Every year on August 27th, Texas celebrates Lyndon Baines Johnson (popular as LBJ), the 36th President of the United States. From year to year celebrations are organized on the same day: the birthday of the hero of the occasion. Festive events take place all over Texas and beyond, for example, in Washington. All of them, as a rule, are somehow connected with the life and activities of the president. This day is celebrated a day after Women’s Equality Day.
Many different programs and events are organized on Lyndon Baines Johnson Day all over Texas and other parts of the USA, such as Washington DC. Many people on this day remember his famous speeches, for example, the one about a Great Society, besides, the changes that happened across the nation during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.
Although the holiday is official, most government agencies are open, although some of them work on a reduced schedule.
Let’s know a little more about his personality and find out about the nuances of his political life.
Who is Lyndon Baines Johnson?
In the history of American and world politics, the attitude towards the figure of Lyndon B. Johnson is still ambiguous. Some call him a great politician and a great man, others characterize the 36th President of the United States as a power-hungry opportunist. During his political career, he held four major electoral posts – the President, Vice President, Senator, and member of the House of Representatives.
Youth and Education
Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas. He was the 36th US Democratic Party President from November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969.
He graduated from the school in Johnson City, Texas. Since childhood, he participated in public speeches, debates, was engaged in baseball, had success in all subjects.
In 1926 he entered Texas State University, and 2 years later he left his education to teach Mexican children to read and write.
An energetic young man, Lyndon Johnson showed his abilities well during his school practice in the city of Cotulla. Here, in the segregation school of a Texas town, Johnson’s success marked the beginning of his political career. The young teacher coped so well with his duties that he caught the attention of the local beau monde. And when, in 1931, Richard Kleber, the owner of a large ranch and deputy of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party, was looking for an assistant to work in Washington, one of his friends advised him the young and energetic Lyndon Johnson.
In the new field, Johnson set to work with the same energy that impressed everyone in a Texas school. He showed great interest in the peculiarities of the work of the Congress, became actively involved in the life of the democratic party, established relations with his father's friend, member of the House of Representatives S. Rayburn. In the summer of 1935, Johnson received the post of the Texas Commissioner for the National Youth Administration.
Politics- Life and Career
Two years later, in 1937, Johnson successfully ran for the House of Representatives from the 10th arrondissement of Texas, and his active support of Roosevelt's ideas on the New Deal policy caught the attention of the President.
In 1941 he began his first campaign for elections to the Senate. Despite the support of Roosevelt, during the primaries, Johnson was ranked second among 29 candidates.
In 1942 he became a member of the committee of the House of Representatives for the Navy, and in 1947 – a member of the committee on the armed forces. He also participated in the work of the Special Committee on Military Policy and the Joint Atomic Energy Committee.
In 1948, Johnson went to the Senate. There he became close to the influential Democrat R. Russell from Georgia and received two appointments: the committee on the armed forces and the committee on foreign trade and interstate commerce.
In 1951 he was elected deputy leader, and in 1955 - the leader of the Democrats in the Senate. In 1954 he was reelected to the Senate.
In 1960, Johnson decided to run for the presidency of the Democratic Party. He was actively supported by Harold Hunt. LBJ declared his candidacy on July 5, a few days before the convening of a national party congress. In the first round of the primary elections, he suffered a serious defeat, and in the second round, he lost to John F. Kennedy and was appointed as a vice presidential candidate.
After the Kennedy victory in the 1960 presidential election, Lyndon Johnson assumed the office of Vice-President on January 20, 1961.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot, and from that day on, Johnson began serving as President. Johnson took up the Presidency by taking the oath on board of the President’s plane No. 1, which was stationed at the Dallas airfield, just before leaving for Washington.
Johnson began his presidency by strengthening the existing social policy course aimed at improving the lives of Americans. In his first government statement, held on January 8, 1964, Lyndon Johnson declared the beginning of an “unconditional war against poverty.” His program, the Great Society, called for a series of social reforms aimed at eradicating poverty and racial segregation. It envisaged a program and transformations in the systems of education and medical care, the solution of transport problems and other major changes.
Even the most ardent opponents and detractors of LBJ cannot dispute the significance of his social reforms. The Civil Rights Act, which gave the South's colored Americans the right to vote and equalized the rights of women and men. The introduction of welfare social benefits. Subsidy programs for low-income families and increasing social security payments. Construction of highways and measures to combat pollution of water and atmosphere.
Due to his low popularity, Johnson did not nominate himself for another presidential election. The elections won Richard Nixon. On January 20, 1969, Nixon was inaugurated, after which Johnson left to his ranch in Texas. He quit big politics, wrote memoirs and occasionally lectured at the University of Texas. He died on January 22, 1973 in Stonewall because of a third heart attack.
Know The Best Career Fields for your Zodiac Sign
Personal Life
On November 17, 1934, Claudia Alta Taylor, known as Lady Bird, became the wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson. The nickname that the nanny gave to a girl as a child actually became her name: Lyndon called Claudia Bird, the same name is written in the marriage certificate.
Johnson proposed to her on the first date. Lady Bird did not want to hurry with the wedding, but after only 10 weeks she said yes. The celebration took place at the St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas. Claudia experienced three miscarriages before daughters Linda Bird (1944) and Lucy Baines (1947) were born.
Interesting fact: spouses and children have the same initials LBJ.
Controversy Associated With Lyndon
Quite a few conspiracy therapists accuse Vice-President Lyndon Johnson, who replaced John Kennedy as America’s leader, in organizing the murder of the president in 1963. The conspiracy, headed by the vice-president of the United States, involved the most radical groups in the CIA, the Mafia, Cuban immigrants and even disgruntled Kennedy members of his administration. The main motive of the LBD was Kennedy’s unspoken intention to change the Vice-President at the 1964 presidential election.
However, as a President, he introduced a lot of new and social reforms which brought a wave of positive change in the entire USA. This is why Lyndon Baines Johnson day holds so much significance in America.
Leave a Comment