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Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Throwing the Football Passes
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

Throwing the Football Passes

Artifact ID1973.1.274
Object Type Cartoon Drawing
Artist
Publisher
Gifter
Medium Ink and grease pencil on drawing paper
DimensionsOverall H 12 5/8 in x W 10 1/2 in (32.1 cm x 26.7 cm )
Physical Description
Physical DescriptionOriginal cartoon drawing. LBJ, a football player, holds two footballs ("Viet War”, “Taxes"). Three other footballs ("Senate Opposition on Vietnam”, “RFK Gains in Popularity”, “Soaring Living Costs") fly toward him. On the floor is a declining graph (“LBJ popularity”) and another paper ("'68 election"). Caption: “Throwing the Football Passes”. Artist signature lower right: "Shevchik”.
Inscriptions and MarkingsHandwritten at upper left: “Today”.
Historical NotePresident Johnson’s approval ratings were very high at the start of his presidency but declined due to the Vietnam War. President Johnson was up for his second term during the 1968 election, but he would later withdraw from the race on March 31, 1968. However, 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. When 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 from the Vietnam War and Great Society, all of this increase of demand led to inflation. Eventually, taxes had to be raised to stop inflation. New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a prominent critic of the Vietnam War, ran for president in 1968 as a Democrat with an anti-war platform until his assassination in June 1968.
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)
Person Referenced Robert F. Kennedy (United States, 1925 - 1968)
In Collection(s)
Not on view
Place of Publication
Beaver
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