Lyndon Baines Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) 

Lyndon B. Johnson was born on August 27th in 1908 in Texas. He grew up in poor conditions and learned early on what it meant to fight his way up to the top.

He was active as a teacher for people of Mexican descent. In 1937 he ran successfully for the House of Representatives, always supported by his wife Claudia, who he married in 1934.

During the Second World War, Johnson served his country as a naval officer for a short time. After his sixth re-election in the House of Representatives, Johnson was elected to the Senate in 1948. In 1953, he became the youngest leader of the minority in history to the Senate and was the leader of the mob, when the Democrats took power the following year.

Wife: Claudia "Lady Bird" Alta Taylor (1912-2007), wedding on November 17th 1934

Children: Lynda Bird Johnson (1944-), Luci Baines Johnson (1947-)

Profession: teacher, civil servant

Presidential orientation: Democrat

Presidential salary: USD 100,000/year + USD 50,000 expenses

Results of the presidential elections in 1964:

Vice President: Hubert H. Humphrey (1965-1969)

Presidency (1963-1969):

Elected as Vice President John F. Kennedy’s Johnson was, after the president’s death, sworn in the office.

Johnson wanted to make America into a “Great Society” and improve the society through reforms in the field of civil rights, poverty reduction, education, health care and environmental protection. That was how he became one of the most popular presidents which was confirmed 1964 when he was re-elected with an overwhelming majority of 61% as President in office. By a margin of more than 15 million votes, this is down to the present day the most significant gain in the history of U.S. Presidential elections.

During the term of President Johnson, the first three astronauts successfully flew into space. But there were two major crises in 1965 to record.

Particularly the unrests in African-American ghettos caused despite the anti-discrimination programs trouble, but even Johnson with his great influence against desegregation and with the help of laws had difficulties.

The Vietnam War as well was difficult. After the growing number of people calling against him, Johnson stopped the bombing of North Vietnam in order to initiate peace negotiations in March 1968.

He also explained that he is not going to run for a re-election again because he wanted to focus his energy on the pursuit of peace. He ended his office as 36th President of the United States of America by the time peace talks were running, but did not live long enough to witness its successful impact since he died in consequence of a severe heart attack at his ranch in Texas in January 1973.

Nickname: LBJ

"A man without a vote is man without protection." (Lyndon B. Johnson)