How Did Kennedy Become President
On November 8th, 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the President of the United States. Kennedy was running on the Democratic platform and chose Lyndon B. Johnson as his Vice President who allowed for Kennedy to carry most of the South. Not only did Kennedy advocate for a more liberal reform of the United States Government like Franklin D. Roosevelt, he also had a charismatic personality that drew the public into his promises. His liberal reform was known as The New Frontier and targeted helping those regarding poverty, race, and lack of education. While Kennedy was young and lacking experience, he won the popular vote by a slim margin against Richard Nixon who was seen ill while campaigning. Much of the young generation voted for him, and
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once he became the President he went on to challenge this generation to go to college. Furthermore, John Kennedy and his wife, Jackie Kennedy, made the people of America feel connected to them by creating a sense of familiarity. During his presidency he boosted the economy, negotiated with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and increased federal interventions to better the lives of civilians. Furthermore, he was one of the first presidents to look into gender discrimination and passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 on June 10. Months later, he began campaigning for his re-election. On November 22, 1963, there was light rain enough to form puddles, but the rain came to a halt before the President got to Dallas, Texas. The clearing of rain opened up the skies and formed a wind going ten to fifteen miles per hour. While riding in a convertible with Governor John Connally of Texas, John F. Kennedy got shot in the head and neck while the governor suffered a hit in the chest. Later that day, Kennedy was pronounced dead and Lyndon B. Johnson took an to the office. After Kennedy’s death, Johnson became the 36th President of the United States and went on to accomplish some of the most liberal reforms of the government. He pushed congress who had initially said no to Kennedy, to pass Kennedy’s agenda as a way to honor him. Since Kennedy’s term was coming to an end when Johnson became president, he would have to run again in the 1964 election against a Republican conservative known as Senator Barry Goldwater. During the 1964 election, Johnson ran on the promise to continue accomplishing the goals of John Kennedy. In the end, Johnson won 486 of the 538 electoral votes allowing him to accomplish those goals. Johnson announced a war on poverty, created the Office of Economic Opportunity, and created an agenda known as the Great Society. The Great Society was aimed towards aid to education, attacks on diseases, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, and fight against poverty. During his presidency, he was able to pass the majority of his bills because he had the Democratic Congress on his side. Furthermore, the Vietnam War was escalating, resulting in Johnson sending in more troops to fight. The increasing number of troops caused a divide in the support of the war and changed the public’s opinion on Johnson as a president.
Nonetheless, what if Lyndon B.
Johnson never became president because John F. Kennedy never got shot? On November 22nd, 1963, there was light rain in Fort Worth, Texas where Kennedy was before getting on a plane to get to Dallas, Texas. Once he landed in Dallas, the rain had subsided and there was a windshield of approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour according to Dr. Michael L. Kurtz, scholar-in-residence in the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University. Because there was enough wind to blow Kennedy’s hair faulting his appearance, he and the governor traded spots on the convertible. Kennedy’s appearance and young age were what grabbed the votes of the younger generation and he wanted to make sure the wind did not jeopardize his appearance that day. Therefore, Kennedy sat in the middle of the convertible where the governor would have sat. Because of the rearranging of Kennedy’s placement, the shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, shot at Governor Connally instead of his target, Kennedy. Oswald ended up shooting Connally in the head and neck, while Kennedy suffered a bullet in the chest. Both Connally and Kennedy were rushed to the hospital, but while Connally died, Kennedy suffered injuries and
lived.
Resultantly, Lyndon Johnson did not have to take an oath into office keeping him as the vice president. Since the 1964 elections were coming up, Kennedy ran for re-election under the Democratic Party. His opponent was conservative Republican, Barry Goldwater, who would have lost by a landslide. Goldwater was opposed against because of his want to end social programs that were used by many, such as the social security. Kennedy won with 486 of the electoral votes. While Kennedy would have won by a landslide, he was worried during the election because of his support for the Civil Rights Movements. Because Lyndon B Johnson never became president, there is a likelihood that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have never made it past the Congress. While Kennedy had proposed the bill in June of 1963, the bill had come to a standstill after the shooting. The Congress was composed of many Southern Democrats who did not like the bill and since Johnson never became the president, there was no one to push the bill through Congress. One of the main reasons the bill got passed before was because Johnson played off of the fact that it was a way to fulfill the goals of Kennedy. With Kennedy still alive and no grieving, the bill had no potential to make it pass a group of Southern Democrats and Republicans who advocated for segregation in public facilities. Kennedy did not hold much of the Congressional support and would have hoped to gain this support after his re-election. It was after the re-election that he hoped he would gain more leverage on the Congress to pass the act. Because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have never been passed during Kennedy’s second presidency, the famous court case of Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States would be nonexistent since facilities would still be allowed to be segregated. Without the passage of the Civil Rights Act, there would be little to no peace between African Americans and whites. In return for his efforts for trying to get the bill passed, Kennedy would gain support from many African Americans capturing their hearts. Along with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 not happening, the involvement in the Vietnam War would not have been prolonged if Kennedy lived. Kennedy was opposed to the spread of communism but would have taken a better role to ending the spread, unlike Johnson. According to filmmaker and visiting Brown scholar Koji Masutani,” Kennedy would have sought a more diplomatic solution than Johnson, who committed more troops to the Vietnam War in 1964, and that Kennedy wanted to be out of Vietnam entirely by 1966.” Judging from Kennedy’s documents from November 20, 1963, he was determined to have military personnel out of Vietnam by 1966. Nonetheless, if Kennedy was not assassinated, then there would have been different tensions both home and abroad compared to the doings of the Johnson administration.
In the long run, if Kennedy was able to fulfill his hopes of having military personnel out of Vietnam by 1966 than there would not have been a divide during the 1968 election over anti and pro-war. Therefore, the Democratic Party would not have been divided severely during the 1968 Democratic National Convention causing the party’s downfall during the election. “Rising sentiment against the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the failure of the Democratic Party to apply its civil rights policy had an effect both inside and outside of the International Amphitheatre, where the convention delegates
Gathered.” If Kennedy was not assassinated, then the violence would not have occurred. The intensity of the convention only occurred because of Johnson’s action during the Vietnam War, all of which could have been avoided if Kennedy remained the President. Furthermore, since Lyndon B. Johnson never became president, his programs known as Medicaid and Medicare would not have been implemented. While Kennedy had similar goals to Johnson, Kennedy would not have been able to pass the bills through Congress similar to what would happen with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While there was a build up of support for Medicare during Kennedy’s life, the Kerr-Mills Act would not allow for Medicare to gain the votes needed. Since Kennedy would not have been able gain support for Medicare and prioritize it like Johnson was able to, it would not have been implemented. If Medicare was never passed there would not be a growing debt. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone account for 47 percent of federal spending today, a portion that will only grow larger in the future. If Kennedy was able to live through both of his presidential terms, then he would have been able to stop America from going into some of its biggest failures, but he would have also been unable to pass important legislation needed during the time.
once he became the President he went on to challenge this generation to go to college. Furthermore, John Kennedy and his wife, Jackie Kennedy, made the people of America feel connected to them by creating a sense of familiarity. During his presidency he boosted the economy, negotiated with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and increased federal interventions to better the lives of civilians. Furthermore, he was one of the first presidents to look into gender discrimination and passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 on June 10. Months later, he began campaigning for his re-election. On November 22, 1963, there was light rain enough to form puddles, but the rain came to a halt before the President got to Dallas, Texas. The clearing of rain opened up the skies and formed a wind going ten to fifteen miles per hour. While riding in a convertible with Governor John Connally of Texas, John F. Kennedy got shot in the head and neck while the governor suffered a hit in the chest. Later that day, Kennedy was pronounced dead and Lyndon B. Johnson took an to the office. After Kennedy’s death, Johnson became the 36th President of the United States and went on to accomplish some of the most liberal reforms of the government. He pushed congress who had initially said no to Kennedy, to pass Kennedy’s agenda as a way to honor him. Since Kennedy’s term was coming to an end when Johnson became president, he would have to run again in the 1964 election against a Republican conservative known as Senator Barry Goldwater. During the 1964 election, Johnson ran on the promise to continue accomplishing the goals of John Kennedy. In the end, Johnson won 486 of the 538 electoral votes allowing him to accomplish those goals. Johnson announced a war on poverty, created the Office of Economic Opportunity, and created an agenda known as the Great Society. The Great Society was aimed towards aid to education, attacks on diseases, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, and fight against poverty. During his presidency, he was able to pass the majority of his bills because he had the Democratic Congress on his side. Furthermore, the Vietnam War was escalating, resulting in Johnson sending in more troops to fight. The increasing number of troops caused a divide in the support of the war and changed the public’s opinion on Johnson as a president.
Nonetheless, what if Lyndon B.
Johnson never became president because John F. Kennedy never got shot? On November 22nd, 1963, there was light rain in Fort Worth, Texas where Kennedy was before getting on a plane to get to Dallas, Texas. Once he landed in Dallas, the rain had subsided and there was a windshield of approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour according to Dr. Michael L. Kurtz, scholar-in-residence in the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University. Because there was enough wind to blow Kennedy’s hair faulting his appearance, he and the governor traded spots on the convertible. Kennedy’s appearance and young age were what grabbed the votes of the younger generation and he wanted to make sure the wind did not jeopardize his appearance that day. Therefore, Kennedy sat in the middle of the convertible where the governor would have sat. Because of the rearranging of Kennedy’s placement, the shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, shot at Governor Connally instead of his target, Kennedy. Oswald ended up shooting Connally in the head and neck, while Kennedy suffered a bullet in the chest. Both Connally and Kennedy were rushed to the hospital, but while Connally died, Kennedy suffered injuries and
lived.
Resultantly, Lyndon Johnson did not have to take an oath into office keeping him as the vice president. Since the 1964 elections were coming up, Kennedy ran for re-election under the Democratic Party. His opponent was conservative Republican, Barry Goldwater, who would have lost by a landslide. Goldwater was opposed against because of his want to end social programs that were used by many, such as the social security. Kennedy won with 486 of the electoral votes. While Kennedy would have won by a landslide, he was worried during the election because of his support for the Civil Rights Movements. Because Lyndon B Johnson never became president, there is a likelihood that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have never made it past the Congress. While Kennedy had proposed the bill in June of 1963, the bill had come to a standstill after the shooting. The Congress was composed of many Southern Democrats who did not like the bill and since Johnson never became the president, there was no one to push the bill through Congress. One of the main reasons the bill got passed before was because Johnson played off of the fact that it was a way to fulfill the goals of Kennedy. With Kennedy still alive and no grieving, the bill had no potential to make it pass a group of Southern Democrats and Republicans who advocated for segregation in public facilities. Kennedy did not hold much of the Congressional support and would have hoped to gain this support after his re-election. It was after the re-election that he hoped he would gain more leverage on the Congress to pass the act. Because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have never been passed during Kennedy’s second presidency, the famous court case of Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States would be nonexistent since facilities would still be allowed to be segregated. Without the passage of the Civil Rights Act, there would be little to no peace between African Americans and whites. In return for his efforts for trying to get the bill passed, Kennedy would gain support from many African Americans capturing their hearts. Along with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 not happening, the involvement in the Vietnam War would not have been prolonged if Kennedy lived. Kennedy was opposed to the spread of communism but would have taken a better role to ending the spread, unlike Johnson. According to filmmaker and visiting Brown scholar Koji Masutani,” Kennedy would have sought a more diplomatic solution than Johnson, who committed more troops to the Vietnam War in 1964, and that Kennedy wanted to be out of Vietnam entirely by 1966.” Judging from Kennedy’s documents from November 20, 1963, he was determined to have military personnel out of Vietnam by 1966. Nonetheless, if Kennedy was not assassinated, then there would have been different tensions both home and abroad compared to the doings of the Johnson administration.
In the long run, if Kennedy was able to fulfill his hopes of having military personnel out of Vietnam by 1966 than there would not have been a divide during the 1968 election over anti and pro-war. Therefore, the Democratic Party would not have been divided severely during the 1968 Democratic National Convention causing the party’s downfall during the election. “Rising sentiment against the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the failure of the Democratic Party to apply its civil rights policy had an effect both inside and outside of the International Amphitheatre, where the convention delegates
Gathered.” If Kennedy was not assassinated, then the violence would not have occurred. The intensity of the convention only occurred because of Johnson’s action during the Vietnam War, all of which could have been avoided if Kennedy remained the President. Furthermore, since Lyndon B. Johnson never became president, his programs known as Medicaid and Medicare would not have been implemented. While Kennedy had similar goals to Johnson, Kennedy would not have been able to pass the bills through Congress similar to what would happen with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While there was a build up of support for Medicare during Kennedy’s life, the Kerr-Mills Act would not allow for Medicare to gain the votes needed. Since Kennedy would not have been able gain support for Medicare and prioritize it like Johnson was able to, it would not have been implemented. If Medicare was never passed there would not be a growing debt. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone account for 47 percent of federal spending today, a portion that will only grow larger in the future. If Kennedy was able to live through both of his presidential terms, then he would have been able to stop America from going into some of its biggest failures, but he would have also been unable to pass important legislation needed during the time.