#36 Lyndon B. Johnson

[tacitus]

Lyndon B. Johnsonhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/images/lj36.gif

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Thirty-Sixth President
1963-1969

Born: August 27, 1908 near Stonewall, Texas

Died: January 22, 1973 in Johnson City, Texas

Married to Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson (http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/cj36.html)

"A Great Society" for the American people and their fellow men elsewhere was the vision of Lyndon B. Johnson. In his first years of office he obtained passage of one of the most extensive legislative programs in the Nation's history. Maintaining collective security, he carried on the rapidly growing struggle to restrain Communist encroachment in Viet Nam.

Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far from Johnson City, which his family had helped settle. He felt the pinch of rural poverty as he grew up, working his way through Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now known as Texas State University-San Marcos); he learned compassion for the poverty of others when he taught students of Mexican descent.

In 1937 he campaigned successfully for the House of Representatives on a New Deal platform, effectively aided by his wife, the former Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor, whom he had married in 1934.

<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="178"> <tbody><tr> <td rowspan="3" width="3">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> <td width="166">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> <td rowspan="3" width="5">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="166"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="2" vspace="2" width="166"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="#000000" height="1">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#000000" width="1">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> <td width="66"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="166"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="middle"> <td colspan="2"> <table bgcolor="#dddddd" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td> http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/related2.gif

http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/texticon.gifPresident Bush Biography (http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/texticon.gifVice President Cheney Biography (http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/vpbio.html)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/texticon.gifLaura Bush Biography (http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/flbio.html)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/texticon.gifLynne Cheney Biography (http://www.whitehouse.gov/mrscheney/mcbio.html) </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td bgcolor="#000000" width="1">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="#000000" height="1">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="166">http://www.whitehouse.gov/images/pixel.gif</td> </tr> </tbody></table> During World War II he served briefly in the Navy as a lieutenant commander, winning a Silver Star in the South Pacific. After six terms in the House, Johnson was elected to the Senate in 1948. In 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history, and the following year, when the Democrats won control, Majority Leader. With rare skill he obtained passage of a number of key Eisenhower measures.

In the 1960 campaign, Johnson, as John F. Kennedy's running mate, was elected Vice President. On November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as President.

First he obtained enactment of the measures President Kennedy had been urging at the time of his death--a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. Next he urged the Nation "to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor." In 1964, Johnson won the Presidency with 61 percent of the vote and had the widest popular margin in American history--more than 15,000,000 votes.

The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, removal of obstacles to the right to vote. Congress, at times augmenting or amending, rapidly enacted Johnson's recommendations. Millions of elderly people found succor through the 1965 Medicare amendment to the Social Security Act.

Under Johnson, the country made spectacular explorations of space in a program he had championed since its start. When three astronauts successfully orbited the moon in December 1968, Johnson congratulated them: "You've taken ... all of us, all over the world, into a new era. . . . "

Nevertheless, two overriding crises had been gaining momentum since 1965. Despite the beginning of new antipoverty and anti-discrimination programs, unrest and rioting in black ghettos troubled the Nation. President Johnson steadily exerted his influence against segregation and on behalf of law and order, but there was no early solution.

The other crisis arose from Viet Nam. Despite Johnson's efforts to end Communist aggression and achieve a settlement, fighting continued. Controversy over the war had become acute by the end of March 1968, when he limited the bombing of North Viet Nam in order to initiate negotiations. At the same time, he startled the world by withdrawing as a candidate for re-election so that he might devote his full efforts, unimpeded by politics, to the quest for peace.

When he left office, peace talks were under way; he did not live to see them successful, but died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973.

<hr> <center> For more information about President Johnson, please visit
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum (http://www.whitehouse.gov/goodbye/7a01d25a23c11545d9fdbb5752af40db56bbd927.html). </center>

[Taylor]

Johnson lied to the American people in 1964 to get us into Veitnam for political gain. It's funny how liberals claim Bush lied to get us into Iraq but they ignore the fact Johnson fabricated the Gulf of Tonkin incident to get us into Veitnam.

[Beowulf]

His "War on Poverty" cost this country billions in the form of free entitlements. To me, he was only #36 and nothing more.

[omegatrump]

When I think of Johnson, I think of Robert McNamara, the micro manager of the Vietnam war. McNamara was the enemy of every Vietnam vet and should still be prosecuted for war crimes against the troops. He was Johnson's man and the reflection is well deserved.

[Teenager]

Johnson was nothing except a Roosevelt wannabe.

[Elgalad]

Johnson was nothing except a Roosevelt wannabe.
{Cough} Clarification please! :licky:

I'll assume you meant Franklin. :smirky:




-Elgalad

[Teenager]

{Cough} Clarification please! :licky:

I'll assume you meant Franklin. :smirky:




-Elgalad


Not you!!

As in FDR. So yeah, Franklin. :smirky:

[SmellyFed]

I'll go to my grave wondering if #36 whacked #35.

[Riverboat]

McNamara was the enemy of every Vietnam vet and should still be prosecuted for war crimes against the troops. So, I'm not the only one who thinks McNamara should have been hanged for treason years ago?

[omegatrump]

So, I'm not the only one who thinks McNamara should have been hanged for treason years ago?

That man should have been hanged on the White House steps. It wouldn't hurt to do it now.

[Naturalized-Texan]

It's interesting, but not at all surprising, that the worst presidents in my lifetime (73+ years) have been Democrats (FDR (except during WW II), LBJ, Carter, and Clinton). Truman was above average and JFK was tolerable because of his economic policies (his pro-growth tax cuts).

[SmellyFed]

It's interesting, but not at all surprising, that the worst presidents in my lifetime (73+ years) have been Democrats (FDR (except during WW II), LBJ, Carter, and Clinton). Truman was above average and JFK was tolerable because of his economic policies (his pro-growth tax cuts).

I have a hard time with the notion of Truman being above average. Admittedly, I didn't live during his Presidency but the circumstances surrounding the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima don't paint him in a favorable light.

[Naturalized-Texan]

I have a hard time with the notion of Truman being above average. Admittedly, I didn't live during his Presidency but the circumstances surrounding the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima don't paint him in a favorable light.
Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the best decisions any president ever made since it saved the lives of at least a million American troops and the lives of millions of Japanese troops and civilians.

The Truman Doctrine saved Greece from a Communist takeover and, along with the the Korean War, halted, at least temporarily, the advance of Communism. Some fault Truman for not preventing the Communist takeover of China, but, realisically, there was nothing he could have done to stop it. Another Truman high point was the Berlin Airlift that prevented the Soviet occupation of the entire city of Berlin.

IMHO, Truman was the best Democrat president of my lifetime. Of course, that's not saying much, considering his competition.

[Timberwolf]

Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the best decisions any president ever made since it saved the lives of at least a million American troops and the lives of millions of Japanese troops and civilians.

The Truman Doctrine saved Greece from a Communist takeover and, along with the the Korean War, halted, at least temporarily, the advance of Communism. Some fault Truman for not preventing the Communist takeover of China, but, realisically, there was nothing he could have done to stop it. Another Truman high point was the Berlin Airlift that prevented the Soviet occupation of the entire city of Berlin.

IMHO, Truman was the best Democrat president of my lifetime. Of course, that's not saying much, considering his competition.
Absolutely. Truman actually stacks up well against a fair number of Republican Presidents.

[Timberwolf]

That being said, LBJ...hmmm, just noticed that he's the 2nd Dem Pres to have the BJ initials....and it's a fitting reminder of how he had the country...well, never mind.

I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone, besides Carter, who was a worse President.

[Naturalized-Texan]

I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone, besides Carter, who was a worse President.
Well, there's always BJ Clinton.

[ConspiracyBuff]

I agree with smellyfed, i will always wonder if 36 had 35 whacked. Anyways does anyone recall LBJ running for president when he said, "American men will never do the fighting that Vietnamese boys ought to be doing for themselves." Then he entered us into Vietnam. LBJ stands for lotsa-bad-judgement......him and Jimmy were terrible dems. JFK was the man IMO.

[SmellyFed]

Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the best decisions any president ever made since it saved the lives of at least a million American troops and the lives of millions of Japanese troops and civilians.


I'd like to agree with you and thats certainly the bill of goods that Americans have been sold for decades, but unfortunately, the truth of it seems to be that Japan was already attempting to surrender (through Stalin) and we ignored those attempts because we had already made up our minds to drop the bombs.

[Naturalized-Texan]

I'd like to agree with you and thats certainly the bill of goods that Americans have been sold for decades, but unfortunately, the truth of it seems to be that Japan was already attempting to surrender (through Stalin) and we ignored those attempts because we had already made up our minds to drop the bombs.
Well, there are some who make that claim, but there's no evidence that the claim is true.

[SmellyFed]

Well, there are some who make that claim, but there's no evidence that the claim is true.

Normally I'm not a conspiracy theorist but there does in fact seem to be some evidence to the contrary. I'll get you some source citations when I get a few minutes.

[The Killing Joke]

Regardless of whether the Japanese were on the point of surrender (and I don't suppose we'll ever know), it did at least provide a graphic illustration of the horrific effect of the use of atomic weapons. If not for that, who knows where else the first one would have been dropped? I think we should all be grateful for that.

[DesertFox]

My reading indicates that Tojo and the Jap militarists wanted to fight to the bitter end, Japan as Jonestown; while the Emperor and only a small handful of supporters wanted to surrender.

[The Killing Joke]

Horrific though it was, it seems to have been the right thing to do. Imagine the cost in lives if the Army and USMC had had to land somewhere in the Home Islands and capture it all, yard by yard, from heavily entrenched Japanese troops. It doesn't bear thinking about.

[EveningStar]

My reading indicates that Tojo and the Jap militarists wanted to fight to the bitter end, Japan as Jonestown; while the Emperor and only a small handful of supporters wanted to surrender.
I know you already know this, Fox. This is for the benefit of others:
We were preparing for such an event. (http://www.ww2pacific.com/downfall.html)

World War II in the Pacific
Operation Downfall: Olympic, Coronet
The Invasion of Japan

OPERATION DOWNFALL, to be complete within one year of the end of the war in Europe, had two major components.

* Olympic . November 1, 1945. Invasion of Southern Kyushu to provide a large base for naval and air forces within range of Tokyo.
* Coronet . March 1, 1946. Invasion of Central Honshu and Tokyo.
David Westheimer, who wrote Von Ryan's Express, also wrote an alternate history novel about Operation Olympic entitled, Death is Lighter than a Feather (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0929398904/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-3792286-1448709?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books).

[SmellyFed]

A little further investigation makes the water a little more murky.

Here is a brief summary of Japan's attempts to surrender prior to Hiroshima. This is corraborated in many authorative histories - there's more to it then to be dismissed as a simple conspiracy theory.

JAPAN SURRENDERS
(August 10-15, 1945)
Events (http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/events.htm): Dawn of the Atomic Era, 1945 (http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/1945.htm)
Prior to the atomic attacks on Hiroshima (http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm) and Nagasaki (http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/nagasaki.htm), elements existed within the Japanese government that were trying to find a way to end the war. In June and July 1945, Japan attempted to enlist the help of the Soviet Union to serve as an intermediary in negotiations. No direct communication occurred with the United States about peace talks, but American leaders knew of these maneuvers because the United States for a long time had been intercepting and decoding many internal Japanese diplomatic communications. From these intercepts, the United States learned that some within the Japanese government advocated outright surrender. A few diplomats overseas cabled home to urge just that.
http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/surrender.htm

There was a basis for a peace treaty here but Truman was determined to use the atomic bomb and show the world (and particularly Russia) what we were capable of.

[omegatrump]

My reading indicates that Tojo and the Jap militarists wanted to fight to the bitter end, Japan as Jonestown; while the Emperor and only a small handful of supporters wanted to surrender.

I would agree with that.

I had a very close friend who was a crew chief in the Enola Gay squadron. I ask him once if he ever felt like the bombs shouldn't have been dropped. He said, No. It was the right thing to do. He was a very interesting man. He was with the squadron from their training in Wendover Nevada until the end of the war. He had a few stories to tell. I ended up with his copy of 'Flight of the Enola Gay' by Paul W Tibbets. Signed by Tibbets, Van Kirk, and Ferebee the Bombadier.

He was a True Patriot.

[PaulRevere]

I have a hard time with the notion of Truman being above average. Admittedly, I didn't live during his Presidency but the circumstances surrounding the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima don't paint him in a favorable light.
The lights you are referring to are being cast by latter day liberal academics rewriting history to make everything the US does wrong. The only thing that the America-hating leftists can't do is change Truman's party.

[SmellyFed]

The lights you are referring to are being cast by latter day liberal academics rewriting history to make everything the US does wrong.

That is 100% BS. I don't do "McHistory".

The evidence for the Japanese overatures for peace are contemporary to Truman's day - this is nothing that's been recently unearthed. Japan, without a doubt, was attempting to secure a peace with the US through the Soviet Union. The US chose to ignore those overatures since they were conditional.

Those are facts of history.

[Dubyah]

That is 100% BS. I don't do "McHistory".

The evidence for the Japanese overatures for peace are contemporary to Truman's day - this is nothing that's been recently unearthed. Japan, without a doubt, was attempting to secure a peace with the US through the Soviet Union. The US chose to ignore those overatures since they were conditional.

Those are facts of history.McHistory?:suv:

[EdmundDantes]

I always placed LBJ in my bottom five!