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1961 The funeral of longtime House Speaker Sam Rayburn
is held in Washington, DC. Two former Presidents (Truman, Eisenhower) and one future one (Lyndon B. Johnson) join President Kennedy in paying their respects.
1963 John F. Kennedy assassination
: In Dallas, Texas
, U.S. President John F. Kennedy
is assassinated, Texas
Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded, and Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th President of the United States
.
1964 7000 residents of New Hanover Island, at the time part of Australia
, refuse to pay taxes and found a fund to purchase Lyndon B. Johnson.
1964 Vietnam War: The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.
1965 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union Address
.
1965 Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for his own full term as U.S. President.
1965 U.S. troops are sent to the Dominican Republic
by President Lyndon B. Johnson, "for the stated purpose of protecting US citizens and preventing an alleged Communist takeover of the country", thus thwarting the possibility of "another Cuba
".
1965 Vietnam War
: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States
troops in South Vietnam
from 75,000 to 125,000.
1965 War on Poverty: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
1965 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
1965 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs an immigration bill which abolishes quotas based on national origin.
1965 Vietnam War
: The Pentagon
tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American
troops in Vietnam
will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.
1965 Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam
, Philippines
President Elect Ferdinand Marcos
announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam
.
1966 Charles De Gaulle
asks U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson for negotiations about the state of NATO
equipment in France
.
1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into law. The act goes into effect the following year.
1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
1967 Cold War
: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey, for the 3-day Glassboro Summit Conference.
1967 Vietnam War
: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson holds a secret meeting with a group of the nation's most prestigious leaders ("the Wise Men") and asks them to suggest ways to unite the American people behind the war effort. They conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war.
1967 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
1967 Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports he was given on November 13, US President Lyndon B. Johnson tells his nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress." (2 months later the Tet Offensive makes him regret his words.)
1967 Vietnam War
: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
announces his pending resignation, to become president of the World Bank. This action was the result of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's outright rejection of McNamara's early November recommendations to freeze troop levels, stop bombing North Vietnam
and hand over ground fighting to South Vietnam
.
1967 Minnesota
Senator Eugene McCarthy announces his candidacy for the Democratic Party
presidential nomination, challenging incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson over the Vietnam War
.
1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson barely defeats antiwar candidate Eugene J. McCarthy in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, a vote which highlights the deep divisions in the country, as well as the party, over Vietnam
.
1968 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not seek re-election.
1968 U. S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
1968 Vietnam War
: Citing progress in the Paris
peace talks, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam
" effective November 1.
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Timeline
