Gourt > Society > History > By Region > North America > United States > Presidents > Johnson, Lyndon Baines
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969). After serving a long career in the U.S. Congress, Johnson became the 37th Vice President; in 1963, he succeeded to the presidency following President John F. Kennedy's assassination. He was a major leader of the Democratic Party and as President was responsible for the passage of key liberal legislation in many areas, including civil rights laws, Medicare, a major "War on Poverty", as well as the acceleration of the war in Vietnam. He was elected in a landslide in 1964, but his reelection bid in 1968 collapsed as a result of turmoil in his party, and he announced that he would not seek re-election. Johnson was renowned for his domineering personality and armtwisting of powerful politicians. His long-term legacy is hard to judge, as advances he made in civil rights were offset by the Vietnam War.
Early years
Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, on August 27, 1908, in a small farmhouse in a poor area on the Pedernales River. His parents, Samuel Ealy Johnson and Rebekah Baines, had three girls and two boys: LBJ and his brother, Sam Houston, and sisters Rebekah (1910-1978), Josefa (1912-1961), and Lucia (1916-1997). Johnson attended public schools and graduated from Johnson City High School in 1924. (Johnson City, Texas, near his birthplace, was named after LBJ's grandfather, Samuel Ealy Johnson, whose forebears had moved west from Georgia.) In school, Johnson (depicted by historian Robert Caro as an awkward, talkative youth with a tendency to lie) was elected president of his eleventh-grade class.
In 1926, Johnson enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers' College (now Texas State University-San Marcos). He worked his way through school, participated in debate and campus politics, edited the school newspaper, and graduated in 1931. Robert Caro devoted several chapters of The Path to Power, the first volume of his biography The Years of Lyndon Johnson, to detailing how Johnson's years at San Marcos refined his gift of persuasion that helped his political career. This was complemented by his humbling experience of taking a year off from college, where he taught mostly Mexican immigrants at the Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas. When he returned to San Marcos in 1965, after having signed the Higher Education Act, Johnson looked back fondly on this experience:
More on [ Lyndon B. Johnson ]
Johnson, Lyndon Baines :: Presidents
Humphrey, Hubert Horatio :: Vice Presidents
United States :: Regional
Vietnam War :: Wars and Conflicts
The Top Party School Shoots For A Lower Ranking
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:00:00 -0400
The University of Florida in Gainesville is the No. 1-ranked party school. It's a distinction that surprises some students, and administrators hope new policies will help the school change that reputation.
Pick Of Palin Sets Up Battle For Female Voters
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:41:00 -0400
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the first woman picked for a Republican presidential ticket, appeals to social and economic conservatives — and possibly disgruntled Clinton supporters. But it appears that John McCain will forfeit a chance to question Barack Obama's relative lack of experience.
McCain Picks Gov. Palin As Running Mate
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0400
Sen. John McCain surprised a lot of people Friday by picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. McCain is in Dayton, Ohio to make the announcement. Madeleine Brands talk to David Schaper who's at the McCain rally in Dayton.
The Talk of the Town
Lauren Collins: The Brooklyn painter Kehinde Wiley.
Lauren Collins Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The painter Kehinde Wiley first travelled to Nigeria in 1997. He was trying to find his father, whom he had never met, or, more crucially for a portraitist, seen. (His mother didn’t have any photographs.) After several weeks in Lagos, he found his dad, who welcomed him. But--like any . . .
James Surowiecki: What drives market volatility?
James Surowiecki Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
American investors are frazzled. True, oil prices have fallen from their most vertiginous highs, the dollar is a bit stronger, and the stock market has actually risen over the past month. But none of those things have happened in a smooth and steady fashion. The stock market’s “ascent,” in particular . . .
Hendrik Hertzberg: What Barack Obama is up against.
Hendrik Hertzberg Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The week before the week before this week’s scheduled gathering of the delegates and their media camp followers in Denver, the nominee-presumptive of the Democratic Party did something that is strongly recommended, and ought to be mandatory, for anyone who has just logged a year and a half’s worth . . .
500
Character Above All - Excerpt from an essay by Robert Dallek reflects on the issues and events that molded Lyndon B. Johnson. From PBS.
404
Great Society Speech - Transcript of Lyndon Baines Johnson's speech announcing his Great Society proposal, delivered May 22, 1964.
Meta Description: [ Texas A&M University is a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant institution located in College Station, Texas ]
Inaugural Address 1965 - Complete text of LBJ's speech on January 20, 1965. Includes background information.
404
LBJ Goes for Broke - Smithsonian magazine offers excerpt from Caro's Master of the Senate book. Chronicles Johnson's 1957 attempt to pass the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
Meta Description: [ Articles from the Smithsonian Institution's award-winning, monthly general interest magazine, plus exclusive Web articles, videos, blogs, photographs and more. ]
LBJ in the Oval Office - Listen to some of LBJ's most important speeches and peer into the Oval Office through secretly recorded conversations made by Johnson during his presidency.
LBJ's Gay Sex Scandal - LBJ’s Gay Sex Scandal, By Al Weisel, Out, December 1999. Article details a controversy that threatened the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, when Walter Jenkins, LBJ’s trusted friend and top adviser, was arrested.
Meta Description: [ LBJ's Gay Sex Scandal by Al Weisel, Out, December 1999, Long before a girl named Monica was even born, the White House was embroiled in a controversy that threatened the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. The drama began in October 1964, when Walter Jenkins, LBJ's trusted friend and top adviser, wa... ]
Lyndon B. Johnson - Short biography from the official White House site.
Meta Description: [ Biography of Richard M. Nixon, the thirty-seventh President of the United States (1969-1974). ]
Lyndon Baines Johnson - Brief biography from the Lucidcafé Library.
Meta Description: [ Lucidcafé's Profile of Lyndon Baines Johnson ]
Lyndon Baines Johnson - General biography of LBJ also includes links to transcripts of his State of the Union addresses.
Meta Description: [ Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th president
of the United States on the assassination of John F. Kennedy
in November 1963. ]
Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) - Provides a biography of Lydon Johnson (LBJ). Includes his picture and a listing of the people in his cabinet.
Meta Description: [ Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the thirty-sixth (1961 - 1963) Vice President and the thirty-seventh (1963 - 1969) President of the United States, succeeding to the office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. ]
Master of the Senate - First Chapter - The first chapter of Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson in the April 28, 2002 edition of the New York Times. Free registration required.
President Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum - Includes photo and audio archives, telephone recordings, transcripts of oral history interviews, Johnson's daily diary, answers to FAQ, and virtual exhibits.
Meta Description: [ The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library holds more than 45 million pages of manuscripts, an extensive audiovisual collection, and oral history interviews with than 1,000 individuals. ]
404
Renunciation Speech - Transcript of the March 1968 telecast in which Lyndon Baines Johnson announces he will not seek another term of office.
Meta Description: [ Texas A&M University is a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant institution located in College Station, Texas ]
The American President: Lyndon B. Johnson - Fact file and comprehensive biographical sketch based on PBS series. Also includes gallery and quotations.
Meta Description: [ In-depth essays created by the University of Virginia on Lyndon Baines Johnson’s life and administration. ]
Three New Revelations About LBJ - Biographer Robert Dallek tells about some of his findings about the behind-the-scenes-presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. [Atlantic Monthly; includes links to other articles about the President.]
| movement than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr....hillary clinton 2008 campaign president presidential fox news quote politics martin luther king mlk lyndon johnson lbj | |
| Next Video | |
