Abstract:

In this article, the visit of then Vice President of Lyndon Baines Johnson to Turkey between 26-31 August 1962 is evaluated with its political and social dimensions. That visit, was indeed within the part of US Administrations predetermined plan for Johnson’s role as a “ good will ambassador” after Kennedy took over the presidency and was in the schedule of Johnson’s program covering five countries in the region.US Administration attributed a rather symbolic function to that trip which would be instrumental to confirm the support of US to her allies against the rising influence of Soviet Union and increasing socialist activities at that time. Johnson, visited Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey as a part of that trip. For Turkish side, most important item of the agenda of the visit was the US economic and military aids to Turkey. At the meetings with Gürsel and İnönü, Johnson managed to please the Turkish side without going into binding commitments regarding the aid issues. He reiterated the guarantee of USA to Turkey against the Soviet threats. But the essential success of the visit was, as originally planned, to had Johnson met with tens of thousands of Turkish people at the streets of three big cities and got him into contact with the people from the different segments of the society eventually. The dazzling attention of the people paid to Johnson during those visits was not only an unpredictable outcome for US diplomats who didn’t find Turkish people much enthusiastic on such occasions, but was equally surprising for the Turkish authorities. Indeed, Johnson was successful to develop a “storm of sympathy” for himself and for USA with the Turkish public opinion by using his personal qualities. But this storm of sympathy would be short lived and both Johnson’s and USA’s images would be tarnished to a great extent just in a couple of years.

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