ABSTRACT
Lyndon Baines Johnson was president of the United States from the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963 until the inauguration of Richard M. Nixon in 1969. It is ironic that the president most responsible for civil rights and social welfare legislation was a southerner and onetime segregationist who initially rose to power as the choice of the southern wing of the Democratic Party. Johnson proved to be one of the most able and successful Senate leaders in history. Johnson had higher ambitions than the Senate, however; he wanted to be president. Running for president in 1960, Johnson had to content himself with the vice presidential nomination on the Democratic ticket with John F. Kennedy. With Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Johnson was thrust into the presidency and immediately moved to pass civil rights and social welfare legislation. Johnson's efforts led to the passage of the War on Poverty, Medicare, and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, 1965, and 1968.
