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LBJ, Science and Technology Policy and Lessons for the Future

Gary Chapman, Senior Lecturer in Public Affairs, Coordinator, 21st Century Project

President Lyndon Baines Johnson is not commonly remembered for his contributions to United States science and technology policy. But LBJ’s political career coincided with, and helped shape, the most productive era of science and technology in history. This period has become known as the “golden age” of science policy, when prominent scientists and engineers were highly regarded by the public, supported by the government, and working in policy positions of influence and prestige. Not only did LBJ preside over the development of U.S. space exploration, his administration launched the first environmental science programs, began the research that led to the Internet, and built a system of government cooperation and funding for research institutions that became the envy of the world. American scientists and engineers repaid LBJ by helping him defeat Barry Goldwater in 1964.

But cracks in the consensus about the prominent role of American science were already beginning to appear mid-way through LBJ’s full term as President, largely because of the war in Vietnam. There was also friction between the populist President and the intellectuals of Ivy League universities who dominated science policy. Those troubles would explode after LBJ left the White House, and, even today, U.S.
science and technology policy has never fully recovered its “golden age.” During the recent Bush administration, relations between the White House and the science community have reached a nadir. There are lessons in this story for the new President, as well as for the scientific and technical communities.

Click here for a PDF of the full paper.