Visited: Feb 2018
Nearby city: Austin, TX; nearby town: Johnson City, TX; Stonewall, TX
“We believe that all men are created equal. Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy these 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. The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand - without rancor or hatred - how this all happened. But it cannot continue. Our Constitution, the foundation of our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.”
-President Lyndon B. Johnson, upon signing Civil Rights Bill July 2, 1964
Our 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969), always stayed true to his humble roots in the Hill Country of central Texas. It influenced his rough-and-tumble personality, his stern and rather pugnacious approach to politics (many colleagues described it as the “Johnson treatment” - invasive and aggressive coercion to advance legislation), and sympathy for the poor and down-trodden.
The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park preserves the birth home, boyhood home, and retirement home of this colorful and complex President. The site has two main areas: (1) Johnson City - the boyhood home and (2) Stonewall - birth home and the ranch house (dubbed the “Texas White House”). The two areas are only separated by about 10 miles along US Highway 290 - so make sure to visit both.
We went to Johnson City first. Johnson City was named after the cousin of LBJ’s father, James Polk Johnson, who moved here from Georgia and founded the town in 1879.
LBJ lived in this home from age 5 until he graduated from high school.
As a young boy, Johnson would hear his father (who was a local politician) address crowds from the large porch at the home. In high school, Johnson played baseball, but excelled at public speaking and debate. As a lanky, talkative, and somewhat awkward student, he was elected president of his senior class. After graduating high school, he enrolled in a teacher’s college, and briefly taught at a segregated Mexican-American school in South Texas. As President, Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965, and reminisced:
“I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American.”
Johnson completed his education at Texas State University, and taught high school during this time to help pay his way. In 1931, Johnson secured a position as a legislative secretary to US House Representative Richard M. Kleberg, getting his first taste of politics. Johnson quickly became an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of FDR and the New Deal. Johnson took law classes at Georgetown, but never finished. He did, however, meet Claudia Alta Taylor (known as “Lady Bird”), and they married on November 17, 1934. In 1937, Johnson was elected to the US House of Representatives. In 1941, Johnson ran for the US Senate, but lost the Democratic primary by only about 1,000 votes. The setback was devastating, but he was still young. LBJ enlisted and served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II.
After the war, LBJ ran again for Senate in 1948. In strongly Democratic Texas (at the time) winning the primary was tantamount to victory in the general election. It was a tough and close race, but Johnson emerged as the winner (thanks to a suspicious box of 200 ballots marked for Johnson “found” six days after the election) by an incredibly narrow margin of 87 votes. It was widely suspected that the found ballots were fraudulent, but Johnson was successful in the courts over the challenged election, and became the nominee. Critics derisively referred to him as “Landslide Lyndon” - Johnson instead embraced the nickname. Johnson easily won the general election and served in the Senate until 1961. Johnson quickly rose in the ranks of Senate leadership, and became the Majority Whip and then the Senate Majority Leader in 1954. Johnson was called upon frequently to “persuade” fellow Democrats to vote the way party leadership wanted them to on certain legislation.
As the 1960 presidential election approached, Johnson was hoping that as a party leader, delegates would look to him as a potential nominee. He entered the primaries too late (this was the time when primaries weren’t necessarily so important in becoming the nominee) and the delegates instead flocked to the young, charismatic John F. Kennedy. Johnson regarded Kennedy as naive, unserious, and a upstart, but he decided to accept the Vice Presidential spot on the ticket. With Johnson on the ticket, Kennedy was able to carry many southern states (narrowly winning Texas) against the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon.
Johnson was not happy as Vice President, and for the most part Kennedy did not include Johnson in policy decisions and executive meetings. While visiting Dallas, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963...and all of the sudden, Johnson was now President.
Johnson pursued an aggressive domestic policy, signing into legislation the monumental Civil Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid, federal funding for education, and the Voting Rights Act - all part of Johnson’s vision of a “Great Society.” Johnson’s initiatives were mostly popular and he won in a massive landslide in 1964 against conservative Arizona Senator Barry M. Goldwater. Lady Bird became famous for championing conservation efforts as First Lady, leading to the creation of Redwood National Park, groves of white pine and dogwood in Washington DC, and passage of the Highway Beautification Act (planting trees and flowers along the nation’s roadways). As Lady Bird said “where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
Johnson also pursued an aggressive foreign policy, with decidedly different results. Johnson was dead-set against Vietnam becoming a unified Communist government under Ho Chi Minh. Eisenhower, and then Kennedy, had been gradually increasing American military officials and troops in the Southeast Asian county. Johnson accelerated that military presence after the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964 (thanks to Congress granting Johnson the power to use military force without an official declaration of war). In 1963 (at the start of Johnson’s presidency) there were about 16,000 military advisors in Vietnam, in non-combat roles. By 1967, there were nearly 525,000 military personnel in Vietnam, mostly combat roles.
The war in Vietnam quickly became a quagmire and public opinion on the war soured immensely. It led to lots of unrest, protests, and riots at home. Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of American lives were lost in what was quickly being perceived as a pointless and futile war. By 1968, Johnson shocked the political world and declined to run for another term in office. Johnson left office incredibly reviled and unpopular. In the hindsight of history, the general consensus is that Johnson’s legacy is mixed - amazing success in domestic policies, but devastating failures in foreign policies.
The Visitor’s Center has lots of good exhibits of the life and times of LBJ and Lady Bird.
The Civil Rights Bill.
LBJ’s desk from his elementary school days.
Now head down the road to the tiny settlement of Stonewall. Here there is an historic, living ranch on the Johnson property. This ranch is not part of the NPS, it’s managed as a Texas State Park.
Across the street from the historic ranch is the birth home. LBJ was born in this small home on August 27, 1908. *this is a detailed reconstruction of the birth home. The actual birth home was torn down in the 1940s.*
Also here is the final resting place of LBJ and Lady Bird. Johnson did not enjoy good health in his middle-aged years. Johnson smoked approximately 60 cigarettes per day. He suffered a near-fatal heart attack in 1955 (as a Senator) and quit the habit until he left office in 1969. He took up smoking again because it helped calm his nerves and soothe his anxiety. On January 22, 1973 (a mere 4 years after leaving office), Johnson suffered a massive heart attack and passed away. He was only 64 years old. Lady Bird passed away in 2007, at the age of 94.
Finally, take a driving tour of the ranch and stop by the “Texas White House” The home was originally built in 1894. In 1909, Johnson’s aunt and uncle purchased the home and added onto it. In 1951, LBJ and Lady Bird purchased the home from his aunt. LBJ was a Senator at the time and would frequently retreat here for rest & relaxation when Congress was not in session.
As President, LBJ installed a runway on the ranch so he could quickly commute to and from Washington. He liked to bring leaders and politicians to his ranch as President so he could meet and cajole them to supporting his policies. He felt that being on his home turf of the Ranch gave him a “home field advantage” and made it easier to “twist arms.” One of the smaller jets LBJ used is still on the grounds in the hangar. Lady Bird lived in this home until her death in 2007. Guided tours of the home are available, but they have been suspended since 2018 to investigate some structural damage.
We enjoyed our visit to this beautiful region in Texas and learning more about this interesting and intriguing President. More info here: https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/index.htm
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