Cited “John Kennedy.” John Kennedy. (2 Feb 2007) “President John F Kennedy’s Role in the Vietnam War.” The Vietnam War: President John F Kennedy’s Role in the Vietnam War (2 Feb 2007) “Johnson, Lyndon B.” Lyndon B. Johnson. (2 Feb 2007) “Lyndon Baines Johnson” Facts on File (2 Feb 2007) 53