Summary
Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming office after John F. Kennedy's assassination. He championed an ambitious domestic agenda called the Great Society, which produced landmark legislation including Medicare, Medicaid, and major civil rights laws. Simultaneously, Johnson dramatically escalated American military involvement in Vietnam, deploying over 500,000 troops by 1968. His presidency ended with him declining to seek re-election amid widespread protests against the war and growing national division.
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