About the Program
Mark Updegrove, director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library & Museum, recounts the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Sworn into office following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, President Johnson served for five years and signed 207 laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Updegrove examines President Johnson's legacy, which included the former President's War on Poverty and civil rights legislation as well as the escalation of the Vietnam War that resulted in the loss of 36,000 U.S. soldiers by the end of Johnson's presidency. Mark Updegrove speaks with John Avlon, senior columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.