LESSER-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT OUR PRESIDENTS
Or PRESIDENTIAL PARAGRAPHS - #36 Part 1 of 2
Mort Fox
Had it not been for the Vietnam War, Lyndon Baines Johnson, our 36th president, would have
been rated as one of the most effective of our leaders in the twentieth century! There is no doubt
that part of the legislation he was able to bring to a successful conclusion was as a form of
memorial to his assassinated predecessor John F. Kennedy. Regardless of that fact, Johnson’s
political acumen was unmatched.
Born in 1908, Johnson was the second president from Texas. It is not likely Texas will catch up
with Virginia or Ohio in the presidential derby. He was raised in Johnson City, under lower
middle class conditions. The city had been founded by his uncle. Lyndon was a bright but
unwilling student. After he graduated from the Johnson City High School, in 1924, he could not
be persuaded to go to college. Instead, along with friends, he sojourned west to California. They
performed all nature of menial tasks for survival. At the end of two years, Lyndon returned home
without a nickel for a cup of coffee, flat broke. Eventually, his mother prevailed upon him to
attend the Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College. While there he began honing his political
skills. He did well in political science and was a member of the debating team. Before graduating
he was already involved in politics. He not only engaged in school level politicking, but also
managed a successful campaign for a Texas state senator. Lyndon, not being a product of wealth,
had to work his way through college while performing all of these tasks and attending classes.
Johnson used his newly acquired teaching skills in 1930 to instruct in public speaking and
debating, on the high school level, in Houston, for the following year. He would say good-bye to
the field of education in 1931 to become the secretary of a Democratic congressman. From 1935
to 1937 he held the position of Director of National Youth Administration in Texas. Johnson saw
to it that many thousands of Texans would benefit from this FDR (President Franklin Roosevelt)
New Deal program.
From 1937, and for the next twelve years, he served in the United States House of
Representatives from the Texas Tenth District. This span would be interrupted by a short stint in
the Navy during World War II. Lieutenant Commander Johnson’s seven month tour was
highlighted by a flight as an observer in the South Pacific. His plane was attacked by Japanese
aircraft; Johnson and the others aboard escaped unscathed. General Douglas McArthur awarded
Johnson a Silver Star for having a potentially harrowing experience. The general, in my opinion,
was a bit frivolous in making such an award; of course I wasn’t on the plane. Johnson would
resign his commission and return to the House in accord with the order issued by President
Franklin Roosevelt. This applied to all members of Congress who were on active duty in the
military.
The 1948 election would make Johnson a United States Senator. He would serve in that capacity
until 1961 when he would assume the position of vice-president. The apex of Lyndon’s
senatorial career occurred in 1955 when he became the youngest majority leader in history in the
upper house of Congress. In the twelve years he was a member of that body, Johnson served on
several committees including: Armed Services, Finance, and Appropriations and was the first
chairman of the Aeronautics and Space Sciences Committee. Although a fellow Democrat,
Johnson was not always supportive of President Truman’s administration’s policies.
Lyndon Johnson was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 1960. Although his support
exceeded that of some of the want-to-be nominees, there was no catching the senator from
Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. He would become the party’s choice and the next president.
There is some conjecture that Johnson was chosen by Kennedy, as his running mate, for his voter
appeal in Texas and other Southern states. Although Johnson had stated he would not take the
second spot on the ticket, when he did accept Kennedy’s offer to be the vice-presidential
candidate, many were genuinely surprised. Thanks to the superb campaign management of the
other Kennedy, Robert, this diametrically opposed duo would be sworn in on January 20, 1961. I
refer to their respective backgrounds as the cause of their contrast. Kennedy came from wealth
and Eastern establishment. Johnson would never claim to have his boss’s refinement and, of
course there were Papa Kennedy’s big bucks. Oh, they got along fine together and President
Kennedy gave the new vice-president several significant functions including: Chairman of the
National Aeronautics and Space Council, the Peace Corps Advisory Council and the President’s
Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Most vice-presidents were confined to their
constitutional duty as the president of the senate. A very ho-hum job unless a tie vote required
the tie-breaking choice of the vice-president.
Johnson, however, never was a favorite of Robert Kennedy (he would become the attorney
general) and vice versa. Another thorn to Johnson was Kennedy’s staff; most were part of that
Eastern background. But Lyndon prevailed and performed his duties admirably.
And then he joined the president on the infamous trip to Dallas, Texas in late 1963. This would
prove to be a world-shaking event and propel Lyndon B. Johnson into the presidency. Johnson
was riding two cars behind President Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline when the shots rang out
and mortally wounded the 35th chief executive. Johnson was sworn into office at 2:39 P.M. on
November 22, 1963, approximately 1 hour and forty minutes after President Kennedy was
pronounced dead. This ceremony took place aboard Air Force One (the presidential aircraft) with
a U.S. District Judge officiating. Again there was the appropriate transition of power as our
constitution demands and a tribute to our great democracy!