Earlier Rise: President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1943-?)

Many Presidents, most politicians even, are the products of their time. The actions they take, and the legacy they leave behind is directly impacted by the times and events which confront them while in office (Duh.). It's always an interesting to see what a certain political figure could do in utterly different circumstances. But most people who have risen to the highest office in the land do so in a very narrow window of opportunity. How many OTL Presidents could have reached the office any sooner than they did in OTL?

Let me postulate one LBJ:

Johnson's OTL Senate loss in 1941 was very narrow (not as narrow as his victory over File Stevens of course, but that's another matter entirely!). So, let's say that the election goes the other way and Johnson scores a narrow, clean, victory over O'Daniel.
Johnson had promised, if he ran and war broke out, he would join the army, much as he did after his loss. So, let's assume he does so in the ATL, and ends up pulling strings to see the front before being called back by Roosevelt. Let's also see he sees a bit on combat, and does well enough to, if not distinguish himself as the universal soldier, at least does well enough to get some good press (again, much as OTL)
Come 1942, Johnson's name would be circulating as a possible VP candidate for FDR; he's young, from the important state of Texas, and had already established a strong relationship with Roosevelt during his time in the House. If certain businessmen in Texas hinted to southern leaders that young Johnson was more conservative than he let on, well, all the better.
In January of 1946, Johnson is sworn in as Vice President of the United States at the age of 40, certain people begin comparing him to a certain other Roosevelt.
A few months later, FDR is dead, and LBJ is sworn in as the youngest President in thehistory of the United States.

What does he do?
In OTL, Johnson managed the transition after the assassination of JFK masterfuly, and i suspect he would do the same here as well. Although he possesses less experience than in OTL, he still has the same innate skills. I would suspect he would go to great lengths to show himself as FDR's successor at first. This will involve latching on to parts of FDR's plansand trying to push them through congress. Although he lacks the Senatorial experience of OTL, as well as the connections with leaders in the Senate, I expext he would work to cultivate both. My guess is we see a slightly more successful Fair Deal.
I believe the war ends pretty much as OTL, Johnson was a Hawk, and he will drop the bomb on japan, the oppoetunity is to good to pass up politically.
How would he deal with the post war world and the peace?
Assuming he gets a second term (which I find likely. A younger, more driven, LBJ with a seslightly more successful legislative record. He's less best down than in OTL in1968), how does he deal with Korea, who is his VP and so forth.
 
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I've thought about this before. 1943? Do you mean 1945? If Johhnson wins in 1941, he will be the Southern New Dealer elected instead of the Taft-Hartley loving segregationist. But Johnson will be good enough to still get substantial Southern support.

Johnson already had solid Rayburn connections, and will have Russell's patronage since he entered the Senate earlier. Domestically, the Fair Deal (probably called the New Society) will pass. Johnson will win in 1948, and is going to go for 1952 too. Hell, I could see him trying for 1956 to tie the old man.

The mothra-sized butterflies are in foreign affairs. First let's look at the differences between LBJ and Truman. Truman was perhaps the most decent man to become president, certainly in the top three. Johnson was one of the most indecent, though not as bad as his successor. The Truman Committee was one of the finest committees in the history of the USA, and saved 15, maybe 16 billion dollars. That money was later spent on the Marshall Plan. During the Korean War, Johnson copied the Truman Committee only it was inefficient and headline-seeking. These are two very different men, with similar goals. Truman considered the Korean War a preventative war to stop Appeasement II. Johnson viewed it as the chance to set up a second Truman Committee for the Third World War.

Johnson, unlike Truman, is going to go to great pains to keep FDR's Cabinet around. No Marshall, no Acheson. The whole foreign policy of the Cold War will be molded by a President dangerously uneducated, and uninterested, in foreign affairs. This could be very dangerous, considering that Truman creating the no-nuke precedent during Korea was by no means set in stone. I was reading Eisenhower's memoirs today, and he implied that nukes had to be used tactically once in a while, to keep the Soviets on their toes. What will Johnson do?

Ultimately, the Johnson Plan (Johnson won't be as modest as Truman and give away his portion of the credit to Marshall) will occur, and might even be bigger. This will be the foreign front of the War on Poverty, and the New Society will be sold as anti-communism at home. Johnson hopefully will follow the Truman line on defending Europe instead of straying to Dulles Bros. territory. What most worries me is that he might use nukes in Korea, since that was seen as likely at the time. The clash with MacArthur will be spectacular, though. If the Korean War is like OTL, then Johnson is a dead duck in 1952, though I suspect he will plot his comeback. But if nukes are used, it could very well save his political career, at the cost of a horrible precedent being set for nuclear powers.

The other thing is civil rights. Truman did better than any President since Lincoln on that front. Johnson did better than Lincoln. Johnson is going to get desegregation before Brown. Oh, and Taft-Hartley will be done away with too, if it even passes.

Johnson has the potential to be one of the greatest presidents if he enters office after FDR. But it could also end with World War III if he isn't careful.

His VP: Humphrey will be elected Senator in 1948. Johnson will try for Eleanor or James Roosevelt perhaps, and fail. Alben Barkeley or Harry Truman actually seem like good bets, as they unify the party. He might go for someone younger though, maybe Senator Joe Kennedy Jr.? :cool:
 
I think your analysis is pretty spot on, and I agree with it. I also like the idea of Joe Kennedy Jr as Johnson's VP ;).
I believe that the Korean War will make or break Johnson. Considering that, in OTL, he had a tendency of defering to Generals, but also his tendency to brook noattack on his authority, is going to make for a very interesting relationship with MacArthur. I could almost see Johnson having Hoover investigate the general and holding any firsthand secrets against him. I also, considering his hawkish tendencies, see bikes being dropped in Korea, which could really change that conflict.
 
Russell will defend Johnson even more from MacArthur, so no worries there.

Korea really is the linchpin here. Johnson is going to grow a lot in these years, and hopefully Korea turns out well. Depending on that, Johnson could very well miscarriage the Vietnam War by siding with Uncle Ho after *Dien Bien Phu. I think he would try to go till 1960, and match FDR.

McCarthyism could get ugly, too. Johnson will crush McCarthy and might do some witch hunts of his own.
 
I see Johnson having more success with the Fair Deal and going farther with civil rights but I don't know how far.There had not been a civil rights movement yet. He like Truman defends Korea. There is still a stalemate, so if he tries to run in 1952 he loses.
 
I see Johnson having more success with the Fair Deal and going farther with civil rights but I don't know how far.There had not been a civil rights movement yet. He like Truman defends Korea. There is still a stalemate, so if he tries to run in 1952 he loses.

As we've said, I'm not so sure Korea gets stalemates. I could easily see LBJ using nukes, and this may win him popularity in the short term, but may cause a bad precedent.
 
FDR

Not sure if this can work, but here goes...

Pod: Hiram Johnson meets/endorses Hughes in 1916, allowing him to carry California and thus the election. I know that Pod's been used a fair amount, but you can use a number of pods to enable Hughes to win in 1916, so that's as good as any.

In 1920, Hughes is unpopular for simelar reasons to Wilson in OTL-he is too heavily asociated with wartime sacrifice.

With this in mind, Ex-president Wilson enters the presidencial race, eventually emerging victorious. He selects the young Franklin Roosevelt as his running mate and they go on to defeat Hughes handily.

The election (and presidency) have both taken their toll on Wilson however and he suffers a fatal stroke not long after his inorguration.

So now, FDR finds himself as president 12 years earlier than he did historically. The Roaring 20's won't be changed too much with a different president, so FDR is also president in completely different circumstances to OTL.

He runs and wins in 1924-and 1928, but the Stockmarket crash in 1929 damages him politically and he decides after much deliberation, to not seek another term in 1932.

His successor is a republican and is known for both his business career and his humanitarian work. The US turn to Herbert Hoover to drag the country from the Great Depression.

There you are, 3 presidents at different times to OTL-for the price of 1!
 
Another crucial difference between LBJ and Truman is that LBJ might send wayyyy more weapons to China. Intervention isn't out of the question :eek:
 
Another crucial difference between LBJ and Truman is that LBJ might send wayyyy more weapons to China. Intervention isn't out of the question :eek:

Which, of course, butterflies Korea right out of the picture. It will also involve the US not fully demobalizing after WW2, which will have some major economic effects.
 
Why would you think this?

Eleanor was mentioned by some as a viable VP candidate for some in OTL as well, if I recall correctly. She had become a major mover and shakers in the Democratic party and her being the late president's wife would have signaled that LBJ was simply carrying on FDR's legacy in the ATL. Not that she would want the job of course.
 
Oh, and probably a lot of the unsavory Cold War policies started by Eisenhower, like the constant coups, will be done by LBJ. However, he won't be as bad as Eisenhower / Dulles Bros. or JFK / RFK / "Murder Inc." here.

All and all, this scenario is particularly interesting because Johnson will certainly grow in office, much more than OTL. This gives the writer a bit of leeway. LBJ is a hawk yes, but after undergoing a possibly limited nuclear Korea, I don't see him being eager to split up Vietnam as much as make friends with Ho. Of the postwar presidents, I think LBJ's growth here will be only beaten by the OTL growth of Truman and Reagan.
 
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