Lyndon B. Johnson | |
---|---|
36th President of the United States | |
In office November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 | |
Vice President | None (1963–1965) Hubert Humphrey (1965–1969) |
Preceded by | John F. Kennedy |
Succeeded by | Richard Nixon |
37th Vice President of the United States | |
In office January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 | |
President | John F. Kennedy |
Preceded by | Richard Nixon |
Succeeded by | Hubert Humphrey |
Senate Majority Leader | |
In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1961 | |
Deputy | Earle Clements Mike Mansfield |
Preceded by | William F. Knowland |
Succeeded by | Mike Mansfield |
Senate Minority Leader | |
In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 | |
Deputy | Earle Clements |
Preceded by | Styles Bridges |
Succeeded by | William F. Knowland |
Senate Majority Whip | |
In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 | |
Leader | Ernest McFarland |
Preceded by | Francis J. Myers |
Succeeded by | Leverett Saltonstall |
United States Senator from Texas | |
In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1961 | |
Preceded by | W. Lee O'Daniel |
Succeeded by | William A. Blakley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th district | |
In office April 10, 1937 – January 3, 1949 | |
Preceded by | James P. Buchanan |
Succeeded by | Homer Thornberry |
Personal details | |
Born | Stonewall, Texas | August 27, 1908
Died | January 22, 1973 Johnson City, Texas | (aged 64)
Resting place | Johnson Family Cemetery Stonewall, Texas |
Political party | Democratic |
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | Lynda • Luci |
Alma mater | Southwest Texas State Teachers College |
Profession | Teacher |
Awards | Silver Star Presidential Medal of Freedom (Posthumous; 1980) |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1941–1942 |
Rank | Lieutenant commander |
Battles/wars | World War II • Salamaua-Lae campaign |
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often called by his initials LBJ, was an American politician. He was the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Before becoming president, he was the 37th vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. Johnson was also a U.S. senator, U.S. representative from Texas, senate majority whip and senate majority leader of the U.S. Senate. Johnson was a member of the Democratic Party.
Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas in 1908. Before he became a politician he was a high school teacher. In 1937, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1948, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, then became its majority leader in 1954.[1] In 1960, he ran for president, but did not win the Democratic nomination. He was then chosen to become the running mate for vice president of Senator John F. Kennedy, and the Kennedy-Johnson ticket won.
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas. Johnson then became the next president of the United States. In 1964, Johnson was elected president, defeating his opponent, Senator Barry Goldwater, in a landslide. He received 61.1% of the popular vote.
As president, Johnson created the Great Society. It was a series of programs created to help the American people. They involved expanding civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, and public services. He passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. His personal beliefs on the issue of civil rights were very different from other white, southern Democrats. He also wanted to make poor Americans' lives better by launching the "War on Poverty."[2] He continued President Kennedy's space program, making the Apollo program bigger. He also helped make into law the Higher Education Act of 1965, making federal student loans. Johnson also signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which helped make U.S. immigration policy today.
In foreign policy, Johnson's presidency wanted to stop the expansion of Marxist–Leninist governments. In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This made the U.S. become more involved in the Vietnam War. More American soldiers were sent to Vietnam, and as the war continued, American deaths went up along with deaths of Vietnamese civilians. In 1968, the Tet Offensive happened, which made the public start to dislike the war. Many people wanted the U.S. military to no longer be in Vietnam.
During his presidency the American political landscape changed a lot, as white southerners who supported the Democrats started to support the Republican Party and African-Americans began supporting the Democratic Party.[3][4] Because of his domestic agenda, Johnson's presidency was the peak of modern liberalism in the United States.[5] Johnson started his presidency popular, but he lost popularity because of the Vietnam War and big social problems.
In the 1968 presidential election, he ended his run for another term as president after he did not do well in the New Hampshire primary. The election was eventually won by Republican candidate Richard Nixon. Johnson went back to his Texas ranch and remained private until he died of a heart attack in 1973 at age 64 in Texas.
Historians and scholars mostly think Johnson is good compared to other presidents because of his domestic policies which helped civil rights, health care, and welfare.[6] However, he gets criticism for his role in escalating the Vietnam War, which resulted in the deaths of 58,220 American service members, dropping over 7.5 million tons of explosives over Vietnam, and the use of the noxious herbicide Agent Orange.[7][8][9][10]
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