Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency in the wake of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. He gave his Speech to Congress on Assuming the Presidency on November 27, five days after the assassination, pledging to advance the domestic programs and initiatives of his predecessor and, in foreign affairs, to balance U.S. military strength with restraint. He met with success on the first front but is considered to have failed on the second. During the five years of Johnson’s presidency, the United States was buffeted by conflict both overseas and on the home front. Johnson responded to the demands of civil rights protesters by proposing two major pieces of legislation: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He grappled with the underlying problem of economic deprivation by creating ambitious antipoverty programs collectively termed the Great Society. At the same time, he tried to deal with the worsening military situation in Southeast Asia. By 1968, when he left office, the United States had still been unable to prevail in Vietnam.