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Lyndon Johnson: Philosophy
Like most American leaders, Lyndon Johnson had never had much experience with foreign policy before he came to office. As a result, his basic ideas about foreign affiars were somewhat simplistic: the United States was a great, moral nation with a duty to resist the advances of the Communist powers (including China and the Soviet Union). He also believed that if he could meet with Soviet leaders (as he tried in the 1967 Glassboro mini-summit) and explain the United States' intentions, then the Cold War would disappear. This odd mixture of containment and pining for a conversion of Soviet leaders would lead the United States deep into the morass of Vietnam. Instead of following Eisenhower's precedent from Korea for a negotiated settlement, or even of realistically deciding that the fate of Vietnam wouldn't mean much to the American national interest, Johnson continued to escalate the war without end. The war would destroy not only his presidency, but also tear apart American society, a condition that when coupled with Watergate would lead to Carter's famous malaise and the collapse of American leadership in the late 1970s. |
Philosophy
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