Samuel Ealey Johnson

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MH43-5BF
• Initiatory (LDS): 27 Apr 1994, WASHI

Samuel married Rebekah Baines on 20 Aug 1907 in Fredericksburg, Gillespie, Texas, United States. Rebekah (daughter of Joseph Wilson Baines and Ruth Ament Huffman) was born on 26 Jun 1881 in McKinney, Collin, Texas, United States; died on 12 Sep 1958 in Austin, Travis, Texas, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Initiatory (LDS): COMPLETED, PROVO
• FamilySearch ID: 2M79-4JT

Notes:

36th President of the United States.

He was often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American educator a n d politician who served as the 36th president of the United States fro m 1 963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice president fro m 196 1 to 1963 under President John F. Kennedy. A Democrat from Texas, J ohnso n also served as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator and the Senate 's maj ority leader. He holds the distinction of being one of the few pre sident s who served in all elected offices at the federal level.

Born in a farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas, to a local political family, Jo h nson worked as a high school teacher and a congressional aide before wi nn ing election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. He won elec tio n to the United States Senate in 1948 after narrowly winning the Demo crat ic Party's nomination. He was appointed to the position of Senate Ma jorit y Whip in 1951. He became the Senate Democratic leader in 1953 an d majori ty leader in 1954. In 1960 Johnson ran for the Democratic nomina tion fo r president. During the convention he came into conflict with th e Democra tic front-runner, fellow senator John F. Kennedy. The two men c ompromise d and the Kennedy-Johnson ticket won in the 1960 presidential e lection. V ice President Johnson would assume the presidency on Novembe r 22, 1963 af ter President Kennedy was assassinated. The following yea r Johnson was el ected to the presidency when he won in a landslide again st Arizona Senato r Barry Goldwater. Johnson received 61.1% of the popula r vote in the 196 4 presidential election; this makes his victory the lar gest share of th e popular vote of any candidate since James Monroe's vic tory in 1820.

Johnson's domestic policy was aimed to create programs that would expa n d civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to educati o n and the arts, urban and rural development, and public services. Johns o n coined the term the "Great Society" in 1964 to describe these effort s . In addition, he sought to create better living conditions for low inc om e Americans by spearheading a campaign unofficially called the "War o n Po verty"; assisted by a strong economy, the effort helped millions o f Ameri cans rise above the poverty line during his administration. Johns on follo wed his predecessor's actions in bolstering the space program, a nd it wa s under his presidency that NASA's efforts became a top nationa l priorit y and the Apollo Program was expanded. He enacted the Higher Ed ucation Ac t of 1965 which established federally insured student loans. J ohnson sign ed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which laid th e groundwor k for U.S. immigration policy today. Johnson's opinion on th e issue of ci vil rights put him at odds with other white, southern Democ rats. His civi l rights legacy was shaped by signing the Civil Rights Ac t of 1964, the V oting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 19 68. During his pr esidency the American political landscape transformed s ignificantly, as w hite southerners who were Democratic stalwarts gradual ly moved to the Rep ublican Party and Blacks began moving towards the Dem ocratic Party. Becau se of his domestic agenda, Johnson's presidency mark ed the peak of moder n liberalism in the United States.

Johnson's presidency took place in Cold War America and thus he prioriti z ed halting the expansion of Marxist-Leninist governments. Prior to 196 4 , the U.S. already had a noticeable presence in Vietnam by providing we ap ons, training, and aid to South Vietnam in order to stem the communis t mo vement in the region. In 1964, following a naval skirmish, Congres s passe d the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted Johnson the powe r to launc h a full military campaign in Southeast Asia, marking the esca lation of A merican involvement in the Vietnam War. The number of America n military p ersonnel in Vietnam increased dramatically, and as the war p rogressed, Am erican casualties soared along with deaths of Vietnamese ci vilians. In 19 68, the Tet Offensive inflamed the anti-war movement and p ublic opinion d ramatically turned against the war. Many called an end t o U.S. involvemen t, and opposition to the war surged among draft-age stu dents on universit y campuses.

At home, Johnson faced further troubles when summer riots began in maj o r cities in 1965 and crime rates soared. His political opponents seize d t he opportunity and raised demands for "law and order" policies. Whil e Joh nson began his presidency with widespread approval, support for hi m decli ned as the public became frustrated with both the war and socia l unrest . In the 1968 presidential election, he ended his bid for re-nom ination a fter a disappointing result in the New Hampshire primary, and t he electio n was eventually won by Republican candidate Richard Nixon. Jo hnson retur ned to his Texas ranch and kept a low profile until he died o f a heart at tack in 1973. One of the most controversial presidents in Am erican histor y, public opinion of his legacy has continuously evolved si nce his death . Historians and scholars rank Johnson in the upper tier be cause of his d omestic policies; his administration passed many major law s that made ser ious advancements in civil rights, health care, and welfa re. However, h e is widely condemned for his role in escalating the Vietn am War and th e consequences that came along with it, including the death s of 58,220 Am erican service members, dropping over 7.5 million tons o f explosives ove r Vietnam, and the use of the noxious herbicide Agent Or ange.

Lyndon married Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor on 17 Nov 1934 in St. Mark's Episcopal Church, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, United States. Claudia (daughter of Thomas Jefferson Taylor and Minnie Lee Pattillo) was born on 22 Dec 1912 in Karnack, Harrison, Texas, United States; died on 11 Jul 2007 in West Lake Hills, Travis, Texas, United States; was buried on 15 Jul 2007 in Johnson Family Cemetery, Stonewall, Gillespie, Texas, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: LWJB-6R6
• Initiatory (LDS): 19 Oct 1999, MANTI

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: K26J-H2W
• Initiatory (LDS): 19 Oct 1999, MANTI

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: L89K-3K1

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: LJLR-KQ1