Lyndon Baines Johnson (/ˈlɪndən ˈbeɪnz/; August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson also served as a U.S. representative and senator.
Born in Stonewall, Texas, Johnson worked as a high school teacher and a congressional aide before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. In 1948, he was controversially declared winner in the Democratic Partys primary for the 1948 Senate election in Texas and won the general election.[2] He became Senate majority whip in 1951, Senate Democratic leader in 1953 and majority leader in 1954. In 1960, Johnson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. Ultimately, Senator Kennedy bested Johnson and his other rivals for the nomination before surprising many by offering to make Johnson his vice presidential running mate. The Kennedy–Johnson ticket won the general election. Vice President Johnson assumed the presidency in 1963, after President Kennedy was assassinated. The following year, Johnson was elected to the presidency in a landslide.
Johnsons Great Society was aimed at expanding civil rights, public broadcasting, access to health care, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, and public services. He sought to create better living conditions for low-income Americans by spearheading the war on poverty. As part of these efforts, Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which resulted in the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Johnson made the Apollo program a national priority; enacted the Higher Education Act of 1965, which established federally insured student loans; and signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which laid the groundwork for U.S. immigration policy today. Johnsons opinion on the issue of civil rights put him at odds with other white, southern Democrats. His civil rights legacy was shaped by signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Johnsons presidency took place during the Cold War, thus his foreign policy prioritized containment of communism, including in the ongoing Vietnam War. He launched a full-scale military intervention in Southeast Asia, dramatically increasing the number of American military personnel deployed; casualties soared among U.S. soldiers and Vietnam civilians. In 1968, the communist Tet Offensive inflamed the anti-war movement and public opinion turned against Americas involvement in the war. In Europe, Johnson maintained the postwar policies of his predecessors, by continuing to promote and foster political integration and economic cooperation among Western European nations.[3]
During his presidency, the American political landscape transformed significantly,[4][5] as white southerners who were once staunch Democrats began moving to the Republican Party[6][7] and black voters who sporadically supported the Democrats prior to 1964 began shifting towards the party in historic numbers.[8][9] Due to his domestic agenda, Johnsons presidency marked the peak of modern American liberalism in the 20th century.[10] Johnson faced further troubles with race riots in major cities and increasing crime rates. His political opponents seized the opportunity and raised demands for "law and order" policies. Johnson began his presidency with near-universal support, but his approval declined throughout his presidency as the public became frustrated with both the Vietnam War and domestic unrest. Johnson initially sought to run for re-election; however, following disappointing results in the New Hampshire primary he withdrew his candidacy. Johnson returned to his Texas ranch, where he died in 1973. Public opinion and academic assessments of his legacy have fluctuated greatly ever since. Historians and scholars rank Johnson in the upper tier for his accomplishments regarding domestic policy. His administration passed many major laws that made substantial changes in civil rights, health care, welfare, and education. Conversely, Johnson is strongly criticized for his foreign policy, namely presiding over escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War.[11][12]
Early life
Seven-year-old Johnson with his trademark cowboy hat, c. 1915
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Stonewall, Texas, in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River.[13] He was the eldest of five children born to Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines.[14][15] Johnson had one brother, Sam Houston Johnson, and three sisters, Rebekah, Josefa, and Lucia.[16] The nearby small town of Johnson City, Texas was named after his fathers cousin, James Polk Johnson,[17][18] whose forebears had moved west from Georgia.[19] Johnson had English-Irish, German, and Ulster Scots ancestry.[20] Through his mother, he was a great-grandson of pioneer Baptist clergyman George Washington Baines.[21]
Johnsons grandfather, Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr., was raised Baptist and for a time was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In his later years, the grandfather became a Christadelphian; Johnsons father also joined the Christadelphian Church toward the end of his life.[22] Johnson was influenced in his positive attitude toward Jews by the religious beliefs that his family, especially his grandfather, had shared with him.[23]
Johnson grew up in poverty, with his father losing a great deal of money.[24] Biographer Robert Caro described him as being raised "in a land without electricity, where the soil was so rocky that it was hard to earn a living from it."[24]
In school, Johnson was a talkative youth who was elected president of his 11th-grade class. He graduated in 1924 from Johnson City High School, where he participated in public speaking, debate, and baseball.[25][26] At 15, Johnson was the youngest in his class. Pressured by his parents to attend college, he enrolled at a "sub college" of Southwest Texas State Teachers College (SWTSTC) in the summer of 1924, where students from unaccredited high schools could take the 12th-grade courses needed for admission to college. He left the school just weeks after his arrival and decided to move to southern California. He worked at his cousins legal practice and in odd jobs before returning to Texas, where he worked as a day laborer.[27]
In 1926, Johnson enrolled at SWTSTC. He worked his way through school, participated in debate and campus politics, and edited the school newspaper, The College Star.[28] The college years refined his skills of persuasion and political organization. For nine months, from 1928 to 1929, Johnson paused his studies to teach Mexican–American children at the segregated Welhausen School in Cotulla, 90 miles (140 km) south of San Antonio. The job helped him to save money to complete his education, and he graduated in 1930 with a Bachelor of Science degree in history and his certificate of qualification as a high school teacher.[29][30] He briefly taught at Pearsall High School in Pearsall before taking a position teaching public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston.[31]
When he returned to San Marcos in 1965, after signing the Higher Education Act of 1965, Johnson reminisced:
I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American.[32]
Entry into politics
After Richard M. Kleberg won a 1931 special election to represent Texas in the United States House of Representatives, he appointed Johnson as his legislative secretary. This marked Johnsons formal introduction to politics. Johnson secured the position on the recommendation of his father and that of state senator Welly Hopkins, for whom Johnson had campaigned in 1930.[33] Kleberg had little interest in performing the day-to-day duties of a Congressman, instead delegating them to Johnson.[34] After Franklin D. Roosevelt won the 1932 U.S. presidential election, Johnson became a lifelong supporter of Roosevelts New Deal.[35] Johnson was elected speaker of the "Little Congress", a group of Congressional aides, where he cultivated Congressmen, newspapermen, and lobbyists. Johnsons friends soon included aides to President Roosevelt as well as fellow Texans such as vice president John Nance Garner and congressman Sam Rayburn.[36]
Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor of Karnack, Texas, on November 17, 1934. He met her after he had attended Georgetown University Law Center for several months.[37] During their first date, he asked her to marry him; many dates later, she finally agreed.[38] The wedding was officiated by Arthur R. McKinstry at St. Marks Episcopal Church in San Antonio.[39] They had two daughters: Lynda Bird in 1944 and Luci Baines in 1947. Johnson gave his children names with the LBJ initials; his dog was Little Beagle Johnson. His home was the LBJ Ranch; his initials were on his cufflinks, ashtrays, and clothes.[40] During his marriage, Lyndon Johnson had affairs with "numerous"[41] women, in particular Alice Marsh, who assisted him politically.[41]
In 1935, Johnson was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration, which enabled him to use the government to create education and job opportunities for young people. He resigned two years later to run for Congress. Johnson, a notoriously tough boss, often demanded long workdays and work on weekends.[42] He was described by friends, fellow politicians, and historians as motivated by lust for power and control. As Caro observes, "Johnsons ambition was uncommon – in the degree to which it was unencumbered by even the slightest excess weight of ideology, of philosophy, of principles, of beliefs."[43]
U.S. House of Representatives (1937–1949)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Texas governor James Burr V Allred, and Johnson in 1937. Johnson later used an edited version of this photo, with Allred airbrushed out, in his 1941 senatorial campaign.[44]
In 1937, after the death of thirteen-term congressman James P. Buchanan, Johnson successfully campaigned in a special election for Texass 10th congressional district, that covered Austin and the surrounding hill country. He ran on a New Deal platform and was effectively aided by his wife. He served in the House from April 10, 1937, to January 3, 1949.[45] President Roosevelt found Johnson to be a welcome ally and conduit for information, particularly about issues concerning internal politics in Texas and the machinations of Vice President Garner and House Speaker Rayburn. Johnson was immediately appointed to the Naval Affairs Committee. He worked for rural electrification and other improvements for his district. Johnson steered the projects towards contractors he knew, such as Herman and George Brown, who would finance much of Johnsons future career.[26]
1941 U.S. Senate election
Main article: 1941 United States Senate special election in Texas
In April of 1941, incumbent Texas senator Morris Shepard died, opening up the seat to a special election. Under Texas law, a special election for a vacant Senate seat must occur within a few months after the vacancy, meaning that the election would not be held during a normal November election, giving Johnson the chance to run without forfeiting his seat in the House.[46] The election would be held without party primaries, and with no runoff, meaning that Johnson would have to compete against every Democrat—without the chance of facing the frontrunner, Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, in a 1-on-1 runoff election.[46] The first pre-election polls showed Johnson receiving only 5% of the vote, but Johnson ran a fierce campaign, barnstorming the state and emphasizing his close relationship with President Roosevelt.[46]
On Election Day, Johnson held a strong lead in the returns throughout the whole night, and with 96 percent of the ballots counted, Johnson held a 5,000-vote lead.[46] According to John Connally, future Governor and Johnsons campaign manager, local election officials began calling Connallys office and asking him about whether they should report the vote tallies.[46] Connally told them to report the votes, which allegedly allowed ODaniels political allies among the South and East Texas party bosses to know the exact number of fraudulent votes needed for ODaniel to catch up to Johnson.[46] According to Connally,
The opposition then—Governor ODaniel and his people—knew exactly how many votes they had to have to take the lead... They kept changing the results, and our lead got smaller and smaller and smaller. Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, we wound up on the short side of the stick and lost the election by 1,311 votes. Im basically responsible for losing that 1941 campaign. We let them know exactly how many votes they had to have.[46]
In addition to ODaniels allies, state business interests aligned with former impeached and convicted Texas Governor "Pa" Ferguson had been concerned with ODaniels support of prohibition as Governor; they believed that he could do much less damage to their cause in the Senate.[46] The lieutenant governor, Coke Stevenson, was not in favor of prohibition, making his possible promotion to Governor a key selling point for the states business interests in manipulating the election results.[46] In the final vote tally, Johnson fell short by just 0.23% of the vote.[47]
While Johnsons loss in the 1941 Senate race was a stinging defeat, he did not have to give up his seat in the House. In keeping his political power, Johnson maintained numerous allies, including George Berham Parr, who ran a political machine in the south Texas Rio Grande Valley.[48] Senator ODaniel became extremely unpopular during his time in the Senate, and decided to forgo a bid for re-election in 1948,[49] so Johnson began preparing for a close Senate runoff by arranging for his supporters who controlled votes, including Parr, to withhold their final tallies until the statewide results were announced.[48] By waiting until the statewide result was in, Johnson would know the figure he had to surpass and so could add as many votes as necessary to his total.[50] It would prove consequential, as Johnson would win the Democratic primary in 1948 by just 87 votes.[51]
Active military duty (1941–1942)
Lieutenant Commander Johnson, March 1942
Johnson was appointed a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve on June 21, 1940. While serving as a U.S. representative, he was called to active duty three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. His orders were to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C., for instruction and training.[52] Following his training, he asked Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal for a job in Washington. He was sent instead to inspect shipyard facilities in Texas and on the West Coast. In the spring of 1942, President Roosevelt decided he needed better information on conditions in the Southwest Pacific, and to send a highly trusted political ally to get it. From a suggestion by Forrestal, Roosevelt assigned Johnson to a three-man survey team covering the Southwest Pacific.[53]
Johnson reported to General Douglas MacArthur in Australia. Johnson and two U.S. Army officers went to the 22nd Bomb Group base, which was assigned the high-risk mission of bombing the Japanese airbase at Lae in New Guinea. On June 9, 1942, Johnson volunteered as an observer for an airstrike on New Guinea. Reports vary on what happened to the aircraft carrying Johnson during that mission. Johnsons biographer Robert Caro accepts Johnsons account and supports it with testimony from the aircrew concerned: the aircraft was attacked, disabling one engine and it turned back before reaching its objective, under heavy fire. Others claim that it turned back because of generator trouble before encountering enemy aircraft and never came under fire; this is supported by official flight records.[54][55] Other airplanes that continued to the target came under fire near the target about the same time Johnsons plane was recorded as having landed back at the original airbase. MacArthur recommended Johnson for the Silver Star for gallantry in action, the only member of the crew to receive a decoration.[55] After it was approved by the Army, he presented the medal to Johnson, with the following citation:[54]
For gallantry in action in the vicinity of Port Moresby and Salamaua, New Guinea, on June 9, 1942. While on a mission of obtaining information in the Southwest Pacific area, Lieutenant Commander Johnson, to obtain personal knowledge of combat conditions, volunteered as an observer on a hazardous aerial combat mission over hostile positions in New Guinea. As our planes neared the target area they were intercepted by eight hostile fighters. When, at this time, the plane in which Lieutenant Commander Johnson was an observer, developed mechanical trouble and was forced to turn back alone, presenting a favorable target to the enemy fighters, he evidenced marked coolness despite the hazards involved. His gallant actions enabled him to obtain and return with valuable information.
Johnson, who had used a movie camera to record conditions,[56] reported to Roosevelt, to Navy leaders, and Congress that conditions were deplorable and unacceptable: some historians have suggested this was in exchange for MacArthurs recommendation to award the Silver Star.[55] He argued that the southwest Pacific urgently needed a higher priority and a larger share of war supplies. The warplanes sent there, for example, were "far inferior" to Japanese planes, and morale was bad. He told Forrestal that the Pacific Fleet had a "critical" need for 6,800 additional experienced men. Johnson prepared a twelve-point program to upgrade the effort in the region, stressing "greater cooperation and coordination within the various commands and between the different war theaters". Congress responded by making Johnson chairman of a high-powered subcommittee of the Naval Affairs Committee,[57] with a mission similar to that of the Truman Committee in the Senate. He probed the peacetime "business as usual" inefficiencies that permeated the naval war and demanded that admirals get the job done. Johnson went too far when he proposed a bill that would crack down on the draft exemptions of shipyard workers if they were absent from work too often; organized labor blocked the bill and denounced him. Johnsons biographer Robert Dallek concludes, "The mission was a temporary exposure to danger calculated to satisfy Johnsons personal and political wishes, but it also represented a genuine effort on his part, however misplaced, to improve the lot of Americas fighting men."[58]
In addition to the Silver Star, Johnson received the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was released from active duty on July 17, 1942, and remained in the Navy Reserve, later promoted to commander on October 19, 1949 (effective June 2, 1948). He resigned from the Navy Reserve effective January 18, 1964.[59]
U.S. Senate (1949–1961)
1948 U.S. Senate election
Main article: 1948 United States Senate election in Texas
In the 1948 elections, Johnson again ran for the Senate and won the general election after being declared winner in a highly controversial Democratic Party primary election against the well-known former governor Coke Stevenson. Johnson drew crowds to fairgrounds with his rented helicopter, dubbed "The Johnson City Windmill". He raised money to flood the state with campaign circulars and won over conservatives by casting doubts on Stevensons support for the Taft–Hartley Act (curbing union power). Stevenson came in first in the primary but lacked a majority, so a runoff election was held; Johnson campaigned harder, while Stevensons efforts slumped due to a lack of funds.
US presidential historian Michael Beschloss observed that Johnson "gave white supremacist speeches" during the 1948 campaign, in order to secure the white vote. This cemented his reputation as a moderate, which would enable him to pivot and further civil rights causes upon assuming the presidency.[60]
The runoff vote count, handled by the Democratic State Central Committee, took a week. Johnson was announced the winner by 87 votes out of 988,295, an extremely narrow margin. However, Johnsons victory was based on 200 "patently fraudulent"[61]: 608 ballots reported six days after the election from Box 13 in Jim Wells County, in an area dominated by political boss George Parr. The added names were in alphabetical order and written with the same pen and handwriting, at the end of the list of voters. Some of the persons in this part of the list insisted that they had not voted that day.[62] Election judge Luis Salas said in 1977 that he had certified 202 fraudulent ballots for Johnson.[63] Robert Caro made the case in his 1990 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County, and that there were thousands of fraudulent votes in other counties as well, including 10,000 votes switched in San Antonio.[64] The Democratic State Central Committee voted to certify Johnsons nomination by a majority of one (29–28). The state Democratic convention upheld Johnson. Stevenson went to court, eventually taking his case before the U.S. Supreme Court, but with timely help from his friend and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas, Johnson prevailed on the basis that jurisdiction over naming a nominee rested with the party, not the federal government. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Jack Porter in the general election in November and went to Washington, permanently dubbed "Landslide Lyndon". Johnson, dismissive of his critics, happily adopted the nickname.[65]
Freshman senator to majority whip
Johnsons Senate portrait, 1950s
Once in the Senate, Johnson was known among his colleagues for his highly successful "courtships" of older senators, especially Senator Richard Russell, Democrat from Georgia, the leader of the Conservative coalition and arguably the most powerful man in the Senate. Johnson proceeded to gain Russells favor in the same way he had "courted" Speaker Sam Rayburn and gained his crucial support in the House.
Johnson was appointed to the Senate Armed Services Committee, and in 1950 helped create the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee. He became its chairman, and conducted investigations of defense costs and efficiency. These investigations demanded actions that were already being taken in part by the Truman administration, although it can be said that the committees investigations reinforced the need for changes. Johnson gained national attention through his handling of the press, the efficiency with which his committee issued new reports, and the fact that he ensured that every report was endorsed unanimously by the committee. He used his political influence in the Senate to receive broadcast licenses from the Federal Communications Commission in his wifes name.[63][66] After the 1950 general elections, Johnson was chosen as Senate Majority Whip in 1951 under the new Majority Leader, Ernest McFarland of Arizona, and served from 1951 to 1953.[45]
Senate Democratic leader
In the 1952 general election, Republicans won a majority in both the House and Senate. In January 1953, Johnson was chosen by his fellow Democrats to be Minority Leader; he became the most junior senator ever elected to this position. One of his first actions was to eliminate the seniority system in making appointments to committees while retaining it for chairmanships. In the 1954 election, Johnson was re-elected to the Senate and, since the Democrats won the majority in the Senate, then became majority leader. Johnsons duties were to schedule legislation and help pass measures favored by the Democrats. Johnson, Rayburn and President Dwight D. Eisenhower worked well together in passing Eisenhowers domestic and foreign agenda.[67]
During the Suez Crisis, Johnson tried to prevent the U.S. government from criticizing the Israeli invasion of the Sinai peninsula. Along with the rest of the nation, Johnson was appalled by the threat of possible Soviet domination of space flight implied by the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite Sputnik 1 and used his influence to ensure passage of the 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established the civilian space agency NASA.
President Johnson giving "The Treatment" to senator Richard Russell Jr., 1963
Historians Caro and Dallek consider Johnson the most effective Senate majority leader in history. He was unusually proficient at gathering information. One biographer suggests he was "the greatest intelligence gatherer Washington has ever known", discovering exactly where every senator stood on issues, his philosophy and prejudices, his strengths and weaknesses and what it took to get his vote.[68] Robert Baker claimed that Johnson would occasionally send senators on NATO trips to avoid their dissenting votes.[69] Central to Johnsons control was "The Treatment",[70] described by two journalists:
The Treatment could last ten minutes or four hours. It came, enveloping its target, at the Johnson Ranch swimming pool, in one of Johnsons offices, in the Senate cloakroom, on the floor of the Senate itself – wherever Johnson might find a fellow Senator within his reach. Its tone could be supplication, accusation, cajolery, exuberance, scorn, tears, complaint, and the hint of threat. It was all of these together. It ran the gamut of human emotions. Its velocity was breathtaking and it was all in one direction. Interjections from the target were rare. Johnson anticipated them before they could be spoken. He moved in close, his face a scant millimeter from his target, his eyes widening and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and falling. From his pockets poured clippings, memos, statistics. Mimicry, humor, and the genius of analogy made The Treatment an almost hypnotic experience and rendered the target stunned and helpless.[71]
In 1955, Johnson persuaded Oregons Independent Wayne Morse to join the Democratic caucus.[72]
During his tenure as Majority Leader, Johnson did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto,[73][74] and shepherded the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 to passage—the first civil rights bills to pass Congress since the Enforcement Acts and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 during Reconstruction.[list 1]
A 60-cigarette-per-day smoker, Johnson suffered a near-fatal heart attack on July 2, 1955, at age 46. He abruptly gave up smoking. Johnson announced he would remain as his partys leader in the Senate on New Years Eve 1955, his doctors reporting he had made "a most satisfactory recovery".[80][81]
Campaigns of 1960
See also: 1960 United States presidential election
Johnsons success in the Senate rendered him a potential Democratic presidential candidate; he had been the "favorite son" candidate of the Texas delegation at the Partys national convention in 1956, and appeared to be in a strong position to run for the 1960 nomination. Jim Rowe repeatedly urged Johnson to launch a campaign in early 1959, but Johnson thought it better to wait, thinking that John Kennedys efforts would create a division in the ranks which could then be exploited. Rowe finally joined the Humphrey campaign in frustration, another move that Johnson thought played into his own strategy.[82]
Candidacy for president
Johnson made a late entry into the campaign in July 1960 which, coupled with a reluctance to leave Washington, allowed the rival Kennedy campaign to secure a substantial early advantage among Democratic state party officials. Johnson underestimated Kennedys endearing qualities of charm and intelligence, as compared to his reputation as the more crude and wheeling-dealing "Landslide Lyndon".[83] Caro suggests that Johnsons hesitancy resulted from fear of failure.[84]
Johnson attempted in vain to capitalize on Kennedys youth, poor health, and failure to take a position regarding McCarthyism.[85] He had formed a "Stop Kennedy" coalition with Adlai Stevenson, Stuart Symington, and Hubert Humphrey, but it proved a failure. Despite Johnson having the support of established Democrats and the party leadership, this did not translate into popular approval. Johnson received 409 votes on the only ballot at the Democratic convention to Kennedys 806, and so the convention nominated Kennedy. Tip ONeill was a representative from Kennedys home state of Massachusetts at that time, and he recalled that Johnson approached him at the convention and said, "Tip, I know you have to support Kennedy at the start, but Id like to have you with me on the second ballot." ONeill replied, "Senator, theres not going to be any second ballot."[86]
Vice-presidential nomination
Main article: 1960 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
According to Kennedys Special Counsel Myer Feldman and Kennedy himself, it is impossible to reconstruct the precise manner in which Johnsons vice-presidential nomination ultimately took place. Kennedy realized that he could not be elected without the support of traditional Southern Democrats, most of whom had backed Johnson; nevertheless, labor leaders were unanimous in their opposition to Johnson. AFL-CIO President George Meany called Johnson "the arch-foe of labor", while Illinois AFL-CIO President Reuben Soderstrom asserted Kennedy had "made chumps out of leaders of the American labor movement".[87][88] After much discussion with party leaders and others on the matter, Kennedy offered Johnson the vice-presidential nomination at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel at 10:15 am on July 14, the morning after he was nominated, and Johnson accepted. From that point to the actual nomination that evening, the facts are in dispute in many respects. (Convention chairman LeRoy Collins declaration of a two-thirds majority in favor by voice vote is even disputed.)[89]
Re-election to U.S. Senate
At the same time as his vice presidential run, Johnson also sought a third term in the U.S. Senate. According to Robert Caro, "Johnson won an election for both the vice presidency of the United States, on the Kennedy–Johnson ticket, and for a third term as senator (he had Texas law changed to allow him to run for both offices). When he won the vice presidency, he made arrangements to resign from the Senate, as he was required to do under federal law, as soon as it convened on January 3, 1961."[90] Johnson was re-elected senator with 1,306,605 votes (58 percent) to Republican John Towers 927,653 (41.1 percent). Fellow Democrat William A. Blakley was appointed to replace Johnson, but lost a special election in May 1961 to Tower.
Vice presidency (1961–1963)
See also: Presidency of John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson outside the White House prior to a ceremony
After the election, Johnson was concerned about the traditionally ineffective nature of his new office and set about to assume authority not allotted to the position. He initially sought a transfer of the authority of Senate majority leader to the vice presidency, since that office made him president of the Senate, but faced vehement opposition from the Democratic Caucus, including members whom he had counted as his supporters.[91]
Johnson sought to increase his influence within the executive branch. He drafted an executive order for Kennedys signature, granting Johnson "general supervision" over matters of national security, and requiring all government agencies to "cooperate fully with the vice president in the carrying out of these assignments". Kennedys response was to sign a non-binding letter requesting Johnson to "review" national security policies instead.[92] Kennedy similarly turned down early requests from Johnson to be given an office adjacent to the Oval Office and to employ a full-time staff within the White House.[93] His lack of influence was thrown into relief later in 1961 when Kennedy appointed Johnsons friend Sarah T. Hughes to a federal judgeship, whereas Johnson had tried and failed to garner the nomination for Hughes at the beginning of his vice presidency. House Speaker Sam Rayburn wrangled the appointment from Kennedy in exchange for support of an administration bill.
Many members of the Kennedy White House were contemptuous of Johnson, including the presidents brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and they ridiculed his comparatively brusque, crude manner. Congressman Tip ONeill recalled that the Kennedy men "had a disdain for Johnson that they didnt even try to hide.... They actually took pride in snubbing him."[94]
Vice President Johnson and Attorney General Robert Kennedy meeting with civil rights leaders at the White House on June 22, 1963.
Kennedy made efforts to keep Johnson busy and informed, telling aides, "I cant afford to have my vice president, who knows every reporter in Washington, going around saying were all screwed up, so were going to keep him happy."[95] Kennedy appointed him to jobs such as the head of the Presidents Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, through which he worked with African Americans and other minorities. Kennedy may have intended this to remain a more nominal position, but Taylor Branch contends in Pillar of Fire that Johnson pushed the Kennedy administrations actions further and faster for civil rights than Kennedy originally intended to go.[citation needed]
Johnson took on numerous minor diplomatic missions, which gave him some insights into global issues, as well as opportunities for self-promotion in the name of showing the countrys flag. During his visit to West Berlin on August 19–20, 1961, Johnson calmed Berliners who were outraged by the building of the Berlin Wall.[96] He also attended Cabinet and National Security Council meetings. Kennedy gave Johnson control over all presidential appointments involving Texas, and appointed him chairman of the Presidents Ad Hoc Committee for Science.[97]
Kennedy also appointed Johnson Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. The Soviets beat the United States with the first crewed spaceflight in April 1961, and Kennedy gave Johnson the task of evaluating the U.S. space program and recommending a project that would allow the United States to catch up or beat the Soviets.[98] Johnson recommended that the United States gain the leadership role by committing to landing an American on the Moon in the 1960s.[99][100] Kennedy assigned priority to the space program, but Johnsons appointment provided cover in case of a failure.[101]
Johnson was touched by a Senate scandal in August 1963 when Bobby Baker, the Secretary to the Majority Leader of the Senate and a protégé of Johnsons, came under investigation by the Senate Rules Committee for allegations of bribery and financial malfeasance. One witness alleged that Baker had arranged for the witness to give kickbacks for the Vice President. Baker resigned in October, and the investigation did not expand to Johnson. The negative publicity from the affair fed rumors in Washington circles that Kennedy was planning on dropping Johnson from the Democratic ticket in the 1964 presidential election. However, on October 31, 1963, a reporter asked if he intended and expected to have Johnson on the ticket. Kennedy replied, "Yes to both those questions."[102] There is little doubt that Robert Kennedy and Johnson hated each other,[103] yet John and Robert Kennedy agreed that dropping Johnson from the ticket could produce heavy losses in the South.[104][105]
Presidency (1963–1969)
Main article: Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the Lyndon B. Johnson presidency.
Further information: Foreign policy of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration
Johnson assumed the presidency amid a healthy economy with steady growth and low unemployment, and with no serious international crises. He focused his attention on domestic policy until escalation of the Vietnam War began in August 1964.
Succession
Main article: First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson
LBJ is sworn in on Air Force One by Judge Sarah Hughes as Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Kennedy look on.
Johnson was quickly sworn in as president on Air Force One in Dallas on November 22, 1963, just two hours and eight minutes after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, amid suspicions of a conspiracy against the government.[106] He was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a family friend.[107] In the rush, Johnson took the oath of office using a Roman Catholic missal from President Kennedys desk,[108] despite not being Catholic,[109] due to the missal being mistaken for a Bible.[109] Cecil Stoughtons iconic photograph of Johnson taking the presidential oath of office as Mrs. Kennedy looks on is the most famous photo ever taken aboard a presidential aircraft.[109][110]
Johnson was convinced of the need to make an impression of an immediate transition of power after the assassination to provide stability to a grieving nation.[111] He and the Secret Service were concerned that he could also be a target of a conspiracy,[112] and felt compelled to rapidly return the new president to Washington.[112] This was greeted by some with assertions that Johnson was in too much haste to assume power.[113][114]
On November 27, 1963, Johnson delivered his Let Us Continue speech to a joint session of Congress, saying that "No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedys memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long."[115] The wave of national grief following the assassination gave enormous momentum to Johnsons promise to carry out Kennedys plans and his policy of seizing Kennedys legacy to give momentum to his legislative agenda.[114]
On November 29, 1963, just one week after Kennedys assassination, Johnson issued an executive économies order to rename NASAs Apollo Launch Operations Center and the NASA/Air Force Cape Canaveral launch facilities as the John F. Kennedy Space Center.[116] Cape Canaveral was officially known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 until 1973.[117][118]
Also on November 29, Johnson established a panel headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, known as the Warren Commission, through executive order to investigate Kennedys assassination and surrounding conspiracies.[119] The commission conducted extensive research and hearings and unanimously concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. However, the report remains controversial among some conspiracy theorists.[120]
Johnson retained senior Kennedy appointees, some for the full term of his presidency. He even retained Attorney General Robert Kennedy, with whom he had a notoriously difficult relationship, until Kennedy left in 1964 to run for the Senate.[121] Although Johnson had no official chief of staff, Walter Jenkins presided over the details of daily operations at the White House. George Reedy, who was Johnsons second-longest-serving aide, assumed the post of press secretary when John F. Kennedys own Pierre Salinger left that post in March 1964.[122] Horace Busby served primarily as a speechwriter and political analyst.[123] Bill Moyers was the youngest member of Johnsons staff; he handled scheduling and speechwriting part-time.[124]
Legislative initiatives
The new president thought it advantageous to quickly pursue one of Kennedys primary legislative goals—a tax cut. Johnson worked closely with Harry F. Byrd of Virginia to negotiate a reduction in the budget below $100 billion in exchange for what became overwhelming Senate approval of the Revenue Act of 1964. Congressional approval followed at the end of February, and facilitated efforts to follow on civil rights.[125] In late 1963, Johnson also initiated his War on Poverty, recruiting Kennedy relative Sargent Shriver, then head of the Peace Corps, to spearhead the effort. In March 1964, Johnson sent to Congress the Economic Opportunity Act, which created the Job Corps and the Community Action Program, designed to attack poverty locally. The act also created VISTA, a domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps.[126]
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Main article: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Meeting with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. (left), Whitney Young, and James Farmer in the Oval Office in 1964
President Kennedy had submitted a civil rights bill to Congress in June 1963, which met with strong opposition.[127][128] Johnson renewed the effort and asked Bobby Kennedy to spearhead the undertaking on Capitol Hill. This provided adequate political cover for Johnson should the effort fail; but if it were successful, Johnson would receive ample credit.[129] Historian Robert Caro notes that the bill Kennedy had submitted was facing the same tactics that prevented the passage of civil rights bills in the past: southern congressmen and senators used congressional procedure to prevent it from coming to a vote.[130] In particular, they held up all of the major bills Kennedy had proposed and that were considered urgent, especially the tax reform bill, to force the bills supporters to pull it.[130]
Johnson was quite familiar with the procedural tactic, as he played a role in a similar tactic against a civil rights bill that Harry Truman had submitted to Congress fifteen years earlier.[130] In that fight, a rent-control renewal bill was held up until the civil rights bill was withdrawn.[130] Believing that the Civil Rights Act would suffer the same fate, he adopted a different strategy from that of Kennedy, who had mostly removed himself from the legislative process. By tackling the tax cut first, the previous tactic was eliminated.[131]
Passing the civil rights bill in the House required getting it through the Rules Committee, which had been attempting to kill it. Johnson used a discharge petition to force it onto the House floor.[132] Facing a growing threat that they would be bypassed, the House rules committee approved the bill and moved it to the floor of the full House, which passed it shortly thereafter by a vote of 290–110.[133] In the Senate, since the tax bill had passed three days earlier, the anti-civil rights senators were left with the filibuster as their only remaining tool. Overcoming the filibuster required the support of over twenty Republicans, who were growing less supportive because their party was about to nominate for president a candidate who opposed the bill.[134] According to Caro, Johnson ultimately could convince Republican leader Everett Dirksen to support the bill that amassed the necessary Republican votes to overcome the filibuster in March 1964; after 75 hours of debate, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 71–29.[135][136] Johnson signed the fortified Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2.[136] The following evening, Johnson told aide Bill Moyers, "I think we may have lost the south for your lifetime – and mine", anticipating a backlash from Southern whites against Johnsons Democratic Party.[137][138]
Biographer Randall B. Woods has argued that Johnson effectively used appeals to Judeo-Christian ethics to garner support for civil rights. Woods writes that Johnson undermined the Southern filibuster against the bill:
LBJ wrapped white America in a moral straitjacket. How could individuals who fervently, continuously, and overwhelmingly identified themselves with a merciful and just God continue to condone racial discrimination, police brutality, and segregation? Where in the Judeo-Christian ethic was there justification for killing young girls in a church in Alabama, denying an equal education to black children, barring fathers and mothers from competing for jobs that would feed and clothe their families? Was Jim Crow to be Americas response to "Godless Communism"?[139]
Woods states that Johnsons religiosity ran deep: "At 15 he joined the Disciples of Christ, or Christian, church and would forever believe that it was the duty of the rich to care for the poor, the strong to assist the weak, and the educated to speak for the inarticulate."[140] Johnson shared the beliefs of his mentor, FDR, in that he paired liberal and religious values, believing that freedom and social justice served both God and man.[141]
The Great Society
Johnson wanted a catchy slogan for the 1964 campaign to describe his proposed domestic agenda for 1965. Eric Goldman, who joined the White House in December of that year, thought Johnsons domestic program was best captured in the title of Walter Lippmans book, The Good Society. Richard Goodwin tweaked it to "The Great Society" and incorporated it in a speech for Johnson in May 1964 at the University of Michigan. It encompassed movements of urban renewal, modern transportation, clean environment, anti-poverty, healthcare reform, crime control, and educational reform.[142]
1964 presidential election
Main article: 1964 United States presidential election
Further information: Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 presidential campaign
In Spring 1964, Johnson did not look optimistically on the prospect of being elected president in his own right.[143] A pivotal change took place in April when he assumed personal management of negotiations between the railroad brotherhood and the railroad industry over the issue of featherbedding. Johnson emphasized to the parties the potential impact upon the economy of a strike. After considerable horse-trading, especially with the carriers who won promises from the president for greater freedom in setting rights and more liberal depreciation allowances from the IRS, Johnson got an agreement. This substantially boosted his self-confidence and his image.[144]
Robert F. Kennedy was widely considered an impeccable choice for Johnsons vice presidential running mate but Johnson and Kennedy had never liked one another and Johnson, afraid that Kennedy would be credited with his election as president, opposed the idea at every turn.[145] Kennedy was himself undecided about the position and, knowing that the prospect rankled Johnson, was content to eliminate himself from consideration. Ultimately, Goldwaters poor polling numbers degraded any dependence Johnson might have had on Kennedy as his running mate.[146] Hubert Humphreys selection as vice president then became a foregone conclusion and was thought to strengthen Johnson in the Midwest and industrial Northeast.[147] Johnson, knowing the degree of frustration inherent in the office of vice president, put Humphrey through a gauntlet of interviews to guarantee his loyalty. Having made the decision, he kept the announcement from the press until the last moment to maximize media speculation and coverage.[148]
In preparation for the Democratic convention, Johnson requested the FBI send thirty agents to cover convention activities; the objective of the squad was to inform the White House staff of any disruptive activities. The squads focus narrowed upon the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) delegation, which sought to displace the white segregationist delegation regularly selected in the state. The squads activities included wiretaps of Martin Luther Kings room as well as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). From beginning to end, the squads assignment was carefully couched in terms of the monitoring of disruptive activities that might endanger the president and other high-ranking officials.[149]
1964 presidential election results
Johnson was very concerned about potential political damage from media coverage of racial tensions exposed by a credentials fight between the MFDP and the segregationist delegation, and he assigned Humphrey to manage the problem.[150] The conventions Credentials Committee declared that two MFDP delegates in the delegation be seated as observers and agreed to "bar future delegations from states where any citizens are deprived of the right to vote because of their race or color".[151] The MFDP rejected the committees ruling. The convention became the apparent personal triumph that Johnson craved, but a sense of betrayal caused by the marginalization of the MFDP would trigger disaffection with Johnson and the Democratic Party from the left; SNCC chairman John Lewis would call it a "turning point in the civil rights movement".[152]
Early in the 1964 presidential campaign, Barry Goldwater appeared to be a strong contender, with strong support from the South, which threatened Johnsons position as he had predicted in reaction to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. However, Goldwater lost momentum as his campaign progressed. On September 7, 1964, Johnsons campaign managers broadcast the "Daisy ad": it portrayed a little girl picking petals from a daisy, followed by a countdown and explosion of a nuclear bomb. The message conveyed was that electing Goldwater risked a nuclear war. Goldwaters campaign message was best symbolized by the bumper sticker displayed by supporters claiming "In your heart, you know hes right". Opponents captured the spirit of Johnsons campaign with bumper stickers that said "In your heart, you know he might" and "In your guts, you know hes nuts".[153] CIA Director William Colby asserted that Tracy Barnes instructed the CIA to spy on the Goldwater campaign and the Republican National Committee to provide information to Johnsons campaign.[154] Johnson won the presidency by a landslide with 61.05 percent of the vote, making it the highest ever share of the popular vote.[155] At the time, this was also the widest popular margin in the 20th century—more than 15.95 million votes—this was later surpassed by incumbent President Nixons victory in 1972.[156] In the Electoral College, Johnson defeated Goldwater by a margin of 486 to 52. Johnson won 44 states, compared to Goldwaters six. Voters also gave Johnson the largest majorities in Congress since FDRs election in 1936—a Senate with a 68–32 majority and a House with a 295–140 Democratic margin.[157]
Voting Rights Act
Main article: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Johnson began his elected presidential term with similar motives as he had upon succeeding to the office, ready to "carry forward the plans and programs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right."[158] He was reticent to push southern congressmen further after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and suspected their support may have been temporarily tapped out. Nevertheless, the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama led by Martin Luther King ultimately led Johnson to initiate a debate on a voting rights bill in February 1965.[159]
refer to caption
President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks at the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965
Johnson gave a congressional speech in which he said,
rarely at any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself [...] rarely are we met with the challenge [...] to the values and the purposes and the meaning of our beloved nation. The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue. And should we defeat every enemy, should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and as a nation.[160]
In 1965, he achieved passage of a second civil rights bill called the Voting Rights Act which outlawed discrimination in voting, thus allowing millions of southern blacks to vote for the first time. Under the act, several states—"eight of the eleven southern states of the former confederacy" (Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia)—were subjected to the procedure of preclearance in 1965, while Texas, then home to the largest African American population of any state, followed in 1975.[161] The Senate passed the voting rights bill by a vote of 77–19 after 2 1/2 months, and it won passage in the house in July, 333–85. The results were significant: between 1968 and 1980, the number of southern black elected state and federal officeholders nearly doubled. The act also made a large difference in the numbers of black elected officials nationally; a few hundred black officeholders in 1965 mushroomed to 6,000 in 1989.[160]
After the murder of civil rights worker Viola Liuzzo, Johnson went on television to announce the arrest of four Ku Klux Klansmen implicated in her death. He angrily denounced the Klan as a "hooded society of bigots," and warned them to "return to a decent society before its too late". Johnson was the first President to arrest and prosecute members of the Klan since Ulysses S. Grant.[b][162] He turned to themes of Christian redemption to push for civil rights, mobilizing support from churches.[163] At the Howard University commencement address on June 4, 1965, he said that both the government and the nation needed to help achieve these goals: "To shatter forever not only the barriers of law and public practice but the walls which bound the condition of many by the color of his skin. To dissolve, as best we can, the antique enmities of the heart which diminish the holder, divide the great democracy, and do wrong—great wrong—to the children of God ..."[164]
In 1967, Johnson nominated civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall to be the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court. To head the new Department of Housing and Urban Development, Johnson appointed Robert C. Weaver, the first African-American federal cabinet secretary. In 1968, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or national origin. The impetus for the laws passage came from the 1966 Chicago Open Housing Movement, the April 4, 1968, assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the civil unrest across the country following Kings death.[165] On April 5, Johnson wrote to the United States House of Representatives urging passage of the Fair Housing Act.[166] With newly urgent attention from legislative director Joseph Califano and Democratic Speaker of the House John McCormack, the bill (which was previously stalled) passed the House by a wide margin on April 10.[165][167]
Immigration
President Johnson signs the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 as Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy, and others look on
The sweeping Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 reformed the countrys immigration system and removed all national origins quotas dating from the 1920s. The annual rate of inflow doubled between 1965 and 1970, and doubled again by 1990, with dramatic increases from Asia and Latin American countries including Mexico.[63] Scholars give Johnson little credit for the law, which was not one of his priorities; he had supported the McCarren–Walter Act of 1952 that was unpopular with reformers.[168]
Federal funding for education
Further information: Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Johnson, whose own ticket out of poverty was a public education in Texas, fervently believed that education was an essential component of the American dream, especially for minorities who endured poor facilities and tight-fisted local budgets.[169] He made education the top priority of the Great Society agenda, with an emphasis on helping poor children. After the 1964 landslide brought in many new liberal Congressmen, Johnson launched a legislative effort that took the name of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The bill sought to double federal spending on education from $4 billion to $8 billion;[170] with considerable facilitating by the White House, it passed the House by a vote of 263 to 153 on March 26, and then it remarkably passed without a change in the Senate, by 73 to 8, without going through the usual conference committee. This was a historic accomplishment by the president, with the billion-dollar bill passing as introduced just 87 days before.[171]
Although ESEA solidified Johnsons support among K-12 teachers unions, neither the Higher Education Act nor the new endowments mollified the college professors and students growing increasingly uneasy with the war in Vietnam.[172] Johnsons second major education program was the Higher Education Act of 1965, which focused on funding for lower-income students. In 1967, Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act to create educational television programs to supplement broadcast networks.
In 1965, Johnson set up the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, to support the study of literature, history, and law, and arts such as music, painting, and sculpture (as the WPA once did).[173]
"War on Poverty" and healthcare reform
Former president Truman and wife Bess at Medicare Bill signing in 1965, as Lady Bird and Hubert Humphrey look on
In 1964, at Johnsons request, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1964 and the Economic Opportunity Act, as part of the war on poverty. Johnson set in motion legislation creating programs such as Head Start, food stamps and Work Study.[174] During Johnsons years in office, national poverty declined significantly, with the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line dropping from 23 to 12 percent.[11] Johnson took an additional step in the War on Poverty with an urban renewal effort, presentin.
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