University of Virginia Miller Center
University of Virginia Miller Center
1908 - 1973
Lyndon B. Johnson
We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings—not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin.Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill
Overview
On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. The event thrust Lyndon Johnson into the presidency. A man widely considered to be one of the most expert and brilliant politicians of his time, Johnson would leave office a little more than five years later as one of the least popular Presidents in American history. The man who had risen from the poor Hill Country of Texas to become the acknowledged leader of the United States Senate and occupant of the Oval Office would return to Texas demoralized and discredited. He died four years later, a few hundred feet from the place of his birth.
Life In Depth Essays
- Life in Brief
- Life Before the Presidency
- Campaigns and Elections
- Domestic Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Life After the Presidency
- Family Life
- The American Franchise
- Impact and Legacy
Fast Facts
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Johnson City, Texas
Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University-San Marcos), graduated 1930; Georgetown Law School, attended 1934
Disciples of Christ
Teacher, Public Official
Democrat
“LBJ”
November 17, 1934, to Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor (1912–2007)
Lynda Bird (1944– ); Luci Baines (1947– )
36
Near Johnson City, Texas
Chicago Style
Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Lyndon B. Johnson.” Accessed May 14, 2024. https://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson.
Associate Professor of History
Kent Germany
KentGermany is an associateprofessor of history and African American studies at the University of South Carolina and a nonresident research fellowat the Miller Center
Featured Insights
Speeches
View His Speeches
November 27, 1963: Address to Joint Session of Congress
July 2, 1964: Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill
January 20, 1965: Inaugural Address
Secret White House Tapes
View all Secret White House Tapes
Conversation with JACQUELINE KENNEDY, December 7, 1963
Conversation with RICHARD RUSSELL, January 21, 1964
Conversation with MARTIN LUTHER KING, July 8, 1965
Featured Video
Play Video
2015-10-27
LBJ and the agony of Vietnam
Professor Fredrik Logevall examines the U.S. involvement in Vietnam
