Tucker Bulleit

Vice-President Lyndon Baines Johnson Tucker Bulleit

The United States presidency saw many great obstacles during the early to mid-twentieth century, from President Roosevelt's domestic struggle to President Kennedy's challenges regarding foreign policy. With a 'New Frontier' concept developing along with the 1960 Presidential election, JFK made a shocking announcement regarding his decision for the vice-presidency. Although John Kennedy would only see a quick two years at the head of the country, his Vice-President, Lyndon B. Johnson, was able to bring an interesting dynamic to the President's administration -one that the Kennedy cabinet doubted would ever occur when offering the ticket nomination to LBJ. With Johnson's developing passion for creating a 'Great Society' (beginning in the early 1960s), and his goal of winning the 'War on Poverty, ' President Kennedy made a bold decision to bring him along in 1960. Both politicians brought an interesting approach to the White House. Johnson envisioned a Great Society, the fulfillment of the American dream of prosperity and equality for all. Their slogans and much of their thinking reflected how heavily they had been influenced by Roosevelt's New Deal and Truman's Fair Deal. Although the dynamics of the president & vice-president would take a unique course over the next three years, there was one key opponent of this radical move- President Kennedy's younger brother, Robert. Although John Kennedy would eventually become more accepting of Vice-President Johnson and his reforms, Robert F. Kennedy would continuously target and challenge LBJ's influence on the presidency. By constantly challenging Johnson's political decisions, Bobby Kennedy would frequently remind him how living among the Kennedys, in the early to mid-1960s, could be so difficult.