Sudden Power: How President Johnson Took Charge in a National Crisis

In the hours and days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the United States faced the challenge of ensuring continuity of leadership during a moment of national shock and uncertainty. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was suddenly called upon to assume the presidency and guide the nation through a period of profound transition.
 
Join the Museum and Dr. Mary C. Brennan, a nationally recognized historian of postwar American politics, for a discussion of Johnson’s accession to the presidency and the decisions that shaped the early months of his administration. Examining the political realities, public expectations and institutional responsibilities that accompanied the transition, Dr. Brennan explores how Johnson established his leadership while advancing an ambitious legislative agenda that would leave a lasting mark on American society.
The program offers insight into a pivotal moment in American history and the transfer of presidential power in the aftermath of November 22, 1963.
Museum members receive discounted ticket pricing. Contact membership@jfk.org to learn more.
 
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mary C. Brennan received a Ph.D. from Miami University of Ohio in 1988.  Her first book, Turning Right in the Sixties (UNC Press, 1995), evolved from her dissertation and examined the conservative “capture” of the GOP through the Goldwater campaign.  Since then, she has focused on women’s roles within conservatism in general and the anticommunist movement in particular. Her book, Wives, Mothers, and the Red Menace, (Colorado 2008) evolved from her curiosity about Joe McCarthy’s wife.  Her most recent monograph, Pat Nixon: Embattled First Lady, was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2011, as part of their Modern First Ladies Series.  She has appeared on C-SPAN’s “First Ladies: Influence and Image” series as well as CNN’s “The Sixties,” and participated in numerous radio interviews about her subject.