Lyndon B. Johnson
In probably the most famous case of a Vice President stepping up to the Presidency without having been elected, Lyndon B. Johnson was famously sworn into office just minutes after it had been confirmed that President Kennedy had died from his gunshot wounds. Whether he carried on his predecessors’ good work, or whether he, in fact, derailed JFK’s plans for a new America continues to be the source of much fierce debate to this day.
The circumstances surrounding LBJ’s rise to the very top are, of course, well known. In November of 1963, President Kennedy was in Dallas, Texas, on the campaign trail, when he was assassinated. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson, a grizzly Texan, was appointed the 36th President of the United States. He swore the oath of office on board Air Force One, just two hours after his predecessor had passed away.
Johnson moved fast to take full control of his office. Convinced the American people needed to see a show of strength and decisiveness at such a time of tragedy, he immediately got to work. Within days, he had passed tax cuts and launched his so-called War on Poverty. And, within weeks, he took charge of efforts to pass the Civil Rights Bill.
When it came to re-election, Johnson was far from optimistic that the American people would vote for him in his own right. His fears were misplaced. He saw off the Democrat nomination of Barry Goldwater and started a second term, this time with the knowledge that the people wanted him, and not a youthful JFK, in the White House. As with many Presidents, his legacy is contested. According to his supporters, he was a civil rights pioneer and the architect of the visionary Great Society. To his critics, he merely took the glory from JFK in civil rights and, even worse, plunged America into the Vietnam War.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Presidential Biographies.” WhiteHouse.gov
“Top 10 Forgettable Presidents”. Time Magazine.
“By the numbers: Second term presidents.” Caitlin Stark, CNN Politics, November 2012.
“Presidential Election Facts: U.S. Presidents Facts”. History.com