Lyndon Baines Johnson was an important figure in American history. He was President of the United States from 1963 to early 1969. He is mostly known for his taking over as President when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and bringing the U.S. into the Vietnam War. He is an interesting person to study as he was crucial to American history and to the Vietnam War.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27th, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas to Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines. He was the oldest of five children to a family who was known in the town for farming and politics. His father was a Texas congressman who was a well known figure in the community. However, the family encountered financial difficulties and lost their farm when Lyndon was in his early teenage years. Lyndon had some academic trouble in school, but was able to graduate from Johnson City High School in 1924. He then went to college at Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College which is now Texas State University. He was interested in political classes and had debates with classmates. He graduated from college in 1930, and briefly taught at a school. However, he enjoyed political matters more. This is when his life in politics began.
In 1931, Lyndon B. Johnson became a legislative secretary to Richard M. Kleberg, a Texas Democratic Congressman. After gaining this position, he moved to Washington D.C. and came to be in touch with journalists, congressmen, and people working with Franklin D. Roosevelt. He met his wife in 1934, Claudia Alta Taylor, who helped him with his early politics. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped Lyndon achieve a commision to the U.S. Naval Reserve. This was after Pearl Harbor, and timing was crucial. Lyndon became a lieutenant commander and served a tour of the South Pacific. Although his plane had a mechanical problem when moving to combat and had to turn back, he still received a Silver Star for some participation. Shortly after, he returned to D.C. for his legislative responsibilities. In 1948, he became the senator in Texas. This allowed for a Democratic control of the Senate the next year.
In 1960, Johnson wanted to run for President. However, John F. Kennedy was the leading candidate. John got to know Lyndon and thought it would be a good idea to make him Vice President. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson won the election against Republican, Richard Nixon, with a narrow margin. As Vice President, Lyndon was the overseer to many important things such as the space program. He also sent U.S. military advisers to Southern Vietnam to fend off a communist uprising. However, Johnson did not get to play a part in many important issues which frustrated him. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas while driving through the city in a motorcade. Lyndon was a few cars behind when the incident happened. While on the flight back to Washington D.C. Johnson was sworn into office as the 36th President of the United States. Johnson supported Kennedy’s programs and made important changes through Congress.
When Johnson took over for Kennedy, there was only a year and a few months left until the next election. This helped Johnson learn how to be President. In the next election of 1964, Johnson entered and won against Barry Goldwater in a landslide. Johnson was a major figure in Civil Rights and helped get rid of racial segregation in schools. This helped African Americans around the country. He then focused on Vietnam. His administration was viewed poorly in the media and by college campuses for the handling of the Vietnam War. But, by 1968, there were already over 500,000 troops in Vietnam and there was not a good way to get out of the war. The Vietnam War was from a conflict between the Northern Vietnam communists and Southern Vietnam. Johnson’s approval ratings fell drastically during the war. Unfortunately, the Southern Vietnamese, under U.S. support, lost. This was a bad occurrence in The Johnson administration, but they were able to regain support after the legislative victory of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Johnson announced that would not run for office again on March 31, 1968.
Before and after he left office, his health had been declining. He led a quiet life after office on his Texas ranch and spent time on his Presidential Library. He had a heart attack on January 22, 1973, at his Texas Ranch. Fortunately, peace had been reached in Vietnam the day before his death.
Lyndon B. Johnson was a crucial figure in American history and politics. Although he made some mistakes, he was truly a kind hearted man as he stood up for Civil Rights in the U.S. His political tactics will influence politicians and Presidents of the future.