LBJ TO CONTINUE JFK'S LEGACY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 26, 1963, the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, began his day as Chief Executive following the burial of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, with a goal in mind.
LBJ, MLK Jr., Whitney Young
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 26, 1963, the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, began his day as Chief Executive following the burial of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, with a goal in mind.
Kenneth T. Walsh writes that LBJ "sought to capitalize on Kennedy's murder by moving swiftly to continue his legacy." In his first address to Congress as president the following day, President Johnson said...
"On the 20th day of January, in 1961, John F. Kennedy (said) "Let us begin!" In this moment of new resolve, I would say...Let us continue!"
LBJ, who considered himself a New Dealer and served in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, almost immediately pressed Congress to pass the Kennedy legislative program "to honor the martyred president."
Historian Robert Dallek tells us that LBJ believed his greatest immediate challenge as POTUS "was to provide reassurance...that he could measure up to the standard JFK had set."
SOURCE
"The First 100 Days: Lyndon Johnson Fulfilled Kennedy's Legacy," by Kenneth T. Walsh, US News and World Report, March 5, 2009, www.usnews.com/
LBJ, MLK Jr., Whitney Young
and James Farmer
January 18, 1964
Photo by Yoichi Okamoto
LBJ Library & Museum Image
