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Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Kind of Hard to Launch an Offensive!
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

Kind of Hard to Launch an Offensive!

Artifact ID1973.1.167
Object Type Cartoon Drawing
Artist
Gifter
Date ca. March 1968
Medium Ink and grease pencil on drawing paper
DimensionsOverall H 14 1/8 in x W 12 in (35.9 cm x 30.5 cm )
Physical Description
Physical DescriptionOriginal cartoon drawing. Soldier LBJ is in a foxhole holding a grenade ("Campaign") as explosions ("Viet War”, “Inflation”, “Strikes”, “Race Problems”, “Gold”, “Crime”, “Tax Boost") burst all around him. Caption: “Kind of Hard to Launch an Offensive!”. Artist signature lower left and lower right: "Morris”.
Inscriptions and MarkingsHandwritten at lower right: [blue] "To President Johnson, John Milt Morris".
Historical NoteWhen Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Revenue Act that decreased income taxes and refused to raise taxes, spending by consumers and businesses increased. Along with government spending, all of this increase of demand led to inflation. In December 1965, William McChesney Martin, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, raised the discount rate, but Johnson resisted it until spring 1968. By 1968, the Vietnam War had escalated to hundreds of thousands of troops deployed and the war’s unpopularity in the United States was increased further by the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive in January 1968. In March 1968, there was a crisis relating to the conversion of dollars to gold, which impacted the funding of the Vietnam War and Great Society. All of these issues made it difficult for Lyndon Johnson to run for his second term as president in 1968 and he stepped down in March 1968, declaring his dedication to negotiating an end to the Vietnam War.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteThe item was a gift from the general public to President Johnson during his term in office. It was received by President Johnson, until the President donated it to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in 1973.
Credit LineGift of Lyndon Baines Johnson
National Archives Catalog CollectionLyndon B. Johnson Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 192413)
National Archives Catalog SeriesGifts from the General Public (National Archives Identifier 189698395)
Use Restriction StatusRestricted - Fully
Use Restriction NoteCopyright or other proprietary rights are held by individuals or entities other than the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. The LBJ Presidential Library and Museum does not warrant that the use of materials will not infringe on the rights of third parties holding the rights to these works, or make any representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement, treaty, or protections that may apply. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy any copyright or other use restrictions. Pertinent regulations can be found at 36 C.F.R 1254.62.
Person Referenced Lyndon Baines Johnson (United States, 1908 - 1973)
In Collection(s)
Not on view
Place of Publication
Wichita Falls
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