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140-494: The college was founded in 1966. It is named for former Alabama governor George C. Wallace , who greatly expanded Alabama's community college system. The college campus is in Hanceville, Alabama. The campus is approximately 300 acres. It includes the 13 floor Bailey Building, that is home to the administration. The Tom Drake Coliseum hosts graduation, basketball, and volleyball, seats 5,000. The college also has an Academic Center and

280-427: A Milwaukee, Wisconsin speech on September 17, 1964, that the office-holding supporters of a civil rights bill would politically " bite the dust " by 1966 and 1968. The Encyclopædia Britannica characterized him not so much as a segregationist but more as a "populist" who pandered to the white majority of Alabama voters. It notes that his failed attempt at presidential politics created lessons that later influenced

420-409: A New Deal platform and was effectively aided by his wife. He served as a U.S. Representative from April 10, 1937, to January 3, 1949. President Roosevelt found Johnson to be a political ally and conduit for information, particularly regarding the internal politics of Texas and the machinations of Vice President John Nance Garner and House Speaker Sam Rayburn . Johnson was immediately appointed to

560-558: A community college system that has now spread throughout the state, preparing many students to complete four-year degrees at Auburn University , University of Alabama at Birmingham , or the University of Alabama . Wallace Community College ( Dothan ), is named for his father. Wallace Community College Selma ( Selma ), and Wallace State Community College ( Hanceville ) are named for him. Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia

700-491: A contingent election in the United States House of Representatives , thereby enhancing the political clout of segregationist Southern leaders. Wallace won five Southern states but failed to force a contingent election. As of the 2024 election , he remains the most recent third-party candidate to receive pledged electoral college votes from any state. Wallace won election to the governorship again in 1970 , and ran in

840-562: A Bachelor of Science in history and his certificate of qualification as a high school teacher. He briefly taught at Pearsall High School in Pearsall, Texas before taking a position teaching public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston. When he returned to San Marcos in 1965, after signing the Higher Education Act of 1965 , Johnson reminisced: I shall never forget the faces of

980-625: A Technical Center in Oneonta, Alabama . The Oneonta Center was opened in 2016. Wallace State maintains a partnership with Athens State University , which enables students to complete junior- and senior-level classes leading to a baccalaureate degree on the Wallace State campus. Wallace State is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award

1120-854: A U.S. representative, he was called to active duty three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. His first orders were to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. , for instruction and training. Following his training, Johnson asked Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal for a job in Washington, D.C. He was instead sent to inspect shipyard facilities in Texas and on

1260-469: A courtroom." On the other hand, Wallace issued injunctions to prevent the removal of segregation signs in rail terminals, becoming the first Southern judge to do so. Similarly, during efforts by civil rights organizations to expand voter registration of blacks, Wallace blocked federal efforts to review Barbour County voting lists. He was cited for criminal contempt of court in 1959. As judge, Wallace granted probation to some blacks, which may have cost him

1400-609: A day laborer. In 1926, Johnson enrolled at SWTSTC. He worked his way through school, participated in debate and campus politics, and edited the school newspaper, The College Star . The college years refined his skills of persuasion and political organization. For nine months, from 1928 to 1929, Johnson paused his studies to teach Mexican–American children at the segregated Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas , 90 miles (140 km) south of San Antonio . The job helped him to save money to complete his education, and he graduated in 1930 with

1540-586: A federal court in Birmingham , the four children were allowed to enter on September 9, becoming the first to integrate a primary or secondary school in Alabama. Wallace desperately wanted to preserve segregation. In his own words: "The President [John F. Kennedy] wants us to surrender this state to Martin Luther King and his group of pro-Communists who have instituted these demonstrations." Wallace predicted, during

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1680-524: A fervent Louisiana segregationist and anti-Semite; Kent Courtney, a John Bircher; and "a representative sent by Willis Carto , head of the Liberty Lobby and publisher of the anti-Semitic magazine American Mercury . " Wallace ran for president in the 1968 election as the American Independent Party candidate, with Curtis LeMay as his candidate for vice president. Wallace hoped to force

1820-478: A hostile position towards civil rights legislation like almost all other Southern Democrat legislators; voting against anti- lynching legislation, anti- poll tax legislation and the Fair Employment Practice Committee . In April 1941, incumbent U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard from Texas died. Under Texas law, a special election for a vacant Senate seat must be held within a few months of

1960-530: A life of farming when food prices were high. When his father died in 1937, his mother had to sell their farmland to pay existing mortgages . Wallace was raised as a Methodist . From age ten, Wallace was fascinated with politics. In 1935, he won a contest to serve as a page in the Alabama Senate , and confidently predicted that he would one day be governor. Wallace became a regionally successful boxer in high school, then went directly to law school in 1937 at

2100-423: A majority of one (29–28). The state Democratic convention upheld Johnson. Stevenson went to court, eventually taking his case before the U.S. Supreme Court , but with timely help from his friend and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas , Johnson prevailed on the basis that jurisdiction over naming a nominee rested with the party, not the federal government. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Jack Porter in

2240-571: A mission similar to that of the Truman Committee in the Senate. He probed the peacetime "business as usual" inefficiencies that permeated the naval war and demanded that admirals get the job done. Johnson went too far when he proposed a bill that would crack down on the draft exemptions of shipyard workers if they were absent from work too often; organized labor blocked the bill and denounced him. Johnson's biographer Robert Dallek concludes, "The mission

2380-510: A movie camera to record conditions, and reported to Roosevelt, Navy leaders, and Congress that conditions were deplorable and unacceptable. Some historians have suggested this was in exchange for MacArthur's recommendation to award the Silver Star. He argued that the southwest Pacific urgently needed a higher priority and a larger share of war supplies. Warplanes that were sent there were "far inferior" to Japanese planes, and U.S. Navy morale there

2520-756: A professor of history at Emory University in Atlanta , added: "George Wallace laid the foundation for the dominance of the Republican Party in American society through the manipulation of racial and social issues in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the master teacher, and Richard Nixon and the Republican leadership that followed were his students." Wallace considered Happy Chandler , the former baseball commissioner , two-term former governor of Kentucky and former Senator from Kentucky , as his running mate in his 1968 campaign as

2660-433: A reputation for fairness regardless of the race of the plaintiff. It was common practice at the time for judges in the area to refer to black lawyers by their first names, while their white colleagues were addressed formally as "Mister"; black lawyer J. L. Chestnut later said that "Judge George Wallace was the most liberal judge that I had ever practiced law in front of. He was the first judge in Alabama to call me 'Mister' in

2800-505: A separate and inferior race. In a 1963 letter to a social studies teacher, Wallace stated they were inclined to criminality – especially "atrocious acts ... such as rape, assault and murder" – because of a high incidence of venereal disease. Desegregation, he wrote, would lead to "intermarriage ... and eventually our race will be deteriated [sic] to that of the mongrel complexity." In 1938, at age 19, Wallace contributed to his grandfather's successful campaign for probate judge. Late in 1945, he

2940-590: A small farmhouse on the Pedernales River . He was the eldest of five children born to Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines. Johnson wasn't given a name until he was three months old, as his parents couldn't agree on a name that both liked. Finally, he was named after "criminal lawyer—a county lawyer" W. C. Linden, who his father liked; his mother agreed on the condition of spelling it as Lyndon. Johnson had one brother, Sam Houston Johnson , and three sisters, Rebekah, Josefa, and Lucia. Through his mother, he

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3080-640: A third of the vote running against three Johnson-designated surrogates. Wallace was known for stirring crowds with his oratory. The Huntsville Times interviewed Bill Jones, Wallace's first press secretary, who recounted "a particularly fiery speech in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1964 that scared even Wallace, [where he] angrily shouted to a crowd of 1,000 people that 'little Pinkos' were 'running around outside' protesting his visit, and continued, after thunderous applause, saying, 'When you and I start marching and demonstrating and carrying signs, we will close every highway in

3220-627: A third-party candidate; as one of Wallace's aides put it, "We have all the nuts in the country; we could get some decent people–-you working one side of the street and he working the other side." Wallace invited Chandler, but when the press published the prospect, Wallace's supporters objected; Chandler had supported the hiring of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers . Wallace retracted the invitation, and (after considering Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders ) chose former Air Force General Curtis LeMay of California . LeMay

3360-439: A thousand times after 1963 – that he was a segregationist, not a racist." A reporter covering state politics in 1961 observed that, while other Alabama politicians conversed primarily about women and Alabama football, for Wallace "it was race – race, race, race – and every time that I was closeted alone with him, that's all we talked about." Wallace's preoccupation with race was based on his belief that black Americans comprised

3500-532: A university or college in Alabama is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . George C. Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was the 45th governor of Alabama , serving from 1963 to 1967, again from 1971 to 1979, and finally from 1983 to 1987. He is remembered for his staunch segregationist and populist views. During Wallace's tenure as governor of Alabama, he promoted "industrial development, low taxes, and trade schools ." Wallace unsuccessfully sought

3640-462: A week. Johnson was announced the winner by 87 votes out of 988,295, an extremely narrow margin. However, Johnson's victory was based on 200 "patently fraudulent" ballots reported six days after the election from Box 13 in Jim Wells County , in an area dominated by political boss George Parr . The added names were in alphabetical order and written with the same pen and handwriting, at the end of

3780-558: Is named for Wallace's first wife, Lurleen Burns Wallace . The University of South Alabama , a new state university in Mobile, was chartered in 1963 during Wallace's first year in office as governor. On November 15–20, 1963, in Dallas , Wallace announced his intention to oppose the incumbent president, John F. Kennedy, for the 1964 Democratic presidential nomination. Days later, also in Dallas, Kennedy

3920-530: Is no longer free, American, or honest. But you, Mr. Governor, have demonstrated not only by the overwhelming victories in the recent elections in your own state of Alabama, but also in the showing which you have made in states long dominated by cheap demagogues and selfish radicals that there is still in America love for freedom, hard common sense, and at least some hope for the preservation of our constitutional liberties. In 1964, Alabama Republicans stood to benefit from

4060-495: Is to date the only President in U.S. history to be sworn in by a woman. Johnson was convinced of the need to make an immediate show of transition of power after the assassination to provide stability to a grieving nation. He and the Secret Service , not knowing whether the assassin acted alone or as part of a broader conspiracy , felt compelled to return rapidly to Washington, D.C.; this was greeted by some with assertions that he

4200-430: The 1932 U.S. presidential election , Johnson became a lifelong supporter of Roosevelt's New Deal . Johnson was elected speaker of the "Little Congress", a group of Congressional aides, where he cultivated Congressmen, newspapermen, and lobbyists. Johnson's friends soon included aides to President Roosevelt as well as fellow Texans such as vice president John Nance Garner and congressman Sam Rayburn . In 1935, Johnson

4340-525: The 1972 Democratic presidential primaries , having moderated his stance on segregation. His campaign effectively ended when he was shot in Maryland by Arthur Bremer , and Wallace remained paralyzed below the waist for the rest of his life. Wallace won re-election as governor in 1974, and he once again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1976 Democratic presidential primaries . In

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4480-505: The 22nd Bomb Group base, which was assigned the high-risk mission of bombing the Japanese airbase at Lae in New Guinea . On June 9, 1942, Johnson volunteered as an observer for an airstrike on New Guinea. Reports vary on what happened to the aircraft carrying Johnson during that mission. MacArthur recommended Johnson for the Silver Star for gallantry in action; the citation indicated that

4620-639: The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 to passage ‍—‌ the first civil rights bills to pass Congress since the Enforcement Acts and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 during Reconstruction . Johnson negotiated a middle course between Northern liberal senators and the Southern bloc of senators who had opposed such legislation by removing key enforcement provisions, such as Title III, which authorized

4760-526: The Confederate States of America . In his inaugural speech , Wallace said: In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this Earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. This sentence had been written by Wallace's new speechwriter, Ku Klux Klan leader Asa Earl Carter . In 1963, President John F. Kennedy 's administration ordered

4900-453: The House of Representatives to decide the election with one vote per state if he could obtain sufficient electoral votes to make him a power broker. Wallace hoped that Southern states could use their clout to end federal efforts at desegregation . His platform contained generous increases for beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare . Wallace's foreign policy positions set him apart from

5040-547: The Jefferson Davis Hotel in Montgomery with Alabama Republican leader James D. Martin , who had narrowly lost the U.S. Senate election in 1962 to J. Lister Hill . Wallace and his aides sought to determine if Barry M. Goldwater , the forthcoming Republican presidential nominee who as a senator from Arizona had voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on libertarian and constitutional grounds, would advocate repeal of

5180-589: The Korean War began in 1950, he called for more troops and for improved weapons. Johnson ensured that every report was endorsed unanimously by his committee. He used his political influence in the Senate to receive broadcast licenses from the Federal Communications Commission in his wife's name. In the 1952 elections , Republicans won a majority in both the House and Senate. In January 1953, Johnson

5320-646: The Naval Affairs Committee . He worked hard for rural electrification , getting approval to complete the hydroelectric Mansfield Dam on the Colorado River near Austin. Johnson also sponsored projects that gave his Texas district soil conservation , public housing , lower railroad freight rates , and expanded credit for loans to farmers. He steered the projects towards contractors he knew, such as Herman and George Brown , who financed much of Johnson's future career. During this time Johnson maintained

5460-592: The Southern Caucus within the Conservative coalition that dominated the Senate. With Russell's support, Johnson won election as Democratic whip in 1951, serving in this capacity until 1953. While serving as whip, Johnson increased his ability to persuade people to reach agreement. As a member of the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce , he was chairman of the Senate subcommittee that refused

5600-646: The Southern Democrats who were dissatisfied with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were signed earlier in the decade by President Lyndon B. Johnson . However, some Democrats feared Wallace's appeal to organized blue-collar workers would damage Humphrey in Northern states such as Ohio, New Jersey and Michigan. Wallace ran a " law and order " campaign similar to Nixon's, further worrying Republicans. In Wallace's 1998 obituary, The Huntsville Times political editor John Anderson summarized

5740-441: The United States House of Representatives , he appointed Johnson as his legislative secretary. This marked Johnson's formal introduction to politics. Johnson secured the position on the recommendation of his father and that of state senator Welly Hopkins, for whom Johnson had campaigned in 1930. Kleberg had little interest in the day-to-day duties of a Congressman, instead delegating them to Johnson. After Franklin D. Roosevelt won

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5880-574: The University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa . He was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. It was at the University of Alabama that he crossed paths with future political adversary Frank Minis Johnson Jr. , who would go on to become a prominent liberal federal judge. Wallace also knew Chauncey Sparks , who became a conservative governor. These men had an effect on his personal politics reflecting

6020-539: The University of Alabama School of Law , and served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II . After the war, he won election to the Alabama House of Representatives , and served as a state judge. Wallace first sought the Democratic nomination in the 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election . Initially a moderate on racial issues, Wallace adopted a hard-line segregationist stance after losing

6160-637: The West Coast . In the spring of 1942, President Roosevelt decided he needed better information on conditions in the Southwest Pacific , and wanted a trusted political ally to obtain it. Forrestal suggested Johnson. Roosevelt assigned Johnson to a three-man survey team covering the Southwest Pacific. Johnson reported to General Douglas MacArthur in Australia. Johnson and two U.S. Army officers went to

6300-579: The general election on November 8, 1966 . She was inaugurated in January 1967, but on May 7, 1968, she died in office of cancer at the age of 41, amid her husband's ongoing second presidential campaign. On her death, she was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Albert Brewer , who had run without Republican opposition amid the Wallace–Martin races. George Wallace's influence in state government thus subsided until his next bid for election in his own right in 1970. He

6440-525: The 1948 general election, having rallied behind Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. In his 1963 inaugural speech as governor, Wallace excused his failure to walk out of the 1948 convention on political grounds. In 1952, he became the Circuit Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in Alabama. Here he became known as "the fighting little judge", a nod to his past boxing association. He gained

6580-537: The 1958 gubernatorial election. In 1958, Wallace ran in the Democratic primary for governor. Since the 1901 constitution's effective disfranchisement of Black Alabamians, the Democratic Party had been virtually the only party in Alabama. For all intents and purposes, the Democratic primary, which was a political crossroads for Wallace, was the only real contest at the state level. State Representative George C. Hawkins of Gadsden ran, but Wallace's main opponent

6720-442: The 1958 nomination. Wallace ran for governor again in 1962 , and won the race. Seeking to stop the racial integration of the University of Alabama , Wallace earned national notoriety by standing in front of the entrance of the University of Alabama, blocking the path of black students. Wallace left office when his first term expired in 1967 due to term limits. His wife, Lurleen , won the next election and succeeded him, with him as

6860-548: The American labor movement". At the same time as his vice presidential run, Johnson also sought a third term in the U.S. Senate. According to Robert Caro: Johnson won an election for both the vice presidency of the United States, on the Kennedy–Johnson ticket, and for a third term as senator (he had Texas law changed to allow him to run for both offices). When he won the vice presidency, he made arrangements to resign from

7000-920: The Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees. Many programs have additional accreditation from organizations appropriate to the particular disciplines. School sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country, softball, and volleyball. The college also offers intramural sports in volleyball (indoor and grass), flag football, pickleball, basketball, indoor soccer, wallyball, tennis, ping pong, pool, disc golf, wiffle ball, and spikeball. 34°04′21″N 86°46′36″W  /  34.07248°N 86.77663°W  / 34.07248; -86.77663 This article about

7140-581: The House, which permitted him to maintain numerous allies, including George Berham Parr , who ran a political machine in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. U.S. Senator W. Lee O'Daniel became unpopular during his time in the Senate, and decided to forgo a bid for re-election in 1948, so Johnson began preparing for a close Senate runoff by arranging for his supporters who controlled votes, including Parr, to withhold their final tallies until

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7280-586: The Navy Reserve, where he was promoted to commander on October 19, 1949, effective June 2, 1948. He resigned from the Navy Reserve effective January 18, 1964. In 1948 , Johnson again ran for the U.S. Senate and won the general election after being declared winner in a highly controversial Democratic Party primary election against the well-known former governor Coke Stevenson . Johnson drew crowds to fairgrounds with his rented Sikorsky S-51 helicopter, dubbed "The Johnson City Windmill". He raised money to flood

7420-623: The Oval Office and to employ a full-time staff within the White House. In 1961, Kennedy appointed Johnson's friend Sarah T. Hughes to a federal judgeship. Johnson tried but failed to have Hughes nominated at the beginning of his vice presidency. House Speaker Sam Rayburn wrangled the appointment from Kennedy in exchange for support of an administration bill. Many members of the Kennedy White House were openly contemptuous of Johnson, including

7560-478: The Senate and, with Democrats winning the majority in the Senate, he became majority leader . President Dwight D. Eisenhower found Johnson more cooperative than the Senate Republican leader, William F. Knowland of California. Particularly on foreign policy, Johnson offered bipartisan support to the president. Historians Caro and Dallek consider Johnson the most effective Senate majority leader ever. He

7700-427: The Senate rendered him a potential Democratic presidential candidate. James H. Rowe repeatedly urged Johnson to launch a campaign in early 1959, but Johnson thought it was better to wait, thinking that Senator John F. Kennedy 's candidacy would create a division in the ranks that could then be exploited. Johnson's strategy was to sit out the primaries and to rely on his legislative record as Senate Majority Leader ,

7840-448: The Senate, as he was required to do under federal law, as soon as it convened on January 3, 1961. Johnson was re-elected senator with 1,306,605 votes (58 percent) to Republican John Tower 's 927,653 (41.1 percent). Fellow Democrat William A. Blakley was appointed to replace Johnson, but lost a special election in May 1961 to Tower. After the election, Johnson was concerned about

7980-408: The Senate. The lieutenant governor, Coke R. Stevenson , was not in favor of prohibition, making his possible promotion to Governor a key selling point for the state's business interests in manipulating the election results. In the final vote tally, Johnson fell short by just 0.23% of the vote. While Johnson's loss in the 1941 Senate race was a stinging defeat, he did not have to give up his seat in

8120-467: The South. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas , Texas. Later that day, Johnson took the presidential oath of office aboard Air Force One . Cecil Stoughton 's iconic photograph of Johnson taking the oath of office as Mrs. Kennedy looks on is the most famous photo ever taken aboard a presidential aircraft. Johnson was sworn in by District Court judge Sarah T. Hughes and

8260-459: The South. Wallace said, "There's not a dime's worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats", a campaign slogan that he had first perfected when Lurleen Wallace defeated James D. Martin. Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson ( / ˈ l ɪ n d ə n ˈ b eɪ n z / ; August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ , was the 36th president of

8400-740: The U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Georgia to be prepared to enforce the racial integration of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In a vain attempt to halt the enrollment of black students Vivian Malone and James Hood , Governor Wallace stood in front of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. This became known as the " Stand in the Schoolhouse Door ". In September 1963, Wallace attempted to stop four black students from enrolling in four separate elementary schools in Huntsville . After intervention by

8540-549: The U.S. House, Martin already had his eyes on Wallace's own position as governor. Term limits in the Alabama Constitution prevented Wallace from seeking a second term in 1966. Therefore, Wallace offered his wife, Lurleen Wallace , as a surrogate candidate for governor. In the Democratic primary, she defeated two former governors, Jim Folsom and John M. Patterson , Attorney General Richmond Flowers Sr. , and former U.S. Representative Carl Elliott . Largely through

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8680-503: The United States , serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , under whom he had served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas , Johnson previously served as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator . Born in Stonewall, Texas , Johnson worked as a teacher and a congressional aide before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. In 1948, he

8820-473: The United States presidency as a Democratic Party candidate three times, and once as an American Independent Party candidate, carrying five states in the 1968 election . Wallace opposed desegregation and supported the policies of " Jim Crow " during the Civil Rights Movement , declaring in his very controversial 1963 inaugural address that he stood for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever". Born in Clio, Alabama , Wallace attended

8960-479: The Vietnam War, he first said that America could win in Vietnam without them. However, he alarmed the audience by further commenting, "we [Americans] have a phobia about nuclear weapons. I think there may be times when it would be most efficient to use nuclear weapons." The "politically tone-deaf" LeMay became a drag on Wallace's candidacy for the remainder of the campaign. In 1968, Wallace pledged that "If some anarchist lies down in front of my automobile, it will be

9100-432: The attorney general to initiate civil action for preventive relief in a wide range of civil rights matters. Being a Southerner was seen as an impossible barrier for a presidential candidate and towards the end of his Senate career as well as not signing the Southern Manifesto, he distanced himself further from the Southern Caucus in 1959 by joining the Democrat's Western regional conference. In 1960 , Johnson's success in

9240-442: 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. After Richard M. Kleberg won a 1931 special election to represent Texas in

9380-462: The building of the Berlin Wall . He also attended Cabinet and National Security Council meetings. Kennedy gave Johnson control over all presidential appointments involving Texas, and appointed him chairman of the President's Ad Hoc Committee for Science. Kennedy also appointed Johnson Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council . The Soviets beat the United States with the first crewed spaceflight in April 1961, and Kennedy gave Johnson

9520-405: The company threatened to dismiss him if he took a leave of absence to run for vice president. To keep LeMay on the ticket, Wallace backer and Texas oil tycoon H. L. Hunt set up a million-dollar fund to reimburse LeMay for any income lost in the campaign. Campaign aides tried to persuade LeMay to avoid questions relating to nuclear weapons, but when asked if he thought their use was necessary to win

9660-569: The country.' The audience leaped to its feet and headed for the exit", Jones said, "It shook Wallace. He quickly moved to calm them down." At graduation exercises in the spring of 1964 at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina , Wallace received an honorary doctorate. At the commencement, Bob Jones Jr. , read the following citation as a tribute to Wallace: Men who have fought for truth and righteousness have always been slandered, maligned, and misrepresented. The American press in its attacks upon Governor Wallace has demonstrated that it

9800-424: The creation of Medicare and Medicaid . Johnson made the Apollo program a national priority; enacted the Higher Education Act of 1965 , which established federally insured student loans; and signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 , which laid the groundwork for U.S. immigration policy today. Johnson's stance on civil rights put him at odds with other white, Southern Democrats . His civil rights legacy

9940-435: The de facto governor. Lurleen died of cancer in May 1968, ending Wallace's period of influence; her doctor had informed him of the cancer's diagnosis in 1961, but Wallace had not told his wife. Wallace challenged sitting president Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 Democratic presidential primaries , but Johnson prevailed in the race. In the 1968 presidential election , Wallace ran a third-party campaign in an attempt to force

10080-441: The desegregation guidelines and had sponsored a U.S. House amendment to forbid the placement of students and teachers on the basis of racial quotas. He predicted that Wallace's legislation would propel the issuance of a court order compelling immediate and total desegregation in all public schools. He also compared the new Alabama law to "another two-and-a-half-minute stand in the schoolhouse door". Lurleen Wallace defeated Martin in

10220-487: The executive branch. He drafted an executive order for Kennedy's signature, granting Johnson "general supervision" over matters of national security, and requiring all government agencies to "cooperate fully with the vice president in the carrying out of these assignments". Kennedy's response was to sign a non-binding letter requesting Johnson to "review" national security policies instead. Kennedy similarly turned down early requests from Johnson to be given an office adjacent to

10360-449: The floor." In the 1962 Democratic primary, Wallace finished first, ahead of State Senator Ryan DeGraffenried Sr. , and taking 35 percent of the vote. In the runoff, Wallace won the nomination with 55 percent of the vote. As no Republican filed to run, this all but assured Wallace of becoming the next governor. He won a crushing victory in the November general election , taking 96 percent of

10500-511: The former United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare . Wallace claimed that the law would thwart the national government from intervening in schools. Critics denounced Wallace's "political trickery" and expressed alarm at the potential forfeiture of federal funds. Republican gubernatorial candidate James D. Martin accused the Democrats of "playing politics with your children" and "neglecting academic excellence". Martin also opposed

10640-402: The general election . Vice President Johnson assumed the presidency in 1963, after President Kennedy was assassinated. The following year, Johnson was elected to the presidency in a landslide , winning the largest share of the popular vote for the Democratic Party in history, and the highest for any candidate since the advent of widespread popular elections in the 1820s. Johnson's Great Society

10780-547: The general election in November and went to Washington, permanently dubbed "Landslide Lyndon". Johnson, dismissive of his critics, happily adopted the nickname. During his two terms in the Senate, Johnson drifted rightward. He felt he had to tread carefully lest he offend politically powerful conservative oil and gas interests in Texas , and in part to curry favor with the chamber's powerful southern chairmen, most notably Senator Richard Russell , Democrat from Georgia and leader of

10920-520: The genius of analogy made The Treatment an almost hypnotic experience and rendered the target stunned and helpless. In 1956, during the Suez Crisis , Johnson tried to prevent the U.S. government from criticizing Israel for its invasion of the Sinai Peninsula . Along with much of the rest of the nation, Johnson was appalled by the threat of possible Soviet domination of space exploration implied by

11060-740: The head of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities , where Johnson worked with African Americans and other minorities. Kennedy may have intended this to remain a nominal position, but Taylor Branch contends in his book Pillar of Fire that Johnson pushed the Kennedy administration's actions further and faster for civil rights than Kennedy originally intended. Johnson went on multiple minor diplomatic missions, which gave him some insights into global issues and opportunities for self-promotion. During his visit to West Berlin on August 19–20, 1961, Johnson sought to calm Berliners who were outraged by

11200-447: The hint of threat. It was all of these together. It ran the gamut of human emotions. Its velocity was breathtaking and it was all in one direction. Interjections from the target were rare. Johnson anticipated them before they could be spoken. He moved in close, his face a scant millimeter from his target, his eyes widening and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and falling. From his pockets poured clippings, memos, statistics. Mimicry, humor, and

11340-490: The ideologies of both leaders later during his time in office. He received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1942. Early in 1943, Wallace was accepted for pilot training by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Soon afterwards Wallace contracted life-threatening spinal meningitis , but prompt medical attention with sulfa drugs saved his life. Left with partial hearing loss and permanent nerve damage, he

11480-489: The impact from the 1968 campaign: "His startling appeal to millions of alienated white voters was not lost on Richard Nixon and other Republican strategists. First Nixon, then Ronald Reagan , and finally George Herbert Walker Bush successfully adopted toned-down versions of Wallace's anti-busing, anti-federal government platform to pry low- and middle-income whites from the Democratic New Deal coalition." Dan Carter,

11620-413: The last automobile he will ever lie down in front of" and asserted that the only four letter words that hippies did not know were "w-o-r-k" and "s-o-a-p." Responding to criticism of the former comment, Wallace later elaborated that he meant such a protester would be punished under the law, not run over. This type of rhetoric became famous. He accused Humphrey and Nixon of wanting to radically desegregate

11760-457: The late 1970s, Wallace announced that he became a born-again Christian , and moderated his views on race, renouncing his past support for segregation. Wallace left office in 1979, but re-entered politics and won election to a fourth, and final, term as governor in 1982. Wallace is the third longest-serving governor in U.S. history , having served 5,848 days in office. George Corley Wallace Jr.

11900-531: The launch of Sputnik 1 , the first artificial Earth satellite , and used his influence to ensure passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 , which established NASA . Johnson helped establish the Senate Aeronautical and Space Committee , and made himself its first chairman. During his tenure as Majority Leader, Johnson did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto , and shepherded

12040-439: The law, particularly the public accommodations and equal employment sections. Bill Jones indicated that Wallace agreed with Goldwater's anti-communist stance but opposed the Republican's proposal to make Social Security a voluntary program. Jones stressed that Wallace had sacrificed his own presidential aspirations that year to allow a direct Republican challenge to President Johnson. It was later disclosed that Wallace proposed at

12180-594: The lead... They kept changing the results, and our lead got smaller and smaller and smaller. Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, we wound up on the short side of the stick and lost the election by 1,311 votes. I'm basically responsible for losing that 1941 campaign. We let them know exactly how many votes they had to have. In addition to O'Daniel's allies, state business interests aligned with former impeached and convicted Texas Governor "Pa" Ferguson had been concerned with O'Daniel's support of prohibition as Governor; they believed that he could do much less damage to their cause in

12320-614: The list of voters. Some on this part of the list insisted that they had not voted that day. Election judge Luis Salas said in 1977 that he had certified 202 fraudulent ballots for Johnson. Robert Caro made the case in his 1990 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County, and that there were thousands of fraudulent votes in other counties as well, including 10,000 votes switched in San Antonio . The Democratic State Central Committee voted to certify Johnson's nomination by

12460-436: The meeting with Martin to switch parties if he could be named as Goldwater's running-mate, a designation later given to U.S. Representative William E. Miller of New York . Goldwater reportedly rejected the overture because he considered Wallace to be a racist. The unpledged electors in Alabama included the future U.S. senator, James Allen , then the lieutenant governor , and the subsequent Governor Albert Brewer , then

12600-401: The mission came under attack and Johnson's aircraft experienced mechanical problems, forcing it to turn back before reaching its objective. Others claim that the aircraft turned back because of generator trouble before encountering enemy aircraft and never came under fire, an account that is supported by the aircraft's official flight records. Other airplanes that continued came under fire near

12740-531: The only ballot at the Democratic convention to Kennedy's 806, and so the convention nominated Kennedy. Tip O'Neill was a representative from Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts at that time, and he recalled that Johnson approached him at the convention and said, "Tip, I know you have to support Kennedy at the start, but I'd like to have you with me on the second ballot." O'Neill replied, "Senator, there's not going to be any second ballot." After much discussion with party leaders and others, Kennedy offered Johnson

12880-535: The other candidates in the field. "If the Vietnam War was not winnable within 90 days of his taking office, Wallace pledged an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops ... Wallace described foreign aid as money 'poured down a rat hole' and demanded that European and Asian allies pay more for their defense." Richard Nixon feared that Wallace might split the conservative vote and allow the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey , to prevail. He mostly attracted

13020-568: The populist candidacies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan . Jack Newfield wrote in 1971 that Wallace "recently has been sounding like William Jennings Bryan as he attacked concentrated wealth in his speeches". The principal achievement of Wallace's first term was an innovation in Alabama industrial development that several other states later copied: he was the first Southern governor to travel to corporate headquarters in northern states to offer tax abatements and other incentives to companies willing to locate plants in Alabama. He also initiated

13160-574: The president's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , and they ridiculed his comparatively brusque and crude manner. Then Congressman Tip O'Neill recalled that the Kennedy brothers "had a disdain for Johnson that they didn't even try to hide.... They actually took pride in snubbing him." Kennedy made efforts to keep Johnson busy and informed, telling aides, "I can't afford to have my vice president, who knows every reporter in Washington, going around saying we're all screwed up, so we're going to keep him happy." Kennedy appointed him to jobs such as

13300-575: The public became frustrated with both the Vietnam War and domestic unrest, including race riots in major cities and increasing crime. Johnson initially sought to run for re-election; however, following disappointing results in the New Hampshire primary he withdrew his candidacy . Johnson retired to his Texas ranch and died in 1973. Public opinion and academic assessments of Johnson's legacy have fluctuated greatly. Historians and scholars rank Johnson in

13440-468: The race resulted from his fear of losing. Johnson attempted in vain to capitalize on Kennedy's youth, poor health, and failure to take a position regarding McCarthyism . He had formed a "Stop Kennedy" coalition with Adlai Stevenson , Stuart Symington , and Hubert Humphrey, but it proved a failure. Despite Johnson having the support of established Democrats and the party leadership, this did not translate into popular approval. Johnson received 409 votes on

13580-806: The re-nomination of Leland Olds as Chairman of the Federal Power Commission on the grounds that he had been sympathetic towards Communism. Johnson was appointed to the Senate Armed Services Committee , and became increasingly concerned with the country's military preparedness in the Cold War with the Soviet Union . He became chairman of the Senate Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee , and conducted investigations of defense costs and efficiency. After

13720-555: The religious beliefs that his family , especially his grandfather, had shared with him. Johnson grew up poor, with his father losing a great deal of money. Biographer Robert Caro described him as being raised "in a land without electricity, where the soil was so rocky that it was hard to earn a living from it." In school, Johnson was a talkative youth who was elected president of his 11th-grade class. He graduated in 1924 from Johnson City High School , where he participated in public speaking , debate , and baseball . At 15, Johnson

13860-479: The state House Speaker. National Democrats balked over Johnson's exclusion from the ballot, but most supported the unpledged slate, which competed directly with the Republican electors. As The Tuscaloosa News explained, loyalist electors would have offered a clearer choice to voters than did the unpledged slate. The 1964 Republican electors were the first since Reconstruction to prevail in Alabama. The Goldwater-Miller slate received 479,085 votes (69.5 percent) to

14000-549: The state with campaign circulars and won over conservatives by casting doubts on Stevenson's support for the Taft–Hartley Act (curbing union power). Stevenson came in first in the primary but lacked a majority, so a runoff election was held; Johnson campaigned harder, while Stevenson's efforts slumped due to a lack of funds. The runoff vote count, handled by the Democratic State Central Committee, took

14140-416: The statewide results were announced. By waiting until the statewide result was reported, Johnson was able to know the figure he had to surpass and so could add as many votes as necessary to his total. It would prove consequential, as Johnson would win the Democratic primary in 1948 by just 87 votes. Johnson was appointed a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve on June 21, 1940. While serving as

14280-680: The support of Southern Democrats , and the favors owed by Democratic senators to him and by Democratic representatives to his close ally Sam Rayburn, the Speaker of the House. In July 1960, Johnson finally entered the campaign. Johnson's late entry, coupled with his reluctance to leave Washington, D.C., allowed rival John F. Kennedy to secure a substantial early lead in securing support from Democratic state party officials. Johnson underestimated Kennedy's endearing charm and intelligence in comparison to his perceived crude and wheeling-dealing "Landslide Lyndon" style. Caro suggests that Johnson's hesitancy to enter

14420-414: The target about the same time Johnson's plane was recorded as having landed back at the original airbase. Johnson's biographer Robert Caro was quoted as saying "I think that the weight of the evidence at this moment is that the plane was attacked by Zeroes and that he was cool under fire", but also "The fact is, LBJ never got within sight of Japanese forces. His combat experience was a myth." Johnson used

14560-511: The task of evaluating the U.S. space program and recommending a project that would allow the United States to catch up or beat the Soviets. Johnson recommended that the United States gain the leadership role by committing to landing an American on the Moon in the 1960s . Kennedy assigned priority to the space program, but Johnson's appointment provided cover in case of a failure. In August 1963, Johnson

14700-490: The traditionally ineffective nature of his new office and sought authority not allotted to him as vice president. He initially sought a transfer of the authority of Senate majority leader to the vice presidency, since that office made him president of the Senate, but faced vehement opposition from the Democratic Caucus, including members whom he had counted as his supporters. Johnson sought to increase his influence within

14840-484: The unintended consequences of two developments: (1) Governor Wallace vacating the race for the Democratic presidential nomination against President Johnson, and (2) the designation of unpledged Democratic electors in Alabama, in effect removing President Johnson from the general election ballot. Prior to the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco , Wallace and his aides Bill Jones and Seymore Trammell met in

14980-549: The unpledged electors' 209,848 (30.5 percent). The Republican tide also brought to victory five Republican members of the United States House of Representatives , including William Louis Dickinson , who held the Montgomery-based district seat until 1993, and James D. Martin, the Gadsden oil products dealer who defeated then State Senator George C. Hawkins for the U.S. House seat formerly held by Carl Elliott . Hardly yet sworn into

15120-400: The upper tier for his accomplishments regarding domestic policy. His administration passed many major laws that made substantial changes in civil rights, health care, welfare, and education. Conversely, Johnson is heavily criticized for his foreign policy, namely escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War. Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Stonewall, Texas , in

15260-482: The vacancy, meaning that the election would not be held during a normal November election, giving Johnson the chance to run without forfeiting his seat in the House. The election would be held without party primaries, and with no runoff, meaning that Johnson would have to compete against every Democrat — without the chance of facing the frontrunner, Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, in a 1-on-1 runoff election. The first pre-election polls showed Johnson receiving only 5% of

15400-476: The vice presidential nomination at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel on July 14, the morning after Kennedy was nominated, and Johnson accepted. From that point to the actual nomination that evening, several facts are in dispute, including whether convention chairman LeRoy Collins ' had the two-thirds majority required to begin the convention's proceedings. Kennedy's choice of Johnson as his running mate

15540-446: The vote tallies. Connally told them to report the votes, which allegedly allowed O'Daniel's political allies among the South and East Texas party bosses to know the exact number of fraudulent votes needed for O'Daniel to catch up to Johnson. According to Connally, The opposition then ‍—‌ Governor O'Daniel and his people ‍—‌ knew exactly how many votes they had to have to take

15680-481: The vote, but Johnson ran a fierce campaign, barnstorming the state and emphasizing his close relationship with President Roosevelt. On Election Day, Johnson held a strong lead in the returns throughout the whole night, and with 96 percent of the ballots counted, Johnson held a 5,000-vote lead. According to John Connally, future Governor and Johnson's campaign manager, local election officials began calling Connally's office and asking him about whether they should report

15820-427: The vote. As noted above, Democratic dominance had been achieved by disenfranchising most blacks and many poor whites in the state for decades, which lasted until years after federal civil rights legislation was passed in 1964 and 1965. Wallace took the oath of office on January 14, 1963, standing on the gold star marking the spot where, nearly 102 years earlier, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of

15960-436: The wake of his defeat, Wallace adopted a hard-line segregationist stance and used this stance to court the white vote in the next gubernatorial election in 1962. When a supporter asked why he started using racist messages, Wallace replied, "You know, I tried to talk about good roads and good schools and all these things that have been part of my career, and nobody listened. And then I began talking about niggers, and they stomped

16100-517: The work of Wallace's supporters, the Alabama restriction on gubernatorial succession was later modified to allow two consecutive terms. Wallace defended his wife's proxy candidacy. He felt somewhat vindicated when Republicans in Idaho denied renomination in 1966 to Governor Robert E. Smylie , author of the article entitled "Why I Feel Sorry for Lurleen Wallace". In his memoirs, Wallace recounts his wife's ability to "charm crowds" and cast-off invective: "I

16240-575: Was Attorney General of Alabama John M. Patterson , who ran with the support of the Ku Klux Klan , an organization Wallace had spoken out against. Despite being endorsed by the NAACP , Wallace lost the nomination by over 34,400 votes. After the election, aide Seymore Trammell recalled Wallace saying, "Seymore, you know why I lost that governor's race? ... I was outniggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be outniggered again." In

16380-568: Was assassinated , and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded him as president. Building upon his notoriety after the University of Alabama controversy, Wallace entered the Democratic primaries in 1964 on the advice of a public relations expert from Wisconsin. Wallace campaigned strongly by expressing his opposition to integration and a tough approach on crime. In Democratic primaries in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Maryland, Wallace garnered at least

16520-492: Was "The Treatment", described by two journalists: The Treatment could last ten minutes or four hours. It came, enveloping its target, at the Johnson Ranch swimming pool, in one of Johnson's offices, in the Senate cloakroom, on the floor of the Senate itself – wherever Johnson might find a fellow Senator within his reach. Its tone could be supplication, accusation, cajolery, exuberance, scorn, tears, complaint, and

16660-544: Was "first gentleman" for less than a year and a half. Planning for Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign began with a strategy session on the evening of the March 1967 inauguration of Lurleen Wallace. The meeting featured prominent white supremacists and anti-Semites, including: Asa Carter; William Simmons of the White Citizens' Council ; Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark ; former Mississippi governor Ross Barnett ; Leander Perez ,

16800-553: Was a great-grandson of Baptist clergyman George Washington Baines . Johnson's paternal grandfather, Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr. , was raised Baptist and for a time was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) . In his later years, Samuel Sr. became a Christadelphian ; Samuel Jr. also joined the Christadelphian Church toward the end of his life. Johnson was influenced in his positive attitude toward Jews by

16940-574: Was a temporary exposure to danger calculated to satisfy Johnson's personal and political wishes, but it also represented a genuine effort on his part, however misplaced, to improve the lot of America's fighting men." In addition to the Silver Star, Johnson received the American Campaign Medal , Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal , and the World War II Victory Medal . He was discharged from active duty on July 17, 1942, but remained in

17080-477: Was aimed at expanding civil rights, public broadcasting, access to health care, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, consumer protection, environmentalism, and public services. He sought to create better living conditions for low-income Americans by spearheading the war on poverty . As part of these efforts, Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 , which resulted in

17220-585: Was appointed as one of the assistant attorneys general of Alabama, and, in May 1946, he won his first election as a member to the Alabama House of Representatives . At the time, he was considered a moderate on racial issues. As a delegate to the 1948 Democratic National Convention , he did not join the Dixiecrat walkout at the convention, despite his opposition to U.S. President Harry S. Truman 's proposed civil rights program. Wallace considered it an infringement on states' rights . The Dixiecrats carried Alabama in

17360-519: Was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration , which enabled him to create government-funded education and job opportunities for young people. He resigned two years later to run for Congress. A notoriously tough boss, Johnson often demanded long workdays and work on weekends. He was described by friends, fellow politicians, and historians as motivated by lust for power and control. As Caro observes, "Johnson's ambition

17500-495: Was born in Clio, Alabama , to George Corley Wallace Sr. and Mozelle Smith. Since his parents disliked the designation "Junior", he was called "George C.", to distinguish him from his father, George Corley Sr., and paternal grandfather, the physician George Oscar Wallace, who was called "Doc Wallace". He had two younger brothers, Gerald and Jack, and a younger sister named Marianne. During World War I , Wallace's father left college to pursue

17640-404: Was chosen by his fellow Democrats as Senate Minority Leader ; he became the most junior senator ever elected to this position. He reformed the seniority system so that Democratic senators, including freshmen, were more likely to receive a committee assignment that closely aligned with their expertise rather than an assignment based solely on their seniority. In 1954 , Johnson was re-elected to

17780-545: Was commanded by General Curtis LeMay , who was his running mate in the 1968 presidential race .) While some may argue that Wallace did not espouse racist views, most sources support the conclusion that he was motivated by racist ideology. For instance, one source on Wallace's career as a judge reports: "every black attorney who argued a case in Wallace's ... courtroom was struck by his fairness .... But no one who knew Wallace well ever took seriously his earnest profession – uttered

17920-554: Was considered instrumental in the establishment in 1947 of the United States Air Force and an expert in military affairs. His four-star military rank, experience at Strategic Air Command and presence advising President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis were considered foreign-policy assets to the Wallace campaign. By 1968, LeMay had retired and was serving as chairman of the board of an electronics company, but

18060-467: Was controversially declared the winner in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate election in Texas before winning the general election. He became Senate majority whip in 1951, Senate Democratic leader in 1953 and majority leader in 1954. Senator Kennedy bested Johnson and his other rivals for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination before surprising many by offering to make Johnson his vice presidential running mate. The Kennedy–Johnson ticket won

18200-447: Was immensely proud of her, and it didn't hurt a bit to take a back seat to her in vote-getting ability." Wallace rebuffed critics who claimed that he had "dragooned" his wife into the race. "She loved every minute of being governor the same way ... that Mrs. (Margaret) Smith loves being senator." During the 1966 campaign, George Wallace signed state legislation to nullify desegregation guidelines between Alabama cities and counties and

18340-462: Was in too much haste to assume power. In response to the public demand for answers and the growing number of conspiracy theories , Johnson established a commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren , known as the Warren Commission , to investigate Kennedy's assassination. The commission conducted extensive research and hearings and unanimously concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in

18480-564: Was instead trained as a flight engineer . During 1945, as a member of a B-29 crew with 468th Bombardment Group , stationed in the Mariana Islands as part of the Twentieth Air Force , Wallace took part in air raids on Japan and reached the rank of staff sergeant . In mid-1945, Wallace received an early discharge on medical grounds, due to "severe anxiety", and a 10% disability pension for "psychoneurosis". (The Twentieth Air Force

18620-494: Was intended to attract Southern votes. Kennedy was a liberal Bostonian and a Roman Catholic . Johnson was more conservative, a Southerner , and a member of the Disciples of Christ . Nevertheless, labor leaders were unanimous in their opposition to Johnson. AFL-CIO President George Meany called Johnson "the arch-foe of labor", and Illinois AFL-CIO President Reuben Soderstrom asserted Kennedy had "made chumps out of leaders of

18760-479: Was planning on dropping Johnson from the Democratic ticket in the 1964 presidential election . However, on October 31, 1963, a reporter asked if he intended and expected to retain Johnson on the ticket. Kennedy replied, "Yes to both those questions." There is little doubt that Robert Kennedy and Johnson hated each other, yet John and Robert Kennedy agreed that dropping Johnson from the ticket could produce heavy losses in

18900-546: Was poor. Johnson told Forrestal that the Pacific Fleet had a "critical" need for 6,800 additional experienced men. Johnson prepared a twelve-point program to upgrade the effort in the region, stressing "greater cooperation and coordination within the various commands and between the different war theaters". Congress responded by making Johnson chairman of a high-powered subcommittee of the Naval Affairs Committee, with

19040-513: Was shaped by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 . Due to his domestic agenda, Johnson's presidency marked the peak of modern American liberalism in the 20th century. Johnson's foreign policy prioritized containment of communism, including in the ongoing Vietnam War . Johnson began his presidency with near-universal support, but his approval declined throughout his presidency as

19180-480: Was the youngest in his class. Pressured by his parents to attend college, he enrolled at a "sub college" of Southwest Texas State Teachers College (SWTSTC) in the summer of 1924, where students from unaccredited high schools could take the 12th-grade courses needed for admission to college. He left the school just weeks after his arrival and decided to move to California. He worked at his cousin's legal practice and in odd jobs before returning to Texas, where he worked as

19320-768: Was touched by a Senate scandal when Bobby Baker , the Secretary to the Majority Leader of the Senate and a protégé of Johnson's, came under investigation by the Senate Rules Committee for alleged bribery and financial malfeasance. One witness alleged that Baker arranged for the witness to give kickbacks for the Vice President. Baker resigned in October, and the investigation did not expand to Johnson. The negative publicity, however, fed rumors in Washington circles that Kennedy

19460-409: Was uncommon – in the degree to which it was unencumbered by even the slightest excess weight of ideology, of philosophy, of principles, of beliefs." In 1937, after the death of 13-term congressman James P. Buchanan , Johnson successfully campaigned in a special election for Texas's 10th congressional district , which included Austin and the surrounding Texas Hill Country . He ran on

19600-470: Was unusually proficient at gathering information. One biographer suggests he was "the greatest intelligence gatherer Washington has ever known", discovering exactly where every senator stood on issues, his philosophy and prejudices, his strengths and weaknesses, and what it took to get his vote. Bobby Baker claimed that Johnson would occasionally send senators on NATO trips so they were absent and unable to cast dissenting votes. Central to Johnson's control

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