LBJ

[WI_DEM]

I'm writing a paper on LBJ and would be interested if any of you who lived during his tumultuous presidency can give your feelings good/bad--though probably not indifferent about this "Very Human President".

Thank You.

[CO Liberal]

1. I Was Ten Jears Old When JFK Was Assassinated...

...and LBJ became President. Since I was totally in awe of JFK, LBJ was always a poor substitute. I was glad when he decided not to run in 1968 - I was hoping for RFK to win, until he died. After that, I relucantly supported Hubert Humphrey.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

2. just a kid, but lived in Chicago....

I recall LBJ coming on TV and crying. I think he was announcing he wasnt going to run again.

Then there was the "LBJ Coloring Book", which I won at a parish carnival. It seems like it was this anti-Johnson political thing...about somone called "Baker" who was "Rolling in Dough". My parents and grandparents where really upset about this as they where staunch Democrats (wonder who that carny was who was giving these out as prizes)?

Anway, the "Sixties" was a pretty wild time to be a kid in Chicago...all kinds of exciting things going on in the news, and just down the street (depending on your neighborhood).

[Killarney]

3. The History Channel had a good one on him.

They may have it on video at your library. You can check out the history channel website maybe.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. LBJ's "war on poverty" was a good thing ...medicare, head start and.......

johnson created the "great society" -- to end poverty, promote equality, improve education, rejuvenate cities, and protect the environment .....to bad he fucked up by escalating the war..

johnson declared a "War on Poverty" as central to building the in 1960, despite the prosperity of the times, almost one-quarter of all american families were living below the poverty line and technological advances in industry were also changing job requirements for workers. good-paying, unskilled jobs of the past were disappearing (sounds familiar) and those without education and skills were being left behind. the economic opportunity act in 64 tried to give people tools to get out of poverty. the bill created a job corps similar to FDR's "new deal civilian conservation corps" and a domestic peace corps, a system for vocational training, and head start....the bill also funded community action programs.

after his landslide re-election in 64 johnson created medicare to provide health care for america's senior citizens. along with Medicare, the Johnson established the Medicaid program to provide health care to the poor.

education reform was an important part of johnson's great society, and a particular passion of john gardner's (secretary of health, education, and welfare). in 1964, 8 million adult americans had less than grade 5 education......20 million plus had not finished 8th grade and almost a 4th of the nation's population,(54 million)never finished high school. In 1965 the government for the first time provided federal funding for education below the college level and provided financial assistance to students wishing to attend college.

urban renewal and conservation was the third major component of the great society. housing and urban development act of 1965 that established HUD and expanded funding for public housing. he provided aid to cities to rebuild blighted areas. johnson's ambitions for a "great society" were checked by his ambitions in vietnam. the cost of the war in vietnam along with the costs of his domestic programs strained the economy....

he did a lot of good for the ameroican people too bad he was also a fucking warhawk! <sigh>

[central scrutinizer]

5. much of the core civil rights legislation was enacted 1964-68

but I don't remember whether it was LBJ or Congress leading the way. I did shake his hand in 1966 - I was a high school student attending a national conference sponsored by Lady Bird on beautifying America and we were having lunch on the White House lawn when LBJ came out and pressed the flesh.

[WI_DEM]

6. to his credit

LBJ led the way on civil rights once he became president.

[JayS]

7. Be sure and check out George Parr and the infamous...

...Box 13. :)

http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=672

BALLOT BOX THIRTEEN The last vestiges of the Dukedom of Duval were laid to rest when Archer Parr, former Duval County Judge, died on November 2. His death may also mean the loss, once and for all, of the secret of Ballot Box 13, the infamous "missing" South Texas ballot box, which many believe allowed LBJ to steal the 1948 election that put him in the U.S. Senate and rescued his flagging political career. Like other family members, Archer Parr had an uneasy acquaintance with the law, serving three years of a ten-year federal sentence on charges related to mail fraud. In 1978 he was convicted for stealing county equipment and services and given ten years' probation.

But the convictions were minor parts of the family history, compared to the family's legacy as political bosses in South Texas. His grandfather, State Senator Archie Parr, ran a legendary South Texas political machine. Upon Archie's death in 1942, his son George took over the family political business, despite a conviction for tax evasion in the Thirties. That was cleaned up a little later, when Harry Truman granted George a presidential pardon. Truman’s benevolence was a fortunate turn of events for LBJ, because George went on to become County Judge in Duval County. Judge Parr was running the county when, in 1948, Lyndon Johnson won his senate seat, beating Coke Stevenson only after 202 missing votes were found in Box 13 (which was actually just over the county line, in Jim Wells County, but well within the powerful Parr family fiefdom). The Parrs were said to have "taken an interest" in the electoral outcome. George Parr continued to rule the politics of the county until 1975, when, faced with yet more federal charges, he committed suicide. His nephew Archer had been serving as County Judge since 1959. Archer would have stepped into his uncle's shoes as county boss were it not for the inconvenience of his conviction that same year.

[ThomWV]

8. I was in Viet Nam

During the Elected part of his Presidency, and of course I was a late teenager when he so tragiclly came to office.

You know, I never gave a second thought to who was President when I was a young fool in the Army (1966-1970) other than my virst vote for President was for a Democrat, as has every vote since.

Thom