Though Lyndon Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973) was born into an established Texas family — his paternal grandfather had given his name to Johnson City — his parents were not especially wealthy, having to make a living from largely unproductive farming land. They were hit by the Depression. After leaving high school, Johnson took a range of largely menial jobs, including working on a road gang. He decided he could do better and, encouraged by his mother, he entered the Southwest Texas State Teachers College and graduated in 1930. During his time at College he led the debating team and, to help finance his studies, he worked as secretary to the College principal. As secretary, he developed skills that he was to use throughout his political career. He recognized that organization was power and the principal came to rely on his highly effective secretary. He then went on to teach at the Sam Houston High School in Texas before campaigning for a Democratic candidate for Congress, Richard Kleberg. Kleberg then hired him as his secretary in Washington. Johnson deployed the same skills as he had when working for the College principal. He led a group of secretaries (known as the Little Congress) and came to the attention of House Speaker Sam Rayburn, who included him in his inner circle. For Johnson, Washington was his natural habitat. He had been born into a world of politics — his father and maternal grandfather had both served in the Texas legislature — and he was to spend the rest of his life in political activity. He was also to do so from a more secure financial base, having married Claudia Alta ("Lady Bird") Taylor, from a well-to-do family, in 1934. In 1935, Johnson was appointed director of the National Youth Administration in Texas, a post that drew out his administrative talents and brought him to the attention of a wider political community. When a congressional vacancy occurred in 1937 Johnson went after it and, standing as an ardent New Deal Democrat, won election. He was 28 years old. An early meeting with Franklin Roosevelt secured the President's favour and in 1940 Johnson headed the House Democratic Campaign Committee. In 1941 he sought nomination for a Senate seat, again emphasizing his support for Roosevelt. He narrowly lost the nomination to the state Governor. After volunteering for active service during the war — he was awarded the Silver Star Medal for showing remarkable calm while aboard a bomber aircraft that had come under enemy attack — he returned to Washington to chair the Subcommittee on Naval Affairs. He was later appointed to the Postwar Military Policy Committee, opposing the rapid dismantling of the US war machine. In 1948, he again sought to run for a Senate seat, this time emerging successful in the Democratic primary — but only just. He won it in a run-off election by 87 votes and survived a court challenge to the result. He sailed to an easy victory in the general election. In the Senate, Johnson established himself as a leading member and a consummate politician. He was appointed to the Armed Services Committee and supported a strong military for the USA. On domestic issues, conscious of his home constituency, he adopted a largely conservative stance. In 1953 he was elected Minority Leader. The following year he was re-elected easily to the Senate and, with the Democrats taking control of the chamber, he became majority leader. He was an accommodator rather than an ideologue. He brokered deals and used his persuasive skills to muster majorities for administration measures that he favoured. He helped Eisenhower achieve passage of some measures of social reform. One of the most notable achievements was the passage in 1957 of a Civil Rights Bill — the first in the twentieth century — representing an effective partnership between Johnson and the President. Johnson suffered a serious heart attack in 1955 but made a full recovery within a matter of months. That was the only setback he faced during the decade. He was emerging as a major figure, vital to the passage of important measures. His reputation grew as he achieved mastery of the Senate and was increasingly viewed as one of the most effective majority leaders in its history. Though he had ambitions beyond the Senate, he was clearly at home on Capitol Hill. However, in 1960, he was offered the vice-presidential nomination by John Kennedy. Although Johnson was a good choice in terms of ensuring a balanced ticket — an established Texan Democrat who could help deliver the South — the choice was problematic. The Kennedys had a low opinion of Johnson and there was little obvious reason why Johnson should give up a position of real power for a largely ceremonial post in which he would have little scope to exercise his particular skills. Johnson accepted the nomination, apparently believing that he could mould the office and, as his biographer Doris Kearns has noted, recognizing that the position of majority leader would be less powerful under an activist Democratic President. In the event, Johnson helped deliver the election to Kennedy, the votes of Texas and Illinois proving crucial in giving Kennedy a narrow majority. Not for the first time in his career, Johnson was to be associated with allegations of Texas vote rigging. As Vice-President, Johnson was appointed to head various commissions and councils, including the National Aeronautics and Space Council, and sent on various overseas missions. Although he proved loyal to the President — never voicing disagreement with his policies — he came to hate the position. "I detested every minute of it", he later told Kearns. A proud man, he detested the patronizing attitude taken toward him by the Harvard-educated Eastern sophisticates in the Kennedy circle and was frustrated by his inability to transform the position into one of power. He appeared disillusioned and increasingly disinterested. The assassination of Kennedy on 22 November 1963 propelled Johnson from the political periphery to the ultimate position of power. He was sworn in as President aboard Air Force One and five days later addressed a joint session of Congress. He immediately adopted an activist stance. He pushed Congress to pass the Civil Rights Bill that Kennedy had introduced. He used his State of the Union message to press for passage. He reverted to the skills he had honed in the Senate to get that and a whole raft of other measures passed. He met members of Congress, phoned them, and cajoled them; if they needed to feel important, he made them feel important; if they wanted favours, he offered them favours. He masterminded the passage of an anti-poverty programme, he achieved passage of a tax cut, he persuaded Congress to vote funds for mass transit facilities. By the time of the 1964 presidential election he already had a record to run on. Aided by his achievements, by the Kennedy legacy, and by the Republicans nominating Senator Barry Goldwater, a candidate portrayed by opponents as an extremist and warmonger, Johnson sailed to an overwhelming victory. He won 43 million votes to 27 million for Goldwater, the largest winning margin achieved in US history. Equally importantly, he had a coat-tails effect, ushering in a Congress dominated by liberal Democrats. The period from 1965 to 1967 saw Johnson at his peak. He achieved passage of a programme of social reform, dubbed the Great Society programme. Medicare was introduced, providing medical assistance to the elderly through the Social Security system. Extensive new programmes of federal aid to education, housing, and deprived areas were approved. The Voting Rights Act, providing for federal intervention to ensure black voting rights were enforced, was enacted in 1965. However, what looked like being one of the most successful and reforming presidencies of the twentieth century was soon in trouble. There are three reasons for the presidency turning from success to failure. One was Johnson's techniques. He put pressure on members of Congress to pass his measures. The pressure could be intimidating and unrelenting. Johnson was not averse to using physical intimidation if he felt it necessary. After a time, the president's techniques lost their appeal and members of Congress were less amenable to presidential persuasion. The second reason was that the measures were hastily constructed. Johnson was more concerned with passage than implementation, and some did not work out as intended. The measures also appeared to contribute to growing expectations on the part of the black community that the administration could not meet. The summer of 1965 saw riots in the Watts district of Los Angeles and subsequent summers saw violent disturbances in many of the nation's leading cities, including Washington, DC. The third and most important reason was the Vietnam War. Johnson inherited his predecessor's commitment to South Vietnam and gradually increased the number of US troops sent to the country to assist the South Vietnamese government against North Vietnam and Vietcong insurgents. By 1967 nearly half-a-million troops had been sent. Johnson authorized bombing raids on targets in North Vietnam. There was little military success. By the summer of 1967 almost 80,000 Americans had been killed or wounded in Vietnam. Though initially supportive of US involvement, the American public turned against the war. Johnson faced a rising tide of hostility. Black riots in the inner cities were superseded by white anti-war riots on college campuses. Johnson's public appearances were increasingly concentrated on US military bases. Congress grew restive, some leading figures coming out in opposition to Johnson's policy. Their number included Senator Robert Kennedy of New York. It was proving impossible to fund the Great Society programme and the war effort and funding for many domestic programmes was scaled down. In November 1967 Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for President on an anti-war ticket. In January 1968, the Tet offensive in Vietnam — a major assault by the Vietcong — appeared to confirm that the war was unwinnable. In the New Hampshire primary in March, McCarthy — with 42 per cent of the vote — came a close second to Johnson and was able to claim a moral victory. Robert Kennedy announced that he would also seek the Democratic nomination. On 31 March, a haggard-looking Johnson made a television broadcast. He announced a bombing pause in Vietnam and then declared that he would not seek, or accept, his party's nomination that year. His announcement caught the political community unawares. Rather than stand, he chose instead to engineer the nomination of his Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles and the Democratic nomination in Chicago was a shambles, the police dealing violently with anti-war protesters in the streets. In the election, Humphrey went down to defeat. Johnson retired to the LBJ ranch in Texas to work on his memoirs. He died four years later, on 22 January 1973, after being struck down by another heart attack. He was aged 64. Johnson was a man who became President but never managed to become presidential. He retained a manner that was vulgar and abrasive. He swore, pushed people around, and held meetings with journalists and others regardless of circumstance. He continued conversations with visitors while in the toilet; he once spoke to journalists while being given an enema. His political techniques were carried over from the Senate. Though his political instincts were liberal, he was an authoritarian in approach. He expected complete loyalty from aides. He was possessive. He spoke of government in the first person. A proud man, insecure as a child and keen to please his mother, he could not tolerate failure. He worked hard but never seemed to achieve personal satisfaction from his efforts — he was always wanting to press on to achieve something more. When the political climate turned against him, he did not know how to respond. He aged in office. Though only 59 when he made his televised withdrawal from the presidential race, he looked closer to 69. Johnson nonetheless achieved some success in the domestic arena. A former segregationist, he achieved far more than his predecessor in the field of civil rights and showed courage in his pursuit of equality. Though associated primarily with the Vietnam War, historians have not been that unkind to him. In the 1982 Murray poll he was ranked as the tenth best President. By the time of the 1995 Chicago Sun-Times poll of presidential historians he had slipped, but was still in the top half, ranking 15th, three places ahead of his immediate predecessor. He was an average President but a first-rate majority leader. His problem was that he could not differentiate between the two. |
 |
Though Lyndon Johnson Born: August 27, 1908
|
|
 |
|
First lady: Lady Bird Johnson |
|
 |
|
Vice-president: Hubert Horatio Humphrey |
|
 |
|
| Official White House portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson | |
 |
|
| The coat of arms granted to President Johnson in 1968 by the American College of Heraldry and Arms. Description: Azure on a Saltire Gules fimbriated between four Eagles displayed a Mullet Or. | |
 |
|
| Johnson (right) next to Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin (left) during the Glassboro Summit Conference | |
 |
|
| Lyndon B. Johnson in Navy uniform in March 1942 | |
 |
|
Though Lyndon Johnson Lady Bird Johnson |