Lyndon B. Johnson

==Vice presidency (1961–1963)==
{{see also|Presidency of John F. Kennedy}}
[[File:President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson prior to ceremony.jpg|thumb|President [[John F. Kennedy]] and Vice President Johnson outside the [[White House]] in August 1961]]
[[File:Photograph of White House Meeting with Civil Rights Leaders. June 22, 1963 - NARA - 194190 (no border).tif|thumb|Vice President Johnson and Attorney General [[Robert Kennedy]] meeting with civil rights leaders at the White House on June 22, 1963]]
After the election, Johnson was concerned about the traditionally ineffective nature of his new office and sought authority not allotted to him as vice president. He initially sought a transfer of the authority of Senate majority leader to the vice presidency, since that office made him president of the Senate, but faced vehement opposition from the Democratic Caucus, including members whom he had counted as his supporters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/lyndon_johnson.pdf|title=Vice Presidents of the United States – Lyndon B. Johnson (1963)|publisher=United States Senate|access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>

Johnson sought to increase his influence within the executive branch. He drafted an executive order for Kennedy's signature, granting Johnson "general supervision" over matters of national security, and requiring all government agencies to "cooperate fully with the vice president in the carrying out of these assignments". Kennedy's response was to sign a non-binding letter requesting Johnson to "review" national security policies instead.<ref>{{harvnb|Caro|2012|pp=170–171}}</ref> Kennedy similarly turned down early requests from Johnson to be given an office adjacent to the Oval Office and to employ a full-time staff within the White House.<ref>{{harvnb|Caro|2012|p= 172}}</ref> In 1961, Kennedy appointed Johnson's friend [[Sarah T. Hughes]] to a federal judgeship. Johnson tried but failed to have Hughes nominated at the beginning of his vice presidency. [[Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Sam Rayburn]] wrangled the appointment from Kennedy in exchange for support of an administration bill.

Many members of the Kennedy White House were openly contemptuous of Johnson, including the president's brother, [[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], and they ridiculed his comparatively brusque and crude manner. Then Congressman [[Tip O'Neill]] recalled that the Kennedy brothers "had a disdain for Johnson that they didn't even try to hide.... They actually took pride in snubbing him."<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Neill |first1=Tip |last2=Novak |first2=William |title=Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill |date=1987 |location=New York |publisher=Random House |page=[https://archive.org/details/manofhouseli00onei/page/182 182] |isbn=978-0-394-55201-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/manofhouseli00onei/page/182}}</ref>

Kennedy made efforts to keep Johnson busy and informed, telling aides, "I can't afford to have my vice president, who knows every reporter in Washington, going around saying we're all screwed up, so we're going to keep him happy."<ref>{{harvnb|Caro|2012|p=176}}</ref> Kennedy appointed him to jobs such as the head of the President's Committee on [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission|Equal Employment Opportunities]], where Johnson worked with African Americans and other minorities. Kennedy may have intended this to remain a nominal position, but [[Taylor Branch]] contends in his book ''Pillar of Fire'' that Johnson pushed the [[Presidency of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy administration]]'s actions further and faster for civil rights than Kennedy originally intended.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Johnson went on multiple minor diplomatic missions, which gave him some insights into global issues and opportunities for self-promotion. During his visit to [[West Berlin]] on August 19–20, 1961, Johnson sought to calm Berliners who were outraged by the building of the [[Berlin Wall]].<ref>[[Andreas Daum]], ''Kennedy in Berlin''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 51‒57.</ref> He also attended Cabinet and [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] meetings. Kennedy gave Johnson control over all presidential appointments involving Texas, and appointed him chairman of the President's Ad Hoc Committee for Science.<ref>{{harvnb|Dallek|1998|p=15}}</ref>

Kennedy also appointed Johnson Chairman of the [[National Space Council|National Aeronautics and Space Council]]. The Soviets beat the United States with [[Vostok 1|the first crewed spaceflight]] in April 1961, and Kennedy gave Johnson the task of evaluating the U.S. space program and recommending a project that would allow the United States to catch up or beat the Soviets.<ref>Kennedy to Johnson, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/apollo1.pdf "Memorandum for Vice President"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131222858/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/apollo1.pdf |date=January 31, 2017 }}, April 20, 1961.</ref> Johnson recommended that the United States gain the leadership role by committing to [[Apollo program|landing an American on the Moon in the 1960s]].<ref name="lbjmemo">Johnson to Kennedy, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/apollo2.pdf "Evaluation of Space Program"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106222930/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/apollo2.pdf |date=November 6, 2017 }}, April 28, 1961.</ref><ref>Ben Evans, ''Foothold in the Heavens: The Seventies'' (2010) p. 193.</ref> Kennedy assigned priority to the space program, but Johnson's appointment provided cover in case of a failure.<ref>{{harvnb|Dallek|1998|p=16}}</ref>

In August 1963, Johnson was touched by a Senate scandal when [[Bobby Baker]], the Secretary to the Majority Leader of the Senate and a protégé of Johnson's, came under investigation by the [[Senate Rules Committee]] for alleged bribery and financial malfeasance. One witness alleged that Baker arranged for the witness to give kickbacks for the Vice President. Baker resigned in October, and the investigation did not expand to Johnson. The negative publicity, however, fed rumors in Washington circles that Kennedy was planning on dropping Johnson from the Democratic ticket in the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 presidential election]]. However, on October 31, 1963, a reporter asked if he intended and expected to retain Johnson on the ticket. Kennedy replied, "Yes to both those questions."<ref>[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0811F93A541A7B93C1AB178AD95F478685F9 "Kennedy Denied Talk of Dropping Johnson"]. ''The New York Times'', November 23, 1963, p. 9.</ref> There is little doubt that Robert Kennedy and Johnson hated each other,<ref>Jeff Shesol, ''Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy and the Feud that Defined a Decade'' (1998).</ref> yet John and Robert Kennedy agreed that dropping Johnson from the ticket could produce heavy losses in the South.<ref>{{harvnb|Dallek|1998|pp=42–44}}</ref><ref>Sean J. Savage, ''JFK, LBJ, and the Democratic Party'' (2012). pp. 196–197.</ref>

===Succession===
{{Main|First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson}}
{{Further|Assassination of John F. Kennedy}}
[[File:Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office, November 1963.jpg|thumb|Johnson is sworn in as [[President of the United States|president]] aboard [[Air Force One]] at [[Dallas Love Field]] two hours and eight minutes following [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy's assassination]] as [[Lady Bird Johnson|Mrs. Johnson]] and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Mrs. Kennedy]] look on.]]
On November 22, 1963, [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy was assassinated]] by [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] in [[Dallas]], Texas. Immediately following Kennedy's assassination, Johnson likely suffered a second [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. According to media reports, Johnson "was rushed to the emergency room. He appeared scared out of his wits, his face was pale and he was holding his chest. The physician who saw him thought that he was having another heart attack (probably correctly), but the final diagnosis released to the public was that he was suffering only from [[angina]]."<ref>[https://www.villages-news.com/2019/02/06/lyndon-baines-johnsons-heart-attacks/ "Lyndon Baines Johnson's heart attacks"], ''Villages-News'', February 6, 2019</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Allan B. |date=November 20, 2016 |title=Medical Mystery: Before he was sworn in, pain gripped LBJ |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/health/20161120_Before_he_was_sworn_in__pain_gripped_LBJ.html |access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.villages-news.com/2019/02/06/lyndon-baines-johnsons-heart-attacks/ | title=Lyndon Baines Johnson's heart attacks | date=February 6, 2019 }}</ref>