President Johnson
Great Society – Vietnam – Civil Rights – Protest Movements
, LBJ’s Career
• His father was a Texas state legislate, but they hadn’t the money to put LBJ into politics, so he becam
at a small, segregated Texan high school. In 1931 he became the aide to Kleberg (legal counsel for Te
within 4 years he was the director of the Texas National Youth Administration, where he was told by
to install an African American deputy but he insisted if he did he would be “laughed out of the state
• 1937 – elected to the House of Representatives and became Congressman for Texas. To do this he h
to segregationist majority (only 15% were African American).
• 1941 – failed attempt at the Senate.
• 1948 – took advantage of poorly-regulated fringe communities and became Senator for Texas. Jim W
had 600 eligible voters, yet he got 1208 votes from it.
• 1955 – arguably the turning point of his career; he became Senate Majority Leader and was sudden
sympathetic to the civil rights cause. The Washington Post declared the 1957 Civil Rights Act “Johnso
Masterpiece”, because although the act was severely weakened by Democratic Senators, the fact it
at all can be put largely down to Johnson’s insistence.
• 1960 – he ran for the Democratic nomination but loses to Kennedy, who chooses him as a running m
secure the Southern vote. He becomes Kennedy’s VP and upon the assassination was sworn in on th
November 1963 at 12.30pm, only 2hrs 18 minutes after the assassination.
Great Society – Vietnam – Civil Rights – Protest Movements
, LBJ’s Career
• His father was a Texas state legislate, but they hadn’t the money to put LBJ into politics, so he becam
at a small, segregated Texan high school. In 1931 he became the aide to Kleberg (legal counsel for Te
within 4 years he was the director of the Texas National Youth Administration, where he was told by
to install an African American deputy but he insisted if he did he would be “laughed out of the state
• 1937 – elected to the House of Representatives and became Congressman for Texas. To do this he h
to segregationist majority (only 15% were African American).
• 1941 – failed attempt at the Senate.
• 1948 – took advantage of poorly-regulated fringe communities and became Senator for Texas. Jim W
had 600 eligible voters, yet he got 1208 votes from it.
• 1955 – arguably the turning point of his career; he became Senate Majority Leader and was sudden
sympathetic to the civil rights cause. The Washington Post declared the 1957 Civil Rights Act “Johnso
Masterpiece”, because although the act was severely weakened by Democratic Senators, the fact it
at all can be put largely down to Johnson’s insistence.
• 1960 – he ran for the Democratic nomination but loses to Kennedy, who chooses him as a running m
secure the Southern vote. He becomes Kennedy’s VP and upon the assassination was sworn in on th
November 1963 at 12.30pm, only 2hrs 18 minutes after the assassination.
