Lyndon B. Johnson biography

With incredible persuasion skills and an imposing presence, he was able to "button-hole" political allies and opponents alike to convince them of his way of thinking. Subsequently, he was able to obtain passage of a number of measures during the Eisenhower administration.

Vice President

By 1960, Lyndon B. Johnson had set his sights on the White House. However, he was overwhelmed by the young and energetic senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, who was nominated for president on the first ballot at the Democratic Convention. Kennedy realized that he could not be elected without the support of traditional Southern Democrats, most of whom had backed Johnson. Thusly, after the convention, Kennedy offered Johnson the vice presidency and Johnson accepted. Johnson delivered the South, and the JFK/LBJ ticket won the election against Republican candidate Richard Nixon by the smallest of margins.

Though never comfortable in the role, as vice president, Johnson headed the space program, oversaw negotiations on the nuclear test ban treaty, and worked to push through equal opportunity legislation for minorities. He also strongly supported Kennedy's decision to send American military advisors to South Vietnam to help fight off a communist insurgency. However, Johnson was never in Kennedy's inner circle and was frustrated by his lack of influence, particularly on legislative issues.

Presidency

On November, 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while traveling in a motorcade. Johnson was only two cars behind Kennedy when the shots rang out. Just a few hours later, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president aboard Air Force One on its return to Washington, D.C. Over the next year, he endorsed the late president's programs and pushed through Congress a few of his own, including a tax cut and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- the first effective civil rights law since Reconstruction.

In 1964, Johnson ran for the presidency against conservative Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. With public sentiment largely for Democrats and Goldwater's staunch conservatism, Johnson won by a landslide; he received 61 percent of the popular vote -- the biggest margin of victory in U.S. election history. Johnson used his election mandate to wage war on poverty in the United States and communism in South East Asia.

In 1965, Johnson pushed a sweeping legislative agenda known as the "Great Society," which would become the most ambitious and far-reaching domestic program in the nation's history. With strong bipartisan support, scores of bills were passed that championed urban renewal, education, the arts, environmental beautification and conservation, and the development of depressed regions in the country. Great Society legislation also included the passage of the Medicare and Medicaid acts and the Voting Rights Act, and led to the establishment of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 1968, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.

Final Years

By 1967, the escalating war in Vietnam was consuming Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency.