Lyndon B. Johnson Born Near Stonewall

Summary

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in a farmhouse near Stonewall, Texas. After graduating from Southwest Texas State Teachers College and working as a teacher, Johnson entered politics as a congressional aide and won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. He moved to the Senate in 1949 and became majority leader, developing a reputation for intensive legislative negotiation. Johnson served as vice president under John F. Kennedy and became the thirty-sixth president after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. His administration enacted major Great Society programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and signed landmark civil-rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. At the same time, Johnson substantially expanded American military involvement in Vietnam. Facing growing opposition to the war, he announced in 1968 that he would not seek another presidential term and left office in January 1969.