Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, became president after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and served until 1969. He pursued an ambitious domestic agenda while presiding over a major escalation of the Vietnam War.
Johnson’s domestic agenda, known as the Great Society, expanded civil rights, health care, education, and anti-poverty programs, producing landmark laws such as the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, and Medicaid.
His decision to escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam eroded public support and overshadowed many of his achievements, leaving a complex legacy that reshaped civil rights, social policy, and debates over U.S. foreign intervention.
Signed the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965); Created Medicare and Medicaid (1965); Launched the Great Society and War on Poverty initiatives; Escalated U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War; Enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)
Key highlights and dated events associated with this presidency.
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (7–2) that a Connecticut statute criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the constitutional right to marital privacy.
President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered the Howard University commencement address urging stronger federal action to secure civil rights and endorsing 'affirmative action' measures for federal contractors and recipients of federal funds.
President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated his close adviser Abe Fortas to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Justice Arthur J. Goldberg.
The Organization of American States approved creation of an Inter-American Peace Force to stabilize the Dominican Republic amid civil conflict, and the United States agreed to participate.
On May 4, 1965 the Organization of American States approved the creation of an Inter‑American Peace Force to stabilize the Dominican Republic after the April uprising, and the Johnson administration agreed that U.S. forces would take part in the multinational mission.
After ordering U.S. intervention, President Johnson dispatched American troops and Marines to the Dominican Republic; U.S. forces began landing in late April to protect American citizens and stabilize the situation amid civil unrest.
On April 28, 1965 President Johnson ordered U.S. forces into the Dominican Republic amid a civil war, and U.S. Marines landed in Santo Domingo to protect American citizens and secure key areas.
On April 11, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), providing major federal funding for primary and secondary education with an emphasis on aid to low‑income students (Title I).
After a multi-day, 54-mile march, civil rights demonstrators reached Montgomery and held a mass rally where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the 'How Long, Not Long' address.
On March 21, 1965, after court rulings and federal intervention, civil rights marchers departed Selma for Montgomery under federal protection provided by U.S. marshals and federally controlled forces.
President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress, invoking 'We Shall Overcome,' and formally submitted legislation to ban racial discrimination in voting.
On March 9, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led several hundred marchers to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, knelt in prayer, and then turned the procession back in a planned nonviolent action known as 'Turnaround Tuesday.'