We thought you might be interested to hear about a recent event involving APG members! Perhaps you were one of the fortunate few who were able to attend!

On Wednesday June 25, a distinguished panel presented a discussion on ‘Lyndon Johnson: American Colossus’ in the Speaker’s State Rooms at the Palace of Westminster.

Panellists:
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Howard, CH, KC;

Professor Barbara Perry, J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center;

Professor John Dumbrell, Emeritus Professor of Government at Durham University

The event marked the the sixtieth anniversary of both the passage of Lyndon Johnson’s historic Voting Rights Act and his decision to go to war in Vietnam.  A presidency replete with paradox, Johnson took the United States into a war which divided the nation and which he could not win, while launching a programme of liberal reform, unprecedented for its scope, which encompassed civil rights, a war on poverty, landmark health-care and educational reforms and much more besides.

Johnson continues to inspire fascination, not only amongst the public, but also leading politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.  A master politician, Johnson demonstrated a remarkable ability to understand power, to master the legislative process, and to articulate a bold vision for the American future.

To mark this anniversary, the British-American Parliamentary Group, the London POTUS Group, and the Archives and History APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group), with the kind support of The National Archives, organised this special event in which a number of distinguished speakers explored Johnson’s life and presidency.  It took place in the grand setting of the Speaker’s State Rooms in the House of Commons by kind permission of the Speaker of the House of Commons, The Rt. Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP.

The panel of speakers included The Rt. Hon. the Lord  Howard, CH, KC, Leader of the Conservative Party between 2003 and 2005, who examined Lyndon Johnson’s rise to power.   Professor Barbara Perry, J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and author of sixteen books (including several on 1960s America), discussed Lyndon Johnson’s record on civil rights.  Finally, the APG’s very own Professor John Dumbrell, Emeritus Professor of Government at Durham University and author of Rethinking the Vietnam War and many other influential works, considered Johnson’s policies in Vietnam.

This event was introduced by Chris Evans, MP,  Chair of the Archives and History APPG.

The National Archives also provided a curated display of documents for the event, shedding light on how the British government responded to key developments during the Johnson years

You can find out more about the British-American Parliamentary Group, which co-organised this event here: bapg.org.uk)