1. 1960s TX: LBJ & Civil Rights Essential Questions:
Analyze the political, economic, and social impact of political controversies such as poverty and desegregation
Describe the civil and equal rights movements and identify its key leaders

2. 1960 Presidential Election
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), a liberal Democrat, was Senate majority leader and John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) vice presidential nominee.
The Kennedy-Johnson ticket won in one of the closest races in U.S. history.
When Johnson resigned from the U.S. Senate, Republican John Tower won his seat.

3. JFK Assassination: November 22, 1963
Riding in an open-car motorcade in Dallas’s Dealey Plaza, JFK was shot and killed.
TX Governor John Connally was shot too … but not fatally.
Investigators concluded Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin (conspiracy?).
He was shot and killed 2 days later by Jack Ruby on TV!
Texas judge Sarah T. Hughes administered the presidential oath of office to LBJ on Air Force One hours after.

4. LBJ Being Sworn In As President (1963)

5. The Great Society
In 1964, American voters showed their approval by electing LBJ to 4 more years as president.
LBJ’s federal programs to help Americans became known as “The Great Society”.
He declared a “war on poverty” because so many people were poor, despite the country’s general prosperity.

6. LBJ’s Accomplishments
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Education was the cornerstone of his program
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Supported by Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK)
Outlawed racial discrimination in public places and employment
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Protected the rights of all people, regardless of race, to vote

7. The Vietnam War
LBJ sent U.S. troops to support S. Vietnam vs. Communist government of N. Vietnam
Increase in American soldier deaths/wounded
The war divided the country—those for the war and those against it
Protests and demonstrations about the war AND civil rights often turned violent

8. 1968: A Critical Year LBJ decides not to run again for president
MLK was assassinated in Memphis, TN by James Earl Ray
Robert F. Kennedy (JFK’s brother) was assassinated in Los Angeles while campaigning for president by Sirhan Sirhan
Republican Richard Nixon was elected president

9. Nixon & The “Watergate” Scandal
In 1972, tape recordings revealed Nixon was involved in a cover-up of the burglary of the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.
2 Texans, Jack Brooks and Barbara Jordan, served on the House Judiciary Committee that investigated Nixon
August 8, 1974: Nixon resigned from office

10. Vietnam Refugees The last U.S. troops left Vietnam in 1973.
After the war, thousands of Vietnamese refugees immigrated to the U.S. and Texas.
Some Vietnamese worked in the shrimping industry along the Texas coast and lived in cities such as Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Galveston.

11. Modern Landmarks Built in 1960s
The Harris County Domed Stadium (Astrodome), built in , was the world’s first enclosed, air-conditioned, multipurpose sports stadium.
Houston Astros (baseball)
Houston Oilers (football)
HemisFair ’68: international expo in San Antonio, celebrated Hispanic cultural heritage
Tower of the Americas
Institute of Texan Cultures