The presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson began on November 22, 1963, when Johnson became the 36th President of the United States upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and ended on January 20, 1969. He had been Vice President of the United States for 1,036 days when he succeeded to the presidency. A Democrat, he ran for and won a full four-year term in the 1964 election, winning by a landslide over Republican opponent Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Following the 1968 presidential election he was succeed by Republican Richard Nixon.
Johnson expanded upon the New Deal, and constructed the Great Society, a series of domestic legislative programs to help the poor and downtrodden; these included Medicare and Medicaid, defense of civil rights, and federal spending on education, the arts, urban and rural development, public services, and a "War on Poverty". Assisted in part by a growing economy, the War on Poverty helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during Johnson's presidency. Civil rights legislation signed by Johnson banned racial discrimination in voting, public facilities, housing, and the workplace. With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the country's immigration system was reformed and all racial origin quotas were removed (replaced by national origin quotas). His presidency marked the high tide of modern liberalism in the United States.