Vice_Presidents_&_Policy

AP/IB USII “Vice Presidents who have succeeded to the presidency on the death of the President have been less effective in their conduct of domestic and foreign policy than the men they replaced.” Assess the validity of this statement for FDR and Harry S Truman, JFK and LBJ. In accordance with the Articles of the Constitution, when Vice Presidents succeed to the Presidency, they serve the remainder of the term, so the next election year proceeds as scheduled. In 1945, Vice President Truman succeeded President Franklin D. Roosevelt after his death. On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Two hours after the death of his predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President on Air Force One at Love Field Airport in Dallas. Truman did his part in continuing Roosevelt’s excellence in domestic and foreign affairs, and Johnson was not able to continue President Kennedy’s strong force on both the domestic and foreign front. Neither of the two successors was significantly less effective than their predecessors. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed in office for four terms as an effective leader on the foreign and domestic front. He is, to this day, recognized as one of the best Presidents in United States History. He instituted the New Deal to save the nation from the economic crisis and brought the country back on its feet with numerous domestic acts to try to salvage what was left of the economy. He also led the United States through World War II, which helped to save the economy as well by providing numerous jobs for the unemployed on the home front. He helped finance and supply the Allies and bring them to victory. Roosevelt also played a critical role in shaping the post-war world, particularly through the Yalta Conference and the creation of the United Nations. When he died during his fourth term and Vice President Truman took over in office, the nation continued to thrive. He faced many challenges on the domestic front and surprised many with his decisions, such as the disorderly reconversion of the economy of the United States. After his re-election he was able to pass only one of the proposals in his Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to begin desegregation of the U.S. armed forces and to launch a system of loyalty checks to remove thousands of communist sympathizers from government office. Truman was also able to fill Roosevelt’s shoes on the foreign policy front with the end of World War II and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Korean War. Overall, President Truman was able to successfully take over for Roosevelt after his death. Likewise, President Johnson experienced similar success. President Kennedy did many things in domestic affairs to better the nation, such as increasing minimum wage, outlawing poll tax, and enacting the Equal Pay Act. He also helped largely with the Civil Rights movement, with cases such as James Meredith where he pushed for the admittance of Meredith into university classes. On the foreign front, he also saw the United States enter the Space Race with the Soviet Union, in addition to starting the Peace Corps program to aide developing nations and spread American ideals. After his assassination the torch passed smoothly to Johnson. He then spread his Great Society throughout the nation, which was considered more successful than the New Deal. Its programs focused on major poverty relief, education aid, health care, voting rights, conservation, beautification projects, urban renewal & economic development. Johnson was also able to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in voting and in the public. On the foreign front, Johnson was much less successful with the nation’s involvement in Vietnam. He was scrutinized for his every move concerning Vietnam, which was a very controversial subject especially among young people. Despite that, Johnson was still able to carry out his term with a progressive nation, just more so on the domestic front than the foreign front. Overall, both successors were not significantly less effective than their predecessors. Both Truman and LBJ were able to hold up the nation and progress after the loss of a great President, leaving little disappointment. Without the smooth transformation, the country would have been left weak and vulnerable for other world powers to take advantage of, but both Truman and LBJ kept the nation strong and moving forward just as their predecessors had worked to achieve.