John F. Kennedy vs. Lyndon B. Johnson
Introduction
The political strategy of President Johnson was better suited in development of the USA in comparison to that of President JFK. This was crucial in the running of the countries projects to improve the status of the common American at the time. Johnson’s policies changed the way of governing of the American society for the better. President Johnson and JFK had different approaches to the way they wanted to help the common American in their terms as presidents. The new frontier and the great society are the best policies of the time where they both were fashioned to help the American societies. However, the two presidents are compared for their accomplishments while in office. The two presidents were concerned about availing aid to disadvantaged Americans.
In“The great society” approach of Johnson, the responsibility of ensuring the modifiable natural resources and care for the American consumers was taken into perspective. There were ecological fortification laws, landmark land protection actions, the genuinely significant immigration law, and many more acts. Bills that established a national endowment for the arts and the national endowment for the humanities, a highway safety bill, the public broadcasting act, and a bill to present trade with some safety against substandard goods and hazardous products were also incorporated (Roper n.p). The idea in this paper is structured to support that there was a better political legacy of Johnson if weighed with that of President Kennedy.
Johnson’s administration saw the ratification of many important bills like the one on medical care, which the Kennedy administration did not see through. The great society was very lucrative in the making of his mandate function to greater heights proving his right to the Statehouse. The administration of Johnson was straight to the point in making it clear that affordable health care was an agenda and a right to every American (Goodwin 85). During the Kennedy administration, there was a resilient conservative opposition that saw many of the progress measures blocked giving the administration a step back (Roper n.p). With the landslide after the Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson was determined to change all the flaws in the other government faced. The “great society” saw the following proposals come to life; Medicare, voting rights for the people, reforming the immigration procedures, control on guns, education reform that the Kennedy administration was against, funding of the cities and impoverish areas while increasing housing for the low income families.
The Medicare inauguration was an agenda that Johnson saw through while he was in office. The Medicare was very efficient for the senior citizens and saw the state taking care of the old people when they were old and could not afford the medical expenses. The Medicare specified the provisions and qualification of the service. The government ran this program where it provides the federal funding of many care expenses for the elderly. Moreover, for the medically destitute of any age the healthcare would take care of their medical bills under a Medicaid program that was funded in part by the government under the welfare programs.
Johnson on civil rights
The government ensured the 90% of the blacks in the south were registered as voters. In the congress, there was a change in the composition that was dominated by the white legislators. There was a series of black leaders elected in the congress, making the first administration with many black elected officials (Goldman n.p). The administration was hit by the Walter Jenkins case where the assistant to the president was found in grime circumstances and accused of homosexuality. These prove the level of maturity the government and state was having at the time. In the previous regimes, it would have destroyed the moral indignation of the white house staff.
Johnson had grown from a system of segregation of the blacks from the whites in every facility. All schools and hotels saw the blacks’ having their designated places and the white people having their places and no mixing was allowed (Obleschuk & Washington DC n.p). When he took power, he was determined to eliminate the segregation in the public amenities. This was part of the Kennedy administration to pass the civil rights act but Johnson was the one who passed the bill (Kennedy 354). The bill would cover on the establishment in the most parts of the neighborhoods. The act saw the public accommodations of both the blacks and white people. Racism was slowly being stamped out.
On education
In 1947, there was a proposal in the courts of law where the Everson v. Ewing Township saw the state funds to provide transport for the parochial school children. This would benefit the child and not the school. The Catholics and non-Catholic leaders adopted the formula as a way to rationalize a variety of direct and indirect aid to parochial edification institutions. However, the white house discussions during Kennedy’s administration saw the funding of the parochial schools a dream and no funds were directed to the schools directly or indirectly. With anti-poverty in the Johnson regime, the parochial schools funding was no longer a dream since the president endorsed the formula (Firestone n.p). He was seen to uplift the education of the poor American.
In his era, the president ensured there was enough facility in the education sector to propel better literacy levels in the country, bearing in mind that the education in the country was the best investment. Johnson did not mind endorsing the projects Kennedy did not approve during his era as president.
On environment
The Johnson administration saw a very elaborate plan on the beautification of the American environment. The first lady at the time was active in the beautification of the environment that it pioneered the beautification bill. At the time, the deterioration of the American environment was very deem. There was a rampage in the junkyards and billboards along the highways, pollution of the air and water, which was too obvious to ignore (Berg & Andreas n.p). The environment was taken care of by the first lady to the realization of the ecological standard the cities were expected to reach. The slums were eradicated by good housing policies. The administration was quick to handle the housing deficits the country was facing at the time.
Foreign policy
The president was not very prepared with a foreign policy like other administrations. President Lyndon became the president without a foreign policy since he preferred to think in the lines of the domestic instead of the international affairs. He was clear in the assertion that he was not conversant to the acquaintance of foreign leaders, which lead him not to indulge in the foreign affairs before having an elaborate plan of the workings of the international systems. Nonetheless, the president was never hostile and rarely indifferent to the international organization for peace. He recognized the importance of the bodies created after the Second World War but he decisively moved towards the protection of the American interests (Milkis 145). The opinions of the foreign nations did not seem to distract his mandate as a president since he spread patriotism in his derision for group diplomacy.
Wellbeing and poverty
The administration saw many developments in the fight towards the eradication of poverty. The administration ensured there was funding to help the poor Americans start ventures that saw them uplifted from the poverty that was rampant. His aim was to provide the socioeconomic opportunities to the underclass citizens (Smith-Howell 67). The president established an agency that was known as the Community Action Agency (CAA). Every CAA in the country was required to coordinate the federal and state programs of poverty eradication in a maximum feasible participation from residents of the societies. The programs had an impact in the job training and replacements giving people the right amount of experience to help them come out of poverty.
Conclusion
In conclusion, President Johnson’s administration was the better of the two regimes. Although Kennedy did not live to finish the work he started, his approach was inferior to the one of Johnson. Moreover, there was unrest during parts of Johnson’s regime that made the government lose focus on the agenda. In general, the administration advancements are still in function to date. The American public takes for granted the efforts the Johnson’s administration efforts, which saw the country, live in the harmony it enjoys now.
Works Cited
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