| Through the examination of original sources at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, this dissertation reconstructs the Johnson administration's changing understanding of public opinion over the course of Johnson's term. The central argument of this dissertation is that the administration's understanding of public opinion narrowed considerably as Johnson's levels of public approval declined.;The Johnson administration is analyzed in three phases, labelled Phases I, II, and III. Phase I corresponds with the early years of the Johnson administration, a time of high levels of public support, lasting from Johnson's sudden ascendency to the presidency until April 1966. Phase II corresponds with the time during which Johnson's levels of public support steadily declined, approximately May 1966 through July 1967. Phase III corresponds with the remaining months of the Johnson administration, a time of low levels of public approval.;In each phase, two questions are asked. First, what motivated the administration's attention to public opinion? Second, what were the predominant features of the administration's interpretation of public opinion? The concerns for and interpretations of public opinion were such that the administration was highly attentive to various aspects of public opinion during Phase I; had a narrower understanding of public opinion during Phase II; and, by Phase III, had so narrowed its understanding of public opinion that it frequently dismissed large segments of the public as illegitimate and continued to believe that public support existed for its policies despite evidence to the contrary.;The dissertation concludes that the Johnson administration's reactions to the decline in public support were due in part to the institutional features of the modern presidency which demand continuous public support for a successful presidency. The ironic lesson from the Johnson administration is that the importance of public opinion to the modern presidency does not necessarily mean increased presidential responsiveness to public opinion. |
