page_title: Foreign policy of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration
hierarchical_section_title: Foreign policy of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration
caption_attribution_description: Photo portrait of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Oval Office, leaning on a chair.
context_page_description: The foreign policy of the Lyndon Johnson administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1963 to 1969, when Lyndon B. Johnson served as President of the United States. Johnson held office during the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.
  In foreign affairs, Johnson's presidency was dominated by the Vietnam War. The U.S. had stationed military personnel in South Vietnam since the 1950s, but Johnson presided over a major escalation of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. After the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, he obtained congressional approval to use military force to repel future attacks by North Vietnam. The number of U.S. soldiers increased from 16,700 soldiers when Johnson took office to over 500,000 in 1968, but North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces continued fighting despite losses. Domestic resistance to the war grew throughout Johnson's presidency, and especially after the 1968 Tet Offensive. Johnson was unsuccessful in his efforts to reach a peace agreement during his final days in office, and the war continued during the presidency of Richard Nixon.
context_section_description: The foreign policy of the Lyndon Johnson administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1963 to 1969, when Lyndon B. Johnson served as President of the United States. Johnson held office during the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. 
  In foreign affairs, Johnson's presidency was dominated by the Vietnam War. The U.S. had stationed military personnel in South Vietnam since the 1950s, but Johnson presided over a major escalation of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. After the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, he obtained congressional approval to use military force to repel future attacks by North Vietnam. The number of U.S. soldiers increased from 16,700 soldiers when Johnson took office to over 500,000 in 1968, but North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces continued fighting despite losses. Domestic resistance to the war grew throughout Johnson's presidency, and especially after the 1968 Tet Offensive. Johnson was unsuccessful in his efforts to reach a peace agreement during his final days in office, and the war continued during the presidency of Richard Nixon.
  Johnson pursued conciliatory policies with the Soviet Union, setting the stage for the détente of the 1970s. He was nonetheless committed to a policy of containment, seeking to stop the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. He continued Kennedy's Alliance for Progress policies in Latin America and successfully pressured Israel to accept a cease fire in the Six-Day War.
caption: President Lyndon B. Johnson directed U.S. foreign policy from 1963 to 1969
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