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Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson | |
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36th President of the United States | |
In office November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 | |
Vice President | none (November 22, 1963–January 20, 1965), Hubert H. Humphrey (January 20, 1965–January 20, 1969) |
Preceded by | John F. Kennedy |
Succeeded by | Richard M. Nixon |
37th Vice President of the United States | |
In office January 20, 1961 – 22 November, 1963 | |
President | John F. Kennedy |
Preceded by | Richard M. 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 | August 27, 1908 Gillespie County, Texas |
Died | January 22, 1973 Johnson City, Texas | (aged 64)
Resting place | Johnson Family Cemetery Stonewall, Texas |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Lady Bird Johnson |
Alma mater | Southwest Texas State Teachers College |
Profession | Teacher |
Signature | ![]() |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | ![]() |
Years of service | 1941–1942 |
Rank | ![]() |
Battles/wars | World War II • Salamaua-Lae campaign |
Awards | ![]() ![]() |
Lyndon B. Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973) was a member of the Democratic Party and the 36th president of the United States serving from 1963 to 1969. Johnson took over the presidency when President Kennedy was killed in November 1963. He was then re-elected in the 1964 election. He signed many legislations during his presidency. He also escalated the US involvement in the Vietnam War. As more and more US soldiers were killed in Vietnam, Johnson lost a lot of popularity. In March 1968 he shocked America by saying he would not seek reelection in the 1968 election.
Contents
Early life
Johnson was born in Texas. His father was a politician who had worked for the Texas state government. As a young adult, he was a teacher. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1937, then to the Senate in 1948. He won the Senate election by just 87 votes, but later it was found that 202 votes for Johnson had come from dead people.
Political career
In the Senate, Johnson very quickly became powerful and in 1955 became leader of the Senate and was the youngest to have ever held that position.[1] He started great programs for the public. It helped that he knew the other Senators well and could often persuade them to support his ideas. In 1960, he ran for President, but during the contest to see who the Democrats would support, he lost to John F. Kennedy. Johnson was then selected by Kennedy as the candidate Vice President. Kennedy narrowly won the election and Johnson became Vice President. Like most Vice Presidents, Johnson did not like the job. It gave him too little power.
Presidential tenure
Johnson took over as President after Kennedy was assassinated. He finished Kennedy's term as president then in 1964 he ran for re-election and won easily against Barry Goldwater. Johnson won 61.1% of the vote. This is the highest percentage of the vote ever won by someone running for President since 1820.
Johnson began a "war on poverty". He created the Great Society (a series of government programs intended to improve the living standards of the country). These programs include public broadcasting, protecting the environment, Medicare (health care for the elderly), Medicaid (health care for the poor). He supported civil rights for African Americans and continued where Kennedy left off in giving them freedom. The Voting Rights Act in 1965 gave the government powers to stop them from being denied the right to vote. Compared to Kennedy's weak relationship with Congress, Johnson was able to convince politicians to support some of the same policies which they opposed under Kennedy.
At the same time, Johnson increased the United States involved in the Vietnam War. Johnson increased the number of soldiers in Vietnam from 16,000 to 500,000 in order to stop the Viet Cong - the Communist rebels in South Vietnam. As the years passed, Johnson became more and more unpopular as the war kept on going without an end in sight. By 1968, almost 1000 American soldiers were being killed in Vietnam every month and the enemy still hadn't been defeated. In March Johnson said he would not run for re-election.
Post-presidency
Johnson's time as president ended in January 1969. He went back to Texas to live his ranch in Stonewall.
Death, funeral and legacy
Johnson died at his ranch on January 22, 1973, at age 64 after having a heart attack. Johnson had a state funeral. The final services took place on January 25. The funeral took place at the National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C. Despite the disaster in Vietnam, Johnson is still thought of as being a good president by historians because of what he achieved with civil rights. In 1973 The Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
References
- ↑ "American Experience: LBJ". WGBH and PBS. 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bonus-video/presidents-age-lbj/. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
Other websites
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- Presidents of the United States
- Vice Presidents of the United States
- 1908 births
- 1973 deaths
- Cardiovascular disease deaths in the United States
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- United States presidential candidates, 1960
- United States presidential candidates, 1964
- Time People of the Year
- United States representatives from Texas
- United States senators
- US Democratic Party politicians