Lyndon Baines Johnson biography
Date of birth : 1908-08-27
Date of death : 1973-01-22
Birthplace : Stonewall, Texas, United States
Nationality : American
Category : Politics
Last modified : 2010-10-04
Credited as : Politician, former U.S. President,
12 votes so far
Both as the hero who carried forward many of the domestic reforms of the martyred John F. Kennedy and the villain who expanded U.S. involvement in its most frustrating and long-lasting war, Lyndon Baines Johnson strode across the pages of mid-20th-century American history like the legendary gun fighters of his beloved Texas.
1935 - Appointed Texas director of the National Youth Administration
1937 - Elected to U.S. House of Representatives (re-elected five times)
1941 - Defeated in election for U.S. Senate; served briefly in U.S. Navy
1948 - Elected to the U.S. Senate
1951 - Elected Democratic Party whip in the Senate
1953 - Elected Minority Party leader in the Senate
1955 - Elected Majority Party leader in the Senate
1960 - Elected vice president of the U.S.
1963 - Assumed presidency after assassination of John F. Kennedy
1964 - Elected president of the United States
1968 - Announced decision not to run for re-election
1973 - Died at the LBJ Ranch; buried in the family cemetery along the Pedernales River
Born on August 27, 1908, near Stonewall, Gillespie County, Texas; died on January 22, 1973, at the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, Texas; son of Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., and Rebekah (Baines) Johnson; married: Claudia Alta (Lady Bird) Taylor, November 17, 1934; children: Lynda Bird and Luci Baines.
Lyndon Baines Johnson's roots run deep in Texas history. Many of his ancestors played significant roles in the Texas War for Independence, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the taming of the West. As the oldest child (of five) and the elder son, Lyndon assumed the role of older brother who frequently helped his somewhat prudish mother and quixotic father to raise his siblings. Born one year after Sam and Rebekah Johnson's marriage in 1907, Lyndon became almost a surrogate father to sisters Rebekah and Josefa, to his only brother Sam Houston, and to baby sister Lucia.
Many of the details of Johnson's early years are shrouded in uncertainty. His wish for a positive public image often prompted him to embellish his childhood. Despite his own stated memories of a sometimes unhappy, almost poverty-stricken upbringing, Johnson was in fact born into and raised in a middle-class family which experienced the same ups and downs as others of a similar background. As part of a large extended family (his eight great-grandparents had hundreds of living descendants in the Hill Country of central Texas), Lyndon Johnson was if anything spoiled. His parents never tired of telling all who would listen about their talented, personable, intelligent firstborn.
Although at age four, Johnson attended the nearby one-room, one-teacher Junction School, his formal education began in 1913 when he was enrolled in first grade in the Johnson City Elementary School. Apparently attracted by the economic and educational opportunities offered by a town, Sam Johnson had moved his ever-growing family the 15 miles down the Pedernales River to Johnson City.
As a student, Lyndon did exceptionally well. This was probably due more to maternal prodding and innate intelligence than to effort and hard work. But classmates recall that it was Lyndon Johnson who always wanted to be the leader and always wanted to be well liked. In addition, he was exceedingly deferential to those in authority, traits he would later display as president of the United States.
The family's seven-year-residence in Johnson City (1913--20) was a period of relative prosperity. Sam Johnson was able to gain a measure of financial security which allowed him to re-enter politics. In 1917, he won a special election and regained his seat in the Texas legislature. Thus, as a small boy, Lyndon was introduced to the fascinating world of politics at the grass-roots level. Because of financial reverses caused in part by the recession of 1919 and in part by overextending himself, Sam Johnson moved his family up the Pedernales River and took up residence in what had been Lyndon's grandparents' home. This two-year-attempt to make a go of farming proved to be a disaster. In 1922, Sam Johnson was forced to sell the Pedernales farm for much less than he had paid for it and in 1924 to give up his nonremunerative and time-consuming legislative seat in Austin.
The Johnson family moved back to Johnson City where the 14-year-old Lyndon began his final two years of high school. Academically, he finished second in a graduating class of six. A "big fish" in a "small pond," he was elected senior class president, was a leader of the school debate team, and gave the student oration at graduation.
Because he was graduated from an unaccredited high school, Johnson had to pass an entrance examination to be accepted at a state college or university. During the summer and fall of 1924, he attended several subcollegiate classes at Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San Marcos. Apparently because of a lack of interest or poor performance, he did not complete this remedial work and was forced to postpone college.
In November of 1924, Johnson set out for California in a Model T Ford to seek his fortune. The year-long sojourn, like many of the episodes of his youth, is shrouded in confusion. It is known that he spent most of the time living with a cousin and working as a secretary in his law office. What is also known is that by September 1925, Johnson was tired of working long hours for little money. He returned to Johnson City and secured a job working on a road gang in rural Blanco County. He soon tired of this back-breaking work also.
In February 1927, Johnson was allowed to enter Southwest Texas State to prepare for a teaching career. When a $1,000 indebtedness interrupted his studies in September 1928, the confident 20-year-old began teaching at an all-Hispanic junior high school in Cotulla, La Salle County, Texas. Johnson characteristically threw himself into his work. Judged an excellent teacher, he treated his Hispanic students with respect and encouraged them to take their education seriously. It was apparent even at this early period that Lyndon Johnson could motivate people. Returning to Southwest Texas State, Johnson became heavily involved in campus politics, was generally well liked, and was considered by most to be destined for future success and preferment.
With his diploma and teaching credentials in hand, he accepted a teaching position at Sam Houston High School in Houston, Texas. For the munificent sum of $1,600, he taught courses in public speaking, geography, and arithmetic. In addition, he became involved in a local political campaign, making speeches for an Austin attorney who was running for the state senate from Johnson's home district.
Johnson Serves as Congressional Secretary
In November 1931, Johnson accepted appointment as congressional secretary to the newly elected Richard Kleberg. Soon the hardworking young secretary had all but taken over the congressman's Washington office. He wrote thousands of letters over Kleberg's signature to constituents back in Texas and to influence-peddlers in both Washington and Texas. The four years spent as a congressional secretary taught him politics from the bottom up. In addition to his duties as secretary, Johnson became involved with what had been an informal organization for congressional staff people. He successfully sought election as speaker of this so-called "Little Congress" and turned that position into one of some power and influence. By 1935, Lyndon Johnson had mastered the intricacies of political Washington.
During this early period, the ambitious, hardworking Texan did find time for socializing. As a result of a blind date, he met and courted Claudia Alta Taylor. Already called Lady Bird, the somewhat shy young Texan was apparently swept off her feet by the brash congressional secretary and the young couple was married in a simple Episcopal ceremony on November 17, 1934, in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to being a loving and devoted wife and mother, Lady Bird was to become a valuable political advisor and a steadying influence to the sometimes brash, always friendly, and often combative Lyndon Johnson. Moreover, in the 1940s she inherited some $36,000 which when judiciously invested became the basis of the Lyndon Johnson family fortune. As a young congressman in 1943, Johnson was apparently able to exert some influence on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to permit Lady Bird to purchase a small Austin radio station KTBC. Through hard work and financial help, KTBC grew into a vast radio and television empire---an empire which gave the Johnsons financial security. In his later years, Lyndon Johnson was able to pay off his father's debts, financially help his always debt-ridden brother Sam Houston, and live the comfortable, almost luxurious life of a successful politician and wealthy Texas rancher. This financial security was initially obtained through the generosity of wealthy Texans and later through the timely investments and business acumen of his wife. Johnson was thus free to concentrate on his political career.
In 1935, primarily through the help of Texas congressman Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Baines Johnson was appointed Texas director of the National Youth Administration (NYA). As a subsidiary to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the NYA dispensed relief funds and provided work opportunities for children and young adults. In this new job, Johnson excelled. Working through local businesses and schools, he was able to provide at least part-time jobs for thousands of young people in almost all of the 256 Texas counties. His success brought him to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and allowed him to build up a political following throughout the state of Texas.
In early 1937, when the Tenth Congressional District house seat became vacant, Johnson quickly declared his candidacy and surprisingly won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He welcomed the return to Washington and national politics. During the election campaign, Johnson ran as a supporter of President Roosevelt and thus gained FDR's gratitude. As a congressman from the Hill Country of central Texas, Johnson was able to obtain much-needed federal aid for his economically depressed district. Although he rarely made a speech in the House or sponsored major legislation, he did work effectively behind the scenes for his Texas constituents, Often with only token opposition, Johnson was re-elected five times. By all accounts, he was a popular and well-thought-of legislator who could expect in time to advance to a position of power, perhaps as a committee chairman.
However, the impatient Johnson could not wait. In early 1941, Texas senator Morris Sheppard died unexpectedly, thus opening up a chance for the ambitious congressman to move to the Senate. Running against the popular but inept Texas governor W. Lee O'Daniel, Johnson campaigned as a loyal supporter of Roosevelt. In what turned out to be an exceedingly close race, O'Daniel won election to the U.S. Senate and Johnson remained a relatively junior member of the House of Representatives. There is a great deal of evidence to substantiate Johnson's claim that the election was stolen from him. Texas election laws allowed such irregularities in the counting of votes as to give an unscrupulous candidate the advantage. LBJ decided then and there, if there was a next time, he would not necessarily be the most scrupulous of candidates.
When war broke out in late 1941, Lyndon Johnson fulfilled a promise made to his constituents by requesting active duty as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. His military service consisted of less than two years on active service and one brief combat encounter. In later election campaigns, he would exaggerate the danger of this combat mission (as an observer on a bombing run) and the importance of his military contribution. In the summer of 1941, Roosevelt ordered all legislators back to their posts in Washington so Lieutenant Commander Johnson went on inactive status and returned to the political wars.
He Wins Senate Seat in Bitter Campaign
In what would become one of the most famous or infamous elections in U.S. political history, Lyndon Johnson finally was elected to the U.S. Senate. This 1948 race was characterized by vote fraud, political intimidation, lavish expenditure of money and influence, and the ruination of a good man's reputation. In this bitterly contested campaign, Lyndon Johnson was at his political best and his political worst. His major opponent in the Democratic primary was a Texas legend. As an extremely popular governor, Coke Stevenson was expected to win easily in the primary and thus easily win the election. Johnson's campaign was run by the astute John Connally. Thanks to wealthy, conservative Texas businessmen, the Johnson campaign had more than enough money. In characteristic fashion, LBJ campaigned day and night. He hired a helicopter and spent long days traveling around the state shaking hands and making short, somewhat demagogic speeches attacking his opponent for being "soft" on communism and for being a "tool" of organized labor. In the process of shamelessly exploiting these two issues, LBJ destroyed the political reputation of a good man. When the final vote was taken and the final court decision had been rendered, Lyndon Johnson won election to the U.S. Senate by an underwhelming 87 votes. There is a great deal of evidence to substantiate Coke Stevenson's charge that this primary election had been "purchased." From this time forward, LBJ was often referred to as "Landslide Lyndon."
As a U.S. senator, Johnson utilized his considerable political skills, his numerous political contacts, and his well-connected business contacts to gain leadership positions within the legislative system. In January 1951, he was elected the Democratic Party whip. His talents for motivating and persuading served him well, and he was elected Senate Minority Leader in 1953. His ability to "arm twist" became legendary. However, he always attempted only the possible, never the impossible.
With the election of a Democratically controlled Congress in 1955, Johnson assumed the job for which he had seemingly been preparing for over two decades. As Senate Majority Leader, he became the second most powerful political figure in the country. Often working closely with Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, Johnson was instrumental in working for passage of most of the significant legislation of the 1950s. Thus, he supported the extension of Social Security benefits, the 1956 highway bill, the omnibus housing bill of 1957, and more circumspectly the Civil Rights Act of 1957. By 1960, he was not only the most powerful senator, but was considered one of the leading candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for president.
The year 1960 was, however, the year of JFK not LBJ. To strengthen the ticket, successful nominee John F. Kennedy asked Johnson to be his vice president. There is little doubt that Johnson did bring southern and conservative support to the Democratic ticket and thus help to defeat, albeit narrowly, Republican Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
In the two years he served as vice president, Lyndon Johnson enlarged upon the duties usually assigned to that position. With Kennedy's blessing, the energetic vice president became a roving ambassador making numerous trips abroad to confer with foreign heads of state and then reported back to the President. His most notable trip took place in mid-1961 when Johnson made official visits to the Philippines, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and India. His brief stay in Vietnam deepened his conviction that the South Vietnam government must be supported almost at all costs.
There were two areas in which the vice president played meaningful roles in the Kennedy administration. He had long had an abiding interest in space exploration. Earlier as a leader in the Senate, Johnson had pushed through the legislation which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1961, Kennedy thus appropriately gave Johnson the job of monitoring the space program by appointing him chairman of the Space Council. Johnson's second area of prime concern was civil rights. By the 1950s, he had overcome his earlier support for segregation (a necessary political posture in Texas in the 1930s and 1940s) and was largely responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Now as chairman of the newly created President's Committee on Equal Employment (PCEE), Johnson headed the federal government program to secure job opportunities especially for blacks. The Civil Rights efforts of the Kennedy years, led by Vice President Johnson, were perhaps a necessary prelude to the passage of the historic Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 under President Johnson. Despite measurable achievements in the areas of space exploration and civil rights, Johnson's tenure as vice president was one of frustration. Serving as he did in the shadow of the popular, youthful JFK, there was apparently little chance for him to become president of the United States.
Kennedy Assassinated; Johnson Succeeds Him
The tragic events of November 22, 1963, changed all this. In a moment of horror, Johnson assumed the responsibilities and burdens of the presidency. That Kennedy was assassinated in Johnson's beloved Texas bothered him. It is true that he had finally, at age 55, secured the position for which he felt eminently qualified and for which he had been working since the mid-1950s. However, he had gained the presidency under a cloud.
Lyndon Johnson's presidency can be compared to a roller coaster. Aware that his every move would be watched and closely scrutinized, Johnson acted with great circumspection in the hours and days following the Dallas assassination. In his five years in the White House, he was to experience both great, unprecedented legislative successes and frustrating failures in the unwanted, little understood Vietnam War.
In his first two years, Johnson pushed through Congress most of Kennedy's stalled legislative package and declared war on poverty in his first State of the Union Address. With the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) and other similar legislation, there emerged a coordinated attack on the major causes of poverty---namely illiteracy, unemployment, and inadequate public services. The Office of Economic Opportunity, established by the EOA, administered a variety of relief and service agencies including VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), work-study and work-training programs, and a Job Corps.
In 1964, Lyndon Johnson was elected president in his own right. With relative ease, he secured the Democratic Party's nomination and then soundly beat the Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in one of the biggest election landslides in American history. Now Johnson could be legitimately called "Landslide Lyndon." Because of Goldwater's extreme conservatism, Johnson was able to campaign as a centrist/slightly leftist candidate, garnering a large majority of the votes from the political center. Johnson had finally achieved his dream---to be elected president of the United States.
Domestic Reforms Passed; Conflict over Vietnam War
In his second State of the Union Address, Johnson called for a reform program to combat poverty, to provide health insurance especially for the elderly, to enforce existing civil rights laws, and to fund a comprehensive education program of scholarships and student loans. This reform package was designed to achieve, for all Americans, the "Great Society." Under Johnson's continued prodding, 1965 and 1966 saw the passage of a number of significant pieces of legislation. Among the more important were the Air Quality Act, the Water Quality Act, the Omnibus Housing Act, the Elementary and Secondary School Act; and the Higher Education Act---all devised to improve the quality of life for more Americans. Of particular merit was the passage, again under constant presidential pressure, of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This historic act in essence authorized federal government supervision of voting registration and of voting in states and local areas suspected of discrimination. The vast quantity of reform legislation passed in the first three years of the Johnson presidency was awesome; his domestic program (i.e., The Great Society) represented an achievement almost unparalleled in American history. The impact of this flurry of legislation was similar, in both the long and short term, to that of Johnson's longtime hero Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal.
Despite the achievements of his domestic policies, Johnson's presidency will always be remembered negatively for his enlargement of the increasingly unpopular war in Southeast Asia. He did not initiate U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He did, however, enlarge upon a U.S. commitment to the Saigon government in South Vietnam started by his three predecessors in the White House. Following perhaps logically the efforts of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy to support the corrupt and undemocratic government of South Vietnam, Johnson had, by 1965, escalated the American War effort to such an extent that there were over 200,000 Americans fighting the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.
In August 1964, North Vietnamese gun-boats allegedly attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin off the North Vietnamese coast. This "dastardly" attack seemed to Johnson ample justification for a quick American military response. First the president approved of retaliatory air-raids on selected targets in North Vietnam. Then he secured "a blank check" from Congress to take "all necessary measures" to repel North Vietnamese attacks against U.S. military forces stationed in and around South Vietnam. This so-called "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution" enabled Johnson legally to escalate further American involvement in the Vietnam quagmire. By February of 1968, with the addition of 206,000 new troops, U.S. forces in Vietnam numbered over 700,000. Somehow, the unwanted, little understood conflict in far-away Southeast Asia had become a major war which would have dire consequences for both the nation and for Johnson personally.
With each increase in American strength in Vietnam and with each bloody engagement (especially the Tet Offensive of late January 1968), domestic dissent increased. As early as 1965, there was opposition to "Johnson's" war. This had started with university "teach-ins" but soon escalated into ever-larger antiwar parades and demonstrations. Soon it appeared to the beleaguered president that a majority of Americans were opposed to his Vietnam policies. Debate over the war became a major political issue in the Democratic primaries of 1968. It became evident to many that the war was so unpopular that it might jeopardize Johnson's quest for the Democratic Party nomination and for re-election. To the surprise of almost everyone, including some of his closer advisors, Johnson, in a televised speech to the nation, announced his decision not to run for president in 1968. LBJ's misreading of public opinion regarding the Vietnam War and the virtual impossibility of victory cost him his re-election and perhaps more important, an honored place among the presidents of the United States.
On January 20, 1969, Lyndon and Lady Bird stayed in Washington only long enough to witness the inauguration of longtime political foe Richard M. Nixon, before they returned to the LBJ Ranch for good. Johnson spent the few remaining years left to him establishing a presidential library and writing his memoirs. The relative inactivity of retirement did not suit the energetic former president. With what was almost a death wish (he had suffered a severe heart attack back in 1955 at age 47), he resumed heavy smoking and over-eating. He died on January 22, 1973, at the LBJ Ranch, apparently of another massive heart attack. After a suitable period of official mourning, Lyndon Baines Johnson was buried in the family cemetery near his beloved Pedernales River.
