#36 - Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1969

Lyndon Baines Johnson came to the presidency as a result of the tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy. It was however a job that he had sought in 1960. As a result, Kennedy found it necessary to create a political compromise and pick Johnson as his running mate.

Johnson envisioned an America that lived in a Great Society. Johnson had been born into a family that struggled and it instilled in him a keen understanding of poverty in America. in 1937, Johnson entered public service when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Eleven years later he moved to the upper house, when he was elected to the United States Senate. In 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in history. A year later, he became Majority Leader when the Democrats took control of Congress.

When Johnson rose to the presidency in 1963, he spent the next year pushing through many of the efforts that had been started by President Kennedy. When he ran for a term of his own in 1964, he was elected by the largest margin of popular votes ever recorded, more than 15 million. After the election, Johnson advanced his ideas for the "Great Society." Johnson's domestic agenda was widely praised and many of the reforms helped Americans across the board. However, Johnson was vilified for his policies on Vietnam and as a result, he chose to not seek reelection in 1968. He returned to his ranch in Texas, where he died suddenly from a heart attack in January 1973.

The Facts

• Born August 27, 1908 near Stonewall, Texas
• Died January 22, 1973 in Johnson City, Texas (age 64)
  
• Married to Claudia (Lady Bird) Taylor Johnson
• Party: Democratic
  

The Election of 1964

• Lyndon Johnson / Hubert Humphrey (D) - 43,127,041 (61%) / 486 EVs
  
• Barry Goldwater / William Miller (R) - 27,175,754 (38.5%) / 52 EVs
  

Trivia

• Johnson City, Texas is named for Johnson's family, who helped settle the area.
• Prior to his career in politics, Johnson taught school.
  
• Some historians (including two LBJ biographers) agree that Johnson was the most effective Senate Majority Leader in history.
• Johnson challenged Texas state election law, allowing him to run for reelection to the Senate in addition to running as Vice President. He won both elections.
  
• When Johnson was sworn in by family friend and judge Sarah Hughes, it marked the first time a President was sworn in by a woman. He is the only President to be sworn in on Texas soil.
  
• In 1967, Johnson nominated the first black Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall
• Johnson's State Funeral in 1973 was the last in Washington until the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.
• August 2008 marked the centennial of Johnson's birth. Events were held across Texas, several of them at the Johnson library.
• Lyndon Johnson confided to Doris Kearns Goodwin that he feared dying alone. On the day of his death, Lady Bird had just left for a day trip to Austin, when the Secret Service were summoned to LBJ's bedroom, where he was dead on the floor.
  
• Mentioned to me: Lyndon Johnson was a local distributor for the Muzak Corporation and had speakers draped around the Texas ranch to hear music wherever he was.
  

Links

• White House biography
• U.S. Senate biography
• Miller Center biography
• Internet Public Library biography
  
• C-SPAN biography
  
• Britannica
• Wikipedia
  
• Congressional Biographical Dictionary entry
  
• Lone Star Internet biography
  
• Character Above All Essay on Johnson by Robert Dallek
• American Experience (PBS) on Lyndon Johnson
• Guide to Lyndon Johnson materials
  
• Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library, in Austin, Texas
  
• Lyndon Johnson National Historic Park (NPS)
• Lyndon Johnson State Park (Texas)
• The History of the "Daisy" ad, used in the 1964 presidential campaign.
• The Lyndon Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas
• Quotes from Lyndon Johnson