Remembering Lyndon Johnson
On January 22, 1973 (51 years ago today), Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States died at his ranch near Stonewall, Texas at the age of 64 from a massive heart attack. Johnson had previously served as the 37th Vice President of the United States and he is one of only four people who served in all four elected federal offices of Representative, Senator, Vice President, and President. (Can you guess who the other three are?)
Lyndon Johnson was born in Stonewall on August 27, 1908. His father Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. was a Democrat Texas Congressman and his son, the future president, also served as a United States Representative from 1937 to 1949 and as a Senator from 1949 to 1961. Johnson served six years as United States Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. His prowess in brokering deals earned him the nickname "Master of the Senate". Johnson unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1960, and was then asked by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election. After their election, Johnson became President following President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. He completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin over Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.
Johnson's presidency was marked both with great success and great failure. He was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that expanded civil rights, supported public broadcasting, created Medicare and Medicaid, aided environmental protection, education, the arts, urban and rural development. He declared "war on poverty", an initiative which helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during Johnson's presidency. Civil rights bills signed by Johnson banned racial discrimination in public facilities, interstate commerce, the workplace, and housing, and a powerful voting rights act guaranteed full voting rights for citizens of all races. With the passage of the sweeping Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the country's immigration system was reformed and all national origins quotas were removed. Johnson was known for his domineering personality. His methods of persuasion were known as the "Johnson treatment" through which he used various methods to convince powerful politicians to advance legislation that Johnson favored.
On the negative side of his legacy, Johnson escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the authority to use any degree of military force in Southeast Asia without having to ask for an official declaration of war. The number of American military personnel in Vietnam increased dramatically on his watch, from 16,000 advisors/soldiers in 1963 to 550,000 combat troops in early 1968. As American casualties soared and the peace process bogged down, Johnson's popularity rapidly diminished. White House protesters chanted "hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" Massive bombing campaigns targeting North Vietnamese cities were ordered, and millions of gallons of the herbicide Agent Orange were sprayed on Vietnamese land. Despite the growing number of American troops and the sustained bombing, the war showed no signs of ending and the public became increasingly skeptical of the administration's optimistic claims that victory was close at hand. Growing unease with the war generated a large, angry antiwar movement based especially on university campuses in the U.S. and abroad. Johnson faced further troubles when summer riots broke out in most major cities after 1965, and crime rates soared. These problems caused a split in the Democratic Party. Johnson's poor showing in the 1968 New Hampshire primary prompted him to end his bid for reelection. Republican Richard Nixon was elected to succeed him.
After leaving the presidency in January 1969, Johnson went home to his ranch in Stonewall, Texas. Assisted by his former aid and speech writer Harry J. Middleton, he wrote two books: The Choices We Face, and also his memoirs entitled The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency 1963-1969, published in 1971. Also in 1971, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum opened near the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. He donated his Texas ranch in his will to the public to form the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, with the provision in the will that the ranch "remain a working ranch and not become a sterile relic of the past".
Johnson worried that his successor was being pressured into removing U.S. forces too quickly, before the South Vietnamese were really able to defend themselves. During the 1972 presidential election, Johnson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee George S. McGovern, a Senator from South Dakota, although McGovern had long opposed Johnson's foreign and defense policies. Privately McGovern's nomination and presidential platform disappointed him. Johnson believed that Richard Nixon could be defeated "if only the Democrats don't go too far left." He thought that Edmund Muskie would be more likely to defeat Nixon, but he declined an invitation to try to stop McGovern.
In March 1970, Johnson was hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, after suffering an attack of angina. His weight had risen to about 235 pounds and he was urged to lose weight. In April 1972, Johnson suffered a massive heart attack while visiting his daughter, Lynda, in Charlottesville, Virginia. He required a portable oxygen tank beside his bed, which he periodically used during the day when needed. He continued to smoke heavily, and, although placed on a low-calorie, low-cholesterol diet, often ignored it. He also suffered from diverticulosis. Heart specialist Dr. Michael DeBakey, concluded that Johnson's heart condition presented too great a risk for any sort of surgery.
Johnson died at his ranch at 3:39 p.m. CST on January 22, 1973, at the age of 64, from a massive heart attack. His death occurred just two days after the end of what would have been his final term in office had he successfully won reelection in 1968. He had suffered his first heart attack in July 1955 and suffered a second one in April 1972, but had been unable to quit smoking after he left the Oval Office in 1969. He was found dead by Secret Service agents, in his bed, with a telephone receiver in his hand. Shortly after Johnson's death, his press secretary Tom Johnson (no relation) telephoned iconic CBC news anchor Walter Cronkite, who was live on the air with the CBS Evening News. A report on Vietnam was cut abruptly while Cronkite was still on the line, so he could break the news to the nation.
Lyndon Johnson was born in Stonewall on August 27, 1908. His father Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. was a Democrat Texas Congressman and his son, the future president, also served as a United States Representative from 1937 to 1949 and as a Senator from 1949 to 1961. Johnson served six years as United States Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. His prowess in brokering deals earned him the nickname "Master of the Senate". Johnson unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1960, and was then asked by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election. After their election, Johnson became President following President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. He completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin over Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.
Johnson's presidency was marked both with great success and great failure. He was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that expanded civil rights, supported public broadcasting, created Medicare and Medicaid, aided environmental protection, education, the arts, urban and rural development. He declared "war on poverty", an initiative which helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during Johnson's presidency. Civil rights bills signed by Johnson banned racial discrimination in public facilities, interstate commerce, the workplace, and housing, and a powerful voting rights act guaranteed full voting rights for citizens of all races. With the passage of the sweeping Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the country's immigration system was reformed and all national origins quotas were removed. Johnson was known for his domineering personality. His methods of persuasion were known as the "Johnson treatment" through which he used various methods to convince powerful politicians to advance legislation that Johnson favored.
On the negative side of his legacy, Johnson escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the authority to use any degree of military force in Southeast Asia without having to ask for an official declaration of war. The number of American military personnel in Vietnam increased dramatically on his watch, from 16,000 advisors/soldiers in 1963 to 550,000 combat troops in early 1968. As American casualties soared and the peace process bogged down, Johnson's popularity rapidly diminished. White House protesters chanted "hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" Massive bombing campaigns targeting North Vietnamese cities were ordered, and millions of gallons of the herbicide Agent Orange were sprayed on Vietnamese land. Despite the growing number of American troops and the sustained bombing, the war showed no signs of ending and the public became increasingly skeptical of the administration's optimistic claims that victory was close at hand. Growing unease with the war generated a large, angry antiwar movement based especially on university campuses in the U.S. and abroad. Johnson faced further troubles when summer riots broke out in most major cities after 1965, and crime rates soared. These problems caused a split in the Democratic Party. Johnson's poor showing in the 1968 New Hampshire primary prompted him to end his bid for reelection. Republican Richard Nixon was elected to succeed him.
After leaving the presidency in January 1969, Johnson went home to his ranch in Stonewall, Texas. Assisted by his former aid and speech writer Harry J. Middleton, he wrote two books: The Choices We Face, and also his memoirs entitled The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency 1963-1969, published in 1971. Also in 1971, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum opened near the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. He donated his Texas ranch in his will to the public to form the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, with the provision in the will that the ranch "remain a working ranch and not become a sterile relic of the past".
Johnson worried that his successor was being pressured into removing U.S. forces too quickly, before the South Vietnamese were really able to defend themselves. During the 1972 presidential election, Johnson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee George S. McGovern, a Senator from South Dakota, although McGovern had long opposed Johnson's foreign and defense policies. Privately McGovern's nomination and presidential platform disappointed him. Johnson believed that Richard Nixon could be defeated "if only the Democrats don't go too far left." He thought that Edmund Muskie would be more likely to defeat Nixon, but he declined an invitation to try to stop McGovern.
In March 1970, Johnson was hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, after suffering an attack of angina. His weight had risen to about 235 pounds and he was urged to lose weight. In April 1972, Johnson suffered a massive heart attack while visiting his daughter, Lynda, in Charlottesville, Virginia. He required a portable oxygen tank beside his bed, which he periodically used during the day when needed. He continued to smoke heavily, and, although placed on a low-calorie, low-cholesterol diet, often ignored it. He also suffered from diverticulosis. Heart specialist Dr. Michael DeBakey, concluded that Johnson's heart condition presented too great a risk for any sort of surgery.
Johnson died at his ranch at 3:39 p.m. CST on January 22, 1973, at the age of 64, from a massive heart attack. His death occurred just two days after the end of what would have been his final term in office had he successfully won reelection in 1968. He had suffered his first heart attack in July 1955 and suffered a second one in April 1972, but had been unable to quit smoking after he left the Oval Office in 1969. He was found dead by Secret Service agents, in his bed, with a telephone receiver in his hand. Shortly after Johnson's death, his press secretary Tom Johnson (no relation) telephoned iconic CBC news anchor Walter Cronkite, who was live on the air with the CBS Evening News. A report on Vietnam was cut abruptly while Cronkite was still on the line, so he could break the news to the nation.