PBS Lyndon Johnson Site
The PBS web site features Lyndon Johnson who was a subject of a PBS special. The web site has a relatively brief summary of his career. The section called Legacy contains an assessment of Johnson's career.
Johnson is viewed as a master deal-maker and politician but not considered successful as a visionary leader especially with regard to foreign affairs. Johnson signed into law more than 200 major pieces of legislation by 1965. The domestic reforms, of his early Presidency are praised. However, the site tends to the view that the problem of Vietnam harmed Johnson's legacy and 'the boldness with which Johnson moved on the domestic front was undermined by his own hesitance and duplicity concerning Vietnam'.
There are several articles of interest on the PBS site. There is a rather critical essay by Robert Dallek, author of Character Above All and Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times. Dallek is a UCLA professor. The site contains an interview with Robert Caro, author of gigantic books about Johnson; The Path to Power and Master of the Senate. The interview can be watched on the computer. There is a transcript of an interview with Phil Ponce who wrote Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964.
In general, the articles and transcripts of PBS programs portray Johnson as a powerful, complex figure; a politician through and through. The general view is that Johnson did not hesitate to act ruthlessly. There is no sympathy for Johnson as leadership on the issue of Vietnam.
A section called Freedom a History of US appears intended for high school students and has cool little images to indicate a sound or film or source document. This section has cool images that indicate a sound or film or source document. There is a section on Ladybird Johnson and a transcript of a documentary about Ladybird.
The site has several features that could only be done on the Internet. Users may vote on issues in the 1964 election. There is a separate printable version of screens.
The site contains primary sources including State of the Union Addresses and a conversation between Johnson and McGeorge Bundy about Robert Kennedy running for vice president. The transcript displays while the tape is playing. There is a complete transcript of the PBS video. The site has links to other web sites and a list of books for further reading with a brief comment as well as a teacher’s guide and suggestions for student activities.
The site is obviously professionally done and has an attractive look and feel and seems easy to navigate. The font is too small in the President area. However, if Professor Rosenzweig had not suggested this address, I would only have found it by searching.
There is little of extraordinary value for scholars on this site. The site appears intended for the sort of people that watch PBS who are somewhat more interested in history than most television viewers apparently are.
Links listed for your convenience.
Johnson: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/
Dallak: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/essays/johnson.html
Ladybird:
http://www.pbs.org/ladybird/earlyyears/earlyyears_documentary.html
History of US http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html
Caro http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june03/caro_06-03.html
Pounce: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/july-dec97/lbj_10-14.html
1964 election: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/l_johnson_vote.html
image pointers: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/web09/segment1.html
Speeches and recordings: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/psources/index.html
mcbundy call:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/36_l_johnson/psources/ra_bundy.html:
PBS Home; http://www.pbs.org/
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