Lyndon B. Johnson once said this quote, “The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.” This quote really described what the presidency was like to the men who have occupied the position. The first part of this quote explained how the presidency has made those who have occupied it step up to tasks that they never thought they would have to handle. Tasks much bigger than themselves. The second part of this quote explained how the presidency is a big position but not big enough for the men who occupy it. Although they are given the title of the President, sometimes that title is not enough for the things they want to accomplish during their presidency.
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Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States, was a twentieth century President and was President from 1963 to 1969 ("Lyndon B. Johnson”). Lyndon B. Johnson was a very unique President in how he became President. Johnson was Vice President to John F. Kennedy but when Kennedy was assassinated during his presidency, Johnson was then inaugurated as President to finish Kennedy’s term. He than ran for reelection and won. One of the bigger decision-making that Johnson made during his presidency had to do with the War on Poverty. Johnson decided on the name “War on Poverty” because “of the mobilizing power it promised and how it connoted strong possibilities for victory” (Shaw 68). This topic was first originally brought up in Johnson’s State of the Union Address in response to the poverty in America. In his State of the Union Address of 1964 Johnson stated, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" (Matthews). To help achieve this, the Economic Opportunity Act created the “Office of Economic Opportunity, a new operational agency based in the Executive Office of the President; a set of legislative titles and programs to fight poverty” (Torstensson 587). Johnson had been very interested and vocal about this topic even before he became President. Once he became President, this was the first issue as President that he focused on. Johnson needed a strong topic to bring to the people of the United States and to set a good image of what he wanted his presidency to look like. His War on Poverty focused around four things which included “the Social Security Amendments of 1965, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965” (Matthews). All of these acts helped immensely in the reduction of poverty in America. In fact, poverty decreased “from 1967 to 2012, from 26 percent to 16 percent” (Matthews). This was a considerable
Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States, was a twentieth century President and was President from 1963 to 1969 ("Lyndon B. Johnson”). Lyndon B. Johnson was a very unique President in how he became President. Johnson was Vice President to John F. Kennedy but when Kennedy was assassinated during his presidency, Johnson was then inaugurated as President to finish Kennedy’s term. He than ran for reelection and won. One of the bigger decision-making that Johnson made during his presidency had to do with the War on Poverty. Johnson decided on the name “War on Poverty” because “of the mobilizing power it promised and how it connoted strong possibilities for victory” (Shaw 68). This topic was first originally brought up in Johnson’s State of the Union Address in response to the poverty in America. In his State of the Union Address of 1964 Johnson stated, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" (Matthews). To help achieve this, the Economic Opportunity Act created the “Office of Economic Opportunity, a new operational agency based in the Executive Office of the President; a set of legislative titles and programs to fight poverty” (Torstensson 587). Johnson had been very interested and vocal about this topic even before he became President. Once he became President, this was the first issue as President that he focused on. Johnson needed a strong topic to bring to the people of the United States and to set a good image of what he wanted his presidency to look like. His War on Poverty focused around four things which included “the Social Security Amendments of 1965, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965” (Matthews). All of these acts helped immensely in the reduction of poverty in America. In fact, poverty decreased “from 1967 to 2012, from 26 percent to 16 percent” (Matthews). This was a considerable