1. Lyndon B. Johnson: Our Hero

2. QUIZ:QUIZ: What was Johnson's main purpose with the Great Society? Why was Agent Orange considered not to be dangerous? What was the purpose of Operation Rolling Thunder? Why was Robert McNamara Important to the vietnam war?

3. Great Society: 1964 Civil Rights Act Kennedy was the first to propose the Act before but was assassinated before it was passed. But when Johnson took as his successor, his pushed for the act as well and signed it on July 2nd. Throught this act, discrimination in public was banned. Blacks would now also be allowed to use that what used to be the “white only” places.

4. Great Society: Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, like the Mississippi Summer Project, was a campaign full of volunteers that was launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African Americans to vote. This program set up Freedom Schools, Freedom houses, and community centers in small towns in Mississippi to aid the local black population. “A man without a vote is man without protection.” -Lyndon B. Johnson

5. Great Society: VISTA Johnson began his “War on Poverty” when he first welcomed the first 20 members of VISTA volunteers. VISTA began in early 1965 with 20 members and by the end of the year, there was more than 2,000 members. These members were payed very little and would often be given difficult tasks but they would be leading a series of programs that would help the poorest Americans. VISTA helped develop a range of projects around the United States.

6. Great Society: Anti-Poverty Bill The Anti-Poverty Bill from 1964 was a part of Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act. It was his first step to fight poverty in the United States. This Act provided $947.million for job training centers, loans to poor students and low- income farmers, and education programs. Another Bill signed in October doubled the amount appropriated from the first bill ON

7. Great Society: 1965 Medicare/ Medicare In July, 1965, Congress enacted the Social Security Amendments of 1965 that contained all three health insurance programs. Purpose of the Medicare program was to remove the financial barriers to good quality healthcare services for the elderly. However there was ideological opposition in fear of governmental control in medicare practice. When this program was enacted in 1965, it was maintained fee-for-service system for all providers, in fear that the health care providers would then be unwilling to participate. “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” -Lyndon B. Johnson

8. Great Society: 1965 Immigration Act Johnson signed the 1965 Immigration Act at a ceremony in Liberty Island in New York. An important goal of the Act was to end the controversial National Origins Quota system that began in the 1920’s. However, it precipitated a demographic revolution. Promoting a policy of family unification, this Act allocated unlimited visas to spouses and children and parents of U.S citizens. “This bill...is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives” -Lyndon B. Johnson 1965

9. Great Society: Kerner Commission The Kerner commission was a Report from the 1967 Commission on Civil Disorders. The document had a combination of liberal and moderate analysis of the causes and solutions of the urban violence in the late 1960’s. This report blamed “white racism” for the increase in violence in America. Johnson appointed the 1967 Commission after the rebellions in Newark and Detroit that left 130 dead.

10. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution ➢ A resolution passed by Congress which authorized the President to take any measures of retaliation against the attacks on two U.S. destroyers by northern vietnamese forces in early August,1964. ○This order served as the basis for Johnson’s advancement in the war against Vietnam. ○The Gulf of Tonkin incident acted as a turning point for which President Johnson used to justify the pursuit of the containment policy.

11. Operation Rolling Thunder ➔ Throughout the war, Northern Vietnamese forces were supporting the Viet Cong forces in Southern Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. ➔ Operation Rolling Thunder was a bombing campaign ordered by Johnson and his advisors in an attempt to stun the supply routes of the Viet Cong. ➔ Although hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped during the operation, it didn’t permanently stop the flow of supplies through the trails because of its path through neighboring “neutral” countries.

12. Increased use of Troops ❖ Stemming from the Gulf of Tonkin incident and Operation Rolling Thunder, tensions between the Viet Cong and the United States increased. ❖ This then lead to an increase in the presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam in the name of containment and justice.

13. Agent Orange ➤ When President Kennedy came into office in January 1961 the question of what to do in Vietnam was already brewing. ➤ In 1969, it became widely known that the 2,4,5-T component of Agent Orange was contaminated with dioxin, a toxic chemical found to cause adverse health effects and birth outcomes in laboratory studies. ➤ At the time people weren't aware it was toxic or carcinogenic. Johnson was looking for anything to give the Americans an edge. Denying the VC/NVA the use of the Jungle seemed quite viable at the time. 2-4-D and 2-4- 5-T which were the major components of Agent Orange had been used for years by gardeners across the US as a weed killer. NSFW “Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it.” -Lyndon B. Johnson

14. Robert S. McNamara ➤ Robert Strange. McNamara best known for helping lead the United States into the Vietnam War during the Kennedy Administration. ➤ McNamara backed the escalation of U.S. involvement after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, during which U.S. ships were allegedly attacked by the communist North Vietnamese. ➤ Considered to be one of the major strategists behind the war, McNamara was reviled by many in the peace movement. Some were also critical of the information he conveyed about the situation in Vietnam. “Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated.” -Robert S. McNamara

15. Antiwar Protests Despite Johnson’s success in promoting his domestic reform policies, however, his presidency was equally defined by the failure of his policies toward Vietnam. Johnson’s popularity within his own party plummeted as well. When it appeared that he might face a stiff challenge for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, Johnson announced his decision not to run for re-election. If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: "President Can't Swim.". -Lyndon B. Johnson

16. QUIZ:QUIZ: What was Johnson's main purpose with the Great Society? Why was Agent Orange considered not to be dangerous? What was the purpose of Operation Rolling Thunder? Why was Robert McNamara Important to the vietnam war?