President Lyndon B. Johnson
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| President Lyndon B. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Arnold Newman · Public domain · source | |
| Name | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Caption | Official portrait, 1964 |
| Order | 36th |
| Office | President of the United States |
| Term start | November 22, 1963 |
| Term end | January 20, 1969 |
| Vicepresident | None (1963–1965), Hubert Humphrey (1965–1969) |
| Predecessor | John F. Kennedy |
| Successor | Richard Nixon |
| Office2 | 37th Vice President of the United States |
| Term start2 | January 20, 1961 |
| Term end2 | November 22, 1963 |
| President2 | John F. Kennedy |
| Predecessor2 | Richard Nixon |
| Successor2 | Hubert Humphrey |
| Birth date | 27 August 1908 |
| Birth place | Stonewall, Texas, U.S. |
| Death date | 22 January 1973 |
| Death place | Stonewall, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Claudia Alta Taylor, 1934 |
| Children | Lynda, Luci |
| Alma mater | Southwest Texas State Teachers College (BS) |
President Lyndon B. Johnson. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969. His presidency was a pivotal period for the US Civil Rights Movement, as he used his formidable political skills to shepherd through Congress the most significant package of civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Johnson's domestic agenda, known as the Great Society, aimed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, fundamentally reshaping the federal government's role in American life.
Early Life and Political Career
Lyndon B. Johnson was born in a farmhouse near Stonewall, Texas, into a family of modest means. He graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University) in 1930 and briefly taught at a segregated school for Mexican-American students, an experience that reportedly influenced his later views on poverty and inequality. His political career began in 1937 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a New Deal Democrat, showing early loyalty to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Johnson served with distinction in the U.S. Navy during World War II before winning a U.S. Senate seat in 1948 after a controversial Democratic primary runoff. In the Senate, he became the youngest-ever Senate Majority Leader in 1955, mastering the art of legislative compromise and persuasion, skills he would later deploy for civil rights.
Presidency and the Great Society
Johnson assumed the presidency on November 22, 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He declared "Let us continue" and moved swiftly to enact Kennedy's stalled agenda, including a major tax cut. In 1964, he won a landslide victory against Republican Barry Goldwater, securing his own term. With this mandate, Johnson launched his ambitious Great Society program. This sweeping set of domestic initiatives included the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the establishment of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the founding of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Great Society sought to expand economic opportunity and social welfare, with civil rights as its moral cornerstone.
Civil Rights Legislation and Advocacy
Johnson's most enduring legacy is his forceful advocacy for civil rights legislation. In his first address to a joint session of Congress, he urged passage of the Civil Rights Act, famously stating, "We shall overcome." Using his intimate knowledge of congressional politics, he broke a filibuster by Southern Democrats led by Senator Richard Russell Jr.. The landmark act, signed into law on July 2, 1964, outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations and employment. It also strengthened the enforcement of school desegregation. This was followed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Responding to the violent suppression of a voting rights march in Selma, Alabama, in March 1965, Johnson delivered a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress on March 15. In one of the most powerful speeches of the era, he identified with the movement by declaring "We shall overcome" and called for a strong voting rights bill. The resulting Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law on August 6, was a transformative achievement. It suspended literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices, authorized federal oversight of voter registration in jurisdictions with a history of discrimination, and empowered the U.S. Attorney General and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was a transformative. It suspended and the use of the. The Act of the. The Act of the. The Act of. The Act of. The Act of. It and the. The Act of. The Act of. The Act of. The. The. The. The Act of the. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The Act of the. The Act of. The. The. The Act of. The Act of. The Act of. The Act of. The Act of. The. The Act of. The. The Act of. The Act of. The. The. The. The. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. The. The Act of. The. The Act of. The. The. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. of. of. of. of. of. Act of. of. Act of. Act. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Act of. Johnson's presidency. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. The. Johnson. Johnson. of. Johnson. Johnson. The. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. The. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson's Civil Rights Act of. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson presidency. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson's. Johnson.