What challenges did President Johnson face in the election of 1964?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Johnson needed a cause of his own to distinguish himself from John F. Kennedy’s administration.
2. The War on Poverty was the highlight of Johnson’s domestic program, adding funds to create a $1 billion effort passed by Congress and using the new Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to set up programs ranging from Head Start for preschoolers to the Job Corps for high school dropouts.
3. The level of funding for the War on Poverty was never enough to meet the goals of the OEO, although the ranks of the poor were reduced by nearly 10 million between 1964 to 1967.
4. Robert Kennedy wanted to become vice president and Johnson’s successor in the White House, but Johnson was desperate to succeed without Kennedy’s help and chose Hubert Humphrey as his running mate instead; Kennedy left the cabinet and was elected U.S. senator from New York.
5. The Republican candidate, Senator Barry Goldwater, was an outspoken conservative who
advocated a rejection of the welfare state and a return to unregulated free enterprise.