Born in a farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas, to a local political family, Johnson worked as a high school teacher and a congressional aide before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. He won election to the United States Senate in 1948 after a narrow and controversial victory in the Democratic Party's primary. [2]
- John F. Kennedy
- None (1963–1965), Hubert Humphrey (1965–1969)
Feb 23, 2023 · Lyndon B. Johnson, in full Lyndon Baines Johnson, also called LBJ, (born August 27, 1908, Gillespie county, Texas, U.S.—died January 22, 1973, San Antonio, Texas), 36th president of the United States (1963–69). A moderate Democrat and vigorous leader in the United States Senate, Johnson was elected vice president in 1960 and acceded to the ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Who was Lyndon B. Johnson?Lyndon B. Johnson, frequently called LBJ, was an American politician and moderate Democrat who was president of the United States from 1963 to 1969...
- How did Lyndon B. Johnson become president?Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president of the United States alongside President John F. Kennedy in 1960 and acceded to the presidency upon Ke...
- What did Lyndon B. Johnson do as president?As president, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, the most comprehensive civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, into law; he als...
- Why didn’t Lyndon B. Johnson seek another term as president?By 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson knew he was unlikely to win another presidential election; his increase of American involvement in the Vietnam War, as w...
- LBJ: The Early Years
- Lady Bird Johnson
- Congressional Career
- Johnson in The Senate
- White House Years
- Great Society
- Johnson and The Vietnam War
- Johnson's Final Years
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near the central Texascommunity of Johnson City, which was named for his relatives. He was the first of five children of Sam Ealy Johnson Jr., a farmer, businessman and state legislator, and his wife, Rebekah Baines Johnson. The young Johnson graduated from Southwest State Teachers College (now Tex...
In 1931, Johnson moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as congressional secretary for newly elected U.S. Representative Richard Kleberg of Texas. Energetic and capable, Johnson began to meet influential people and learn about the national political process. On November 17, 1934, he married Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor, a fellow Texan with whom he ...
Johnson’s political career began in earnest in 1937, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. Quickly earning respect as a smart and hardworking legislator, he was re-elected five times. After an unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat in 1941, Johnson became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty i...
In 1948, Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senatefollowing a bruising Democratic primary. After crisscrossing Texas by helicopter, Johnson managed to eke out a victory in the primary by just 87 votes. Once he reached the Senate, Johnson showed a deft political touch. In 1953, at age 44, he became the youngest person ever to serve as minority leader o...
In 1960, John F. Kennedy, the Democratic presidential nominee, invited Johnson to be his vice-presidential running mate. Johnson’s presence on the ticket attracted the support of conservative Southern Democrats and helped lift Kennedy to a narrow victory over Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shotand killed wh...
Soon after taking office, Johnson declared a “War on Poverty.” He actively pushed Congress to pass legislation attacking illiteracy, unemployment and racial discrimination. After routing Republican candidate Barry Goldwater by more than 15 million votes in the 1964 presidential election, Johnson introduced a slate of new reforms that he said would ...
Despite Johnson’s success in promoting his domestic reform policies, his presidency was also defined by the failure of his policies toward Vietnam. Like the three presidents before him, Johnson was determined to prevent North Vietnamese communists from taking over the U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam. A believer in the now-discredited “do...
Following the inauguration of Republican President Nixon, Johnson retired to his Texas ranch, where he spent the next few years establishing his presidential library (which opened in 1971 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin) and writing his memoirs. Johnson died of a heart attack at age 64 on January 22, 1973, at his ranch.
In the 1960 campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice President as John F. Kennedy’s running mate. On November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th...
Lyndon B. Johnson 's tenure as the 36th president of the United States began on November 22, 1963 following the assassination of President Kennedy and ended on January 20, 1969. He had been vice president for 1,036 days when he succeeded to the presidency.
Aug 27, 2022 · Johnson was indeed from humble origins. He was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas. The Johnson family had been in the area for generations, but Johnson’s father had financial problems, and the future President grew up under difficult circumstances.