Historical Figure
Lyndon B. Johnson
1908–1973
President of the United States from 1963 to 1969
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"Signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964" — July 2, 1964
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Biography
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Southern Democrat, Johnson previously represented Texas in Congress for over 23 years, first as a U.S. representative from 1937 to 1949, and then as a U.S. senator from 1949 to 1961.
Timeline
The story of Lyndon B. Johnson, told in moments.
Wins a U.S. Senate seat in Texas by 87 votes. His opponent contests the result. The nickname 'Landslide Lyndon' sticks. Ballot box 13 in Jim Wells County reports 202 last-minute votes, 201 for Johnson, in suspiciously identical handwriting.
Sworn in as president aboard Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas. Jackie Kennedy stands beside him, still wearing the blood-stained pink suit. The photograph of the oath becomes one of the most reproduced images in American history.
Signs the Civil Rights Act. He tells an aide: 'We have lost the South for a generation.' The law outlaws discrimination in public places, employment, and federally funded programs. He uses every political skill he has to get it through Congress.
Launches the Great Society. Medicare. Medicaid. Head Start. The Voting Rights Act. Federal aid to education. PBS. He passes more domestic legislation than any president since FDR. He also sends 184,000 troops to Vietnam.
Announces on live television that he won't seek reelection. 'I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.' Vietnam has consumed his presidency. His approval rating is 36%.
Dies of a heart attack on his ranch in Stonewall, Texas, at 64. He'd had his first heart attack at 46. He smoked, drank, and worked 18-hour days. The Vietnam ceasefire is signed the next day.
In Their Own Words (20)
Gerald Ford's economics are the worst thing that's happened to this country since pantyhose ruined finger-fucking.
As quoted in Fuck (2005), 2005
If the circumstances make it such that you can't fuck a man in the ass, then just peckerslap him. Better to let him know who's in charge than to let him get the keys to the car.
Private comment, found in White House Tapes: Eavesdropping on the President (2003) edited by John Prados., 2003
Making a speech on economics is a lot like pissing down your leg. It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else.
Private comment, as quoted in Name-Dropping (1999) by John Kenneth Galbraith, p. 149., 1999
It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.
On FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, as quoted in The New York Times (31 October 1971), 1971
Of those to whom much is given, much is asked. I cannot say and no man could say that no more will be asked of us.
An allusion to the Parable of the Faithful Servant, 1968
Artifacts (15)
Vice President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in Helsinki
Pohjakallio, Jussi
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