1968 was an unprecedented year in terms of upheaval on numerous scales: political, military, economic, social, cultural. In the United States, perhaps no one was more undone by the events of 1968 than President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Kyle Longley leads his readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of what Johnson characterized as the 'year of a continuous nightmare'. Longley explores how LBJ perceived the most significant events of 1968, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy, and the violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago. His responses to the crises were sometimes effective but often tragic, and LBJ's refusal to seek re-election underscores his recognition of the challenges facing the country in 1968. As much a biography of a single year as it is of LBJ, LBJ's 1968 vividly captures the tumult that dominated the headlines on a local and global level.
Kyle Longley is Snell Family Dean’s Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science at Arizona State University. He is the author of numerous books, including In the Eagle’s Shadow: The United States and Latin America, Senator Albert Gore, Sr., and The Morenci Marines: A Tale of a Small Town and the Vietnam War. Longley received a bachelor's degree in history and mathematics from Angelo State University, a master's degree in history and comparative literature from Texas Tech University, and a doctorate in history from the University of Kentucky.
Parking will be available on the SMU campus. FREE passes will be emailed to registered guests before the event. Seating is limited, and not guaranteed.
Due to the unreliability of our building elevator, we will not have a reception before the event.
Longley's publications of the same title will be available for purchase and signing after the event.
TEACHERS ONLY -- Please sign in at the registration table to receive continuing education credit.
Cosponsored with SMU’s Clements Center for Southwest Studies.
The Center for Presidential History at SMU is dedicated to exploring the story and legacy of the nation’s chief executives through cutting-edge research, academic and public forums and production of archival records for future generations through a wide-ranging presidential collective memory project.
Established in fall 1996, SMU's Clements Center for Southwest Studies promotes research, publishing, teaching, and public programming in a variety of fields of inquiry related to Texas, the American Southwest, and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.