Welcome to Part Thirty-Five. It’s time to time for the president who was lauded for his domestic agenda, the president who was heavily criticised for his foreign policy. Let’s dive into the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson:
Extraordinary inauguration- 22nd November 1963
Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated in an unusual manner on this day. He awoke in his native Texas that morning as Vice President, but everything turned upside down when three bullets rang out. Secret Service Agent Rufus Youngblood tackled Johnson to the ground and the car sped towards Parkland Memorial Hospital. Johnson and his wife waited in a secured room as doctors worked on Kennedy. Then, Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff entered and addressed Johnson as ‘Mr. President,’ which was when he knew that Kennedy had died. After a short period, the party headed back to Air Force One. It was considered imperative that Johnson take the oath before they flew back to Washington D.C. A federal judge named Sarah T. Hughes was summoned to swear Johnson in. This makes her the only woman thus far to swear in a president. The photo of the swearing-in is one of the most famous in American history. Johnson was sworn in at 14:38 and was now the 36th president of the United States.
Lee Harvey Oswald is killed- 24th November 1963
Lee Harvey Oswald, the Kennedy assassin (or assumed, depending on your view), was killed. He was being escorted from the police headquarters to city jail when nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot him. Oswald was hit once in the stomach and died nearly two hours later at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Ruby said that he did it out of vengeance for himself and to spare Mrs. Kennedy a trial. He was initially sentenced to death but a retrial was underway by the time of his 1967 death. Ruby’s killing of Oswald had sparked theories that continue to this day regarding both of their true roles in the assassination, and his mob connections lent credence to the idea it was an organised crime hit.
The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show- 9th February 1964
America was slowly beginning to recover when The Beatles appeared on their TV screens on the popular Ed Sullivan Show. The Liverpudlian band had debuted in the charts a year before and were a certified British smash, but were now looking to break America. Their arrival at JFK Airport saw thousands of fans gather. In New York, Richard Nixon’s daughters were among others on set watching their first performance. Approximately 73 million Americans watched as they made their American debut. The Beatles marked the beginning of the British Invasion, as well as their own global superstardom. Some believed they arrived at a perfect time, as America was still grieving Kennedy and was looking for enthusiasm. Despite daughter Luci’s begging, Johnson refused to invite them to the White House.
Freedom Summer murders- 21st June 1964
The Freedom Summer murders happened on this day. Three young men- two white and one black- had headed into rural Mississippi to encourage African-American voter registration. The men had been travelling when they disappeared. Johnson and Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent in federal forces. A burning car was found and in August, an informant told them where to find the bodies. The white Jewish Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner had been
shot once in the heart. African-American James Chaney had been beaten, castrated and shot thrice. It turns out they had been followed by local Ku Klux Klan members, including police and a preacher, and targeted. Six of eighteen men were found guilty by an all-white jury. None served more than six years in jail. The murders were influential in the passage of the Voting Rights Act a year later.
Signed The Civil Rights Act- 2nd July 1964
The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed on this day. It banned discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex and national origin, ending segregation and other previously legal practices. Johnson, known as a fierce legislator, used everything he had to fight Southern Democrats who ardently opposed the bill. Though it had not been voted through unanimously and there was still a long way to go, it was still one of the biggest pieces of legislation in American history. Both supporters and critics of Johnson point to this as his finest hour.
Gulf of Tonkin incident- 2nd August 1964
The controversial Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred on this day. On the 2nd August, there was a reported clash between the USS Maddox and three North Vietnamese boats. The Maddox fired warning shots, the Vietnamese fired back, causing damage on both sides and the death of several Vietnamese soldiers. Two days later, the Maddox and USS Turner Joy reported being fired upon. Despite the fact that this never happened and no North Vietnamese vessels were in the area, the Johnson administration seized upon a report by the National Security Agency that it had occurred. In response, the House and Senate near unanimously supported the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This essentially gave Johnson carte blanche to do what he wanted to do in the area without declaring war. The truth caused great controversy in later years and is a black mark against Johnson.
Daisy ad- 7th September 1964
The controversial ‘Daisy’ ad was aired on this day. President Johnson had a strong incumbent advantage in the 1964 election, but his win was by no means guaranteed. His opponent was Republican firebrand Senator Barry Goldwater, a man painted as somewhat of an extremist. Johnson and his team decided to fire on all cylinders. In the advert, airing on Labour Day, a young girl counts daisy petals. As she gets to nine, a male voice starts counting down a missile launch. A flash is shown in the girl’s eye along with the sound of an explosion. Johnson’s voice is then heard ‘These are the stakes: to make a world in which all of God’s children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die.’ Finally ‘Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay at home.’ It did not name Goldwater, but it was clearly about him due to his hawkish position on Vietnam that included potential strikes. The ad caused an immediate stir. Some believed it accurately showed Goldwater’s extreme views. Others felt it was horrible and went too far. It was never again shown on television but remains one of the most famous campaign ads of all time, along with the sunny ‘Morning in America’ and similarly negative ‘Willie Horton.’
Wins election- 3rd November 1964
President Johnson was elected in his own right in an absolute landslide on this day. Coasting on the popularity and mourning of JFK, the perception of Goldwater and domestic policy, Johnson won 44 states plus D.C. and 61.1% of the popular vote. Goldwater won Alabama, Arizona (his home state), Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina- and Arizona was close. Twenty-five states flipped to the Democrats, whilst five flipped from the Republicans. This may have slowly begun the Southern Strategy of the Republicans. Either way, Johnson had won the White House off of his own back, becoming the final ‘accidental president’ to do that.
Second inauguration- 20th January 1965
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in during a proper inauguration on this day. Chief Justice Earl Roberts administered the oath on the East Portico of the US Capitol. The skies were cloudy and there was some snow on the ground, with midday temperatures reaching 38F/3C. It is the third largest inauguration by attendance after President Truman in 1949 and President Obama in
Johnson’s inaugural address was 1,492 words long and contained themes of hope and desire for change- ‘Ours is a time of change–rapid and fantastic change–bearing the secrets of nature, multiplying the nations, placing in uncertain hands new weapons for mastery and destruction, shaking old values and uprooting old ways.’ A grand pre-inauguration gala included stars such as Julie Andrews, Alfred Hitchcock and Barbra Streisand. Four inaugural balls occurred on the day and were attended by the Johnsons. This was also the first inauguration in which a president was transported in a bullet proof limousine- a likely reminder of how Johnson got the presidency in the first place.
Malcolm X is assassinated- 21st February 1965
Civil rights activist and former Nation of Islam revolutionary Malcolm X was assassinated on this day. X had risen to fame as an almost Black Power version of Martin Luther King Jr, but had become disenchanted by the Nation of Islam. He had been continually getting death threats, meaning risks to his life came not only from the FBI, but his own former community too. X was about to make a speech in a New York City ballroom when a man named Thomas Hagan rushed forward and shot him once in the chest. He was brought to hospital but died there. There is no evidence of what Johnson thought of the assassination, but there was a mixed reaction elsewhere. Three men were arrested and charged- Hagan, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam. A March 1966 trial saw them all given life, though Hagan said that Aziz and Islam were not part of it. Aziz was paroled in 1985 and Islam in 1987, the latter dying in 2009. Hagan was paroled in 2010. Both Islam and Aziz have since been exonerated. Just as with the assassination of Kennedy, there has been a lot of discussion about who really did it. X’s widow Betty Shabazz maintained that Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam were involved. Daughter Qubilah was later convicted of trying to hire an assassin to kill Farrakhan.
Marines arrive at Da Nang- 8th March 1965
The first contingent of ground troops arrived at Da Nang, Vietnam. 3,500 Marines were greeted as they landed on Red Beach Two. This signalled the beginning of the long, bitter ground campaign that was to come- one that was surely unexpected.
Third Selma march- 24th March 1965
The third Selma march happened on this day. The first had happened on the 7th March in response to the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson in a café. This march saw a brutal response by local enforcement, dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday.’ After the second march, white pastor James Reeb was murdered. The third march saw thousands walk to Montgomery county, arm in arm, as the press documented every move. After a star-studded rally that night, they headed to the State Capitol in Montgomery the next day and handed a voting petition to Governor George Wallace’s petition. Though the march was peaceful, a white Civil Rights supporter named Viola Liuzzo was killed whilst driving other activists. Johnson responded to Bloody Sunday and the marches by introducing the Voting Rights Act.
Signs the Social Security Amendments of 1965- 30th June 1965
Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 on this day. This created Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is government health insurance for those 65 and over, with a few younger people with certain disabilities also included. Medicaid is government health insurance for low-income adults and children. The idea had been around since the Theodore Roosevelt administration, and is perhaps the closest that America has come to universal healthcare. Former President and First Lady Truman were the first and second beneficiaries of the programme. Truman had been so poor after leaving office that Congress had passed the Former Presidents Act in 1958.
Signs Voting Rights Act- 6th August 1965
Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on this day. The act made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race and ethnicity in regards to voting. It also prohibited other ways around it such as literacy tests. The Act increased the number of African-American and minority voters and politicians.
Miranda v. Arizona is decided- 13th June 1965
The Supreme Court ruled on Miranda v. Arizona on this day. The case originated after a man named Ernest Miranda was arrested for kidnap and rape. Miranda signed a confession but had not been informed of his rights, such as counsel. After Miranda was imprisoned, his lawyer Alvin Moore took the case to the Arizona Supreme Court. It was then kicked up to the US Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS ruled that a person must be informed of their legal rights before interrogation and if they aren’t, then it can’t be used as evidence. There was a retrial for Miranda, who was convinced again but paroled after six years. Ever since the ruling, police read arrestees the famous ‘Miranda Rights.’
25th Amendment is ratified- 10th February 1967
The 25th Amendment was ratified on this day, clarifying presidential succession and incapacity. Section 1 states that a vice president would become president if the President died, quit or was removed from the office. This happened when Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford immediately ascended to the presidency. Section 2 states that if there is a vacancy in the vice presidency, the president nominates a candidate who would then be confirmed by the Houses of Congress. This happened when Nixon nominated Ford and Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller Every vice president who ascended to the presidency due to death either did not have a vice president at all or waited to choose one at the next election. Section 3 states that if a president will be knowingly incapacitated, they should write to the President pro tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives to discharge their responsibility and powers to the VP for the duration of this incapacity. This has happened on a handful of occasions when presidents have been undergoing medical procedures under anesthetic.
Section 4 allows the vice president and the majority of the cabinet to declare a president unable to discharge his duties, temporarily removing him from power. This has never been used but has apparently been thought of twice. The first was when Ronald Reagan was in hospital after being shot in 1981. George H. W. Bush was on a plane when the president was in surgery and did not invoke the act, and Reagan was out of surgery when he touched down in D.C. The second was after 6th January 2021, when multiple cabinet members considered getting Mike Pence to invoke the article and when Nancy Pelosi asked him to. Pence refused. Despite it never having been used, it’s a popular device in presidential fiction.
Loving v. Virginia is decided- 12th June 1967
Loving v. Virginia was decided by the US Supreme Court on this day. In a unanimous decision, the court declared that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional and were thus struck down. Interracial marriage was illegal in sixteen states at the time of the ruling. This included Virginia, where Richard and Mildred Loving resided. Richard was white and Mildred was black. They had been convicted under Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and took their case to the Supreme Court. The case overturned all anti-interracial marriage laws in the country, though a few took their time to implement them properly. The Lovings were married until Richard’s 1975 death in a car accident.
Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice- 2nd October 1967
Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice when he was sworn into the role on this day. Johnson had wanted to choose an African-American justice and used a vacancy left by Tom C. Clark. Marshall had argued in front of the court regarding Brown v. Board back in 1954. Despite some harsh questioning from Southern Democrats, Marshall was confirmed by the Senate in a 69-11 vote on the 30th August. He was sworn in on the 2nd October. Marshall was a strong liberal voice on the court, and was involved in landmark cases such as Roe v. Wade, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and Furnam v. Georgia. Marshall officially retired on the 1st October 1991 and died less than two years later.
Tet Offensive begins- 30th January 1968
The Tet Offensive began on this day. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a surprise attack on the South Vietnamese, the US and others. A bloody and brutal campaign, it shocked Americans to see how capable their enemy was. The 31st January became the bloodiest day of the war for the country, killing 246 people. The American public had generally
believed that the North Vietnamese were incapable of such an attack, but this shocked them to their very core. Meanwhile, politicians and the military called up a new draft and more troops.
My Lai Massacre- 16th March 1968
The My Lai Massacre happened on this day. A group of soldiers arrived at a small village in South Vietnam to check for enemy soldiers. Even when it became clear that none were present, they stayed. It was then that they began assaulting, raping and murdering civilians. Between 350 and 500 civilians were murdered, along with the brutalised survivors. They were also ordered to burn livestock and poison the wells. A helicopter crew led by Hugh Thompson Jr. landed, attempted to stop the crew and also got survivors out. The massacre was covered up by the military but the joint work of a whistleblower and an investigative journalist revealed it a year and a half later. Twenty-six soldiers were charged but only one- leader William Calley- was convicted. Calley ended up serving three years under house arrest after his twenty year sentence was commuted. Thompson and two other soldiers were given a medal for their efforts thirty years later. The revelation of the My Lai Massacre caused shockwaves across the country and contributed to even worsening views on the war.
Announces he won’t seek reelection- 31st March 1968
Johnson announced that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection on this day. Though the 22nd Amendment banned more than two terms usually, if a vice president served less than two years’ of their predecessor’s term, they could run for another. As the country entered 1968, Johnson had begun participation in the upcoming election. His only initial major rival was anti-war senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. Johnson narrowly won the New Hampshire primary on the 12th March. Four days later, Johnson’s arch-enemy Robert Kennedy jumped into the race. Whilst they could split the anti-war vote, they could both easily siphon support from Johnson. Furthermore, the Vietnam War was not going well and Johnson’s popularity was plummeting. Finally, Johnson was getting older and his health, never strong, was getting worse. It was a combination of these factors that made Johnson decide to drop out of the race. He revealed this in a televised statement at 9PM. It came as a huge shock to the public, press and political class, all of whom assumed that Johnson would run again. This blew the race wide open, especially after Johnson’s vice president and chosen successor Hubert Humphrey jumped in.
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated- 4th April 1968
Civil Rights leader and activist Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on this day. King had been in Memphis in support of striking African-American workers and was staying at the Lorraine Motel. That evening, King was on the balcony of the motel when a shot rang out, entering the cheek, going through the jaw and lodged in his right shoulder. He was rushed to the hospital but all attempts to save him failed, and King was declared dead an hour later. Despite not being the venerated man he is today and the fact he had been threatened so many times before, it was still a great shock. Johnson cancelled a Hawaii trip, called the FBI and Mrs. King, and also declared a state of mourning. Johnson did not attend the funeral as it was thought that he would receive a poor reception. James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin, fled to Europe and was captured in June. Ray was sentenced to life in prison, briefly escaped, and died there in
There are a number of theories about the truth of the events, much as there were with John F. Kennedy.
King assassination riots end- 11th April 1968
The King assassination riots ended on this day. For a week, riots hit major cities as mainly black citizens let their anger out. Some cities- New York, Indianapolis, Boston and Los Angeles managed to mainly avoid the chaos through the timely intervention of politicians such as NYC Mayor John Lindsay and candidate Robert Kennedy. Others, such as Washington D.C, Baltimore and Chicago saw looting, damages and even deaths. By the time the rioting had petered out, forty-three people were dead, thousands were injured and millions of dollars of damages had occurred. The riots helped Richard Nixon’s law and order campaign in the election.
Robert Kennedy dies after being shot- 6th June 1968
Robert Kennedy died on this day after being shot the day before. Kennedy had been gaining momentum during the primaries, proving to be a formidable candidate. On the 4th June, he handily won South Dakota and then California. Just after midnight on the 5th June, Kennedy addressed supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He then left to meet the press, cutting through the kitchens. Despite being told that this was dangerous, Kennedy wanted to meet the staff- just like William McKinley in 1901. After shaking hands with a teenage busboy, Kennedy was shot three times at point-blank range. He crumbled to the floor as others rushed to disarm gunman Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy was taken to hospital but despite hours of surgery and treatment, died at 1:44am on the 6th. He left behind pregnant wife Ethel and ten children. Kennedy was the second of his family to be assassinated, and the fourth to die before their parents after Joseph Jr, Kathleen and John. Sirhan Sirhan said that he was motivated by Kennedy’s support of Israel. He remains in prison despite multiple parole attempts. Johnson and Kennedy had a mutual loathing, but the president set that aside to pay tribute to him. With Kennedy out of the race, Humphrey managed to win the nomination- but not the presidency.
Leaves office- 20th January 1969
Lyndon B. Johnson handed the keys to the White House over to Richard Nixon on and left office on this day. After leaving D.C, he returned to live at his ranch in Texas. Though he did some work behind the scenes during the 1972 election, he was not invited to the Democratic National Convention as he was still unpopular. He also co-wrote a book and saw the opening of his presidential library. Unfortunately for him, his health was very poor. He had taken up smoking again and during an interview with Walter Cronkite, he looked visibly older. On the 22nd January 1973, two days after what would have been the end of another term, Lyndon B. Johnson died of a massive heart attack. He was sixty-four. He’d managed to call the Secret Service hub and ask for Mike Howard, his favourite agent. Despite attempts to resuscitate him on the ranch and on the plane to the hospital, Johnson was pronounced DOA. A state funeral was held three days later and he was buried in the family cemetery. Wife Lady Bird joined him there after her own 2007 passing. Johnson has a complicated legacy. He is lauded for his civil rights and domestic policy, but castigated for his handling of Vietnam. Historians usually rank him in the top 15-20, though the public view is decidedly more mixed.
That’s it for Lyndon B. Johnson. Tune in next week for Richard Nixon, in which we’ll see him deal with winning the Space Race, visiting China and Watergate.