Lyndon B. Johnson
Early Life. -----------
Johnson was born on Aug. 27, 1908, near Johnson City, Tex., the eldest
son of Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr., and Rebekah Baines Johnson. His father, a
struggling farmer and cattle speculator in the hill country of Texas,
provided only an uncertain income for his family. Politically active, Sam
Johnson served five terms in the Texas legislature. His mother had varied
cultural interests and placed high value on education; she was fiercely
ambitious for her children.
Johnson attended public schools in Johnson City and received a B.S.
degree from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. He then
taught for a year in Houston before going to Washington in 1931 ...
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who named him, at age
27, to head the National Youth Administration in Texas. This job, which
Johnson held from 1935 to 1937, entailed helping young people obtain
employment and schooling. It confirmed Johnson's faith in the positive
potential of government and won for him a group of supporters in Texas.
In 1937, Johnson sought and won a Texas seat in Congress, where he
championed public works, reclamation, and public power programs. When war
came to Europe he backed Roosevelt's efforts to aid the Allies. During
World War II he served a brief tour of active duty with the U.S. Navy in
the Pacific (1941-42) but returned to Capitol Hill when Roosevelt recalled
members of Congress from active duty. Johnson continued to support
Roosevelt's military and foreign-policy programs. During the 1940s,
Johnson and his wife developed profitable business ventures, including a
radio station, in Texas. In 1948 he ran for the U.S. Senate, winning the
Democratic party primary by only 87 ...
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in response to inner conviction, Johnson moved slightly to
the left on some domestic issues, especially on civil rights laws, which he
supported in 1957 and 1960. Although these laws proved ineffective,
Johnson had demonstrated that he was a very resourceful Senate leader.
To many northern Democrats, however, Johnson remained a sectional
candidate. The presidential nomination of 1960 went to Senator John F.
Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy, a northern Roman Catholic, then
selected Johnson as his running mate to balance the Democratic ticket. In
November 1960 the Democrats defeated the Republican candidates, Richard M.
Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge, by a narrow margin. Johnson was ...
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Lyndon B. Johnson. (2004, July 14). Retrieved April 16, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lyndon-B-Johnson/11034
"Lyndon B. Johnson." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 14 Jul. 2004. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lyndon-B-Johnson/11034>
"Lyndon B. Johnson." Essayworld.com. July 14, 2004. Accessed April 16, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lyndon-B-Johnson/11034.
"Lyndon B. Johnson." Essayworld.com. July 14, 2004. Accessed April 16, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Lyndon-B-Johnson/11034.
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