Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the thirty-sixth President of the United States (1963–1969). After serving a long career in the US Congress, Johnson became the Vice President under John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) and later ascended to the presidency following Kennedy's assassination.

Senate years

In 1948, Johnson again ran for the Senate and this time won. This election was highly controversial: a three-way Democratic Party primary left Johnson in a run-off with former governor Coke Stevenson. Johnson campaigned very hard and won by only 87 votes out of a million cast. Stevenson contested the vote count. There were allegations that Johnson's campaign manager, John Connally, was connected with 202 ballots in Jim Wells County that had curiously been cast in alphabetical order. http://thoughtcrimes.org/bbv/bbv_chapter-4.pdfhttp://www.eiu.edu/~historia/1999/texas99.htm). In Robert A. Caro's 1989 book Means of Ascent, he argued that Johnson had rigged the election not only there, but at least 10,000 ballots in Bexar County alone. In the federal court case arising from the election, Johnson hired Abe Fortas to represent him. Fortas persuaded U.S. Supreme Court justice Hugo Black to dissolve the federal injunction nullifying Johnson's runoff victory. Johnson went on to win the general election, but the Texas media sardonically nicknamed him "Landslide Lyndon" in reference to his bout with Stevenson.

Related Topics:
1948 - Primary - Coke Stevenson - John Connally - Jim Wells County - Alphabetical order - Robert A. Caro - Bexar County - Abe Fortas - U.S. Supreme Court - Hugo Black

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Once in the Senate, Johnson immediately began to work toward his ultimate goal: the presidency. Desperate to rise in power, Johnson was known among his colleagues for his highly successful "courtships" of older Senators, especially Senator Richard Russell, patrician leader of the Southern bloc and arguably the most powerful man in the Senate. Johnson, always at his best when working one-on-one, proceeded to gain Russell's favor in the same way as he had "courted" Speaker Sam Rayburn and gained his crucial support in the House.

Related Topics:
Richard Russell - Sam Rayburn

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Johnson was appointed to the Armed Services Committee, and later in 1950, he helped create the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee. With Russell's support, Johnson eventually was able to become its chairman and conducted a number of investigations of defense costs and efficiency. These investigations—couched in headline-grabbing phraseology but largely devoid of substance—tended to recycle old investigations and demand actions that were already being taken by the Truman administration. However, Johnson's brilliant strategic leaks, his overall manipulation of the press, the incredible speed at which his committee issued new reports (less incredible considering the recycled content), and the fact that he ensured every report was endorsed unanimously by the committee all got him headlines and national attention.

Related Topics:
Armed Services Committee - 1950 - Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee - Truman

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Senate Democratic leader

After only a few years in the Senate, Johnson was moving up in leadership power. In 1953, he was chosen by his fellow Democrats to be the minority leader. Thus, he became the youngest man ever named to the post by either major political party. One of his first actions was to eliminate the seniority system in committee selection. In 1954, Johnson was re-elected to the Senate and since the Democrats won the majority in the Senate, Johnson became majority leader. His duties were to schedule legislation and help pass measures favored by the Democrats.

Related Topics:
1953 - 1954

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