Lyndon Baines Johnson Day in Texas Date in the current year: August 27, 2024

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 on a small farm near Stonewall, Texas. Having graduated from the Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University), he worked as a high school teacher for some time, but decided to embark on a political career when Representative Richard M. Kleberg offered him the position of his legislative secretary. Johnson ended up performing many of Kleberg’s day-to-day duties, since Kleberg wasn’t particularly interested in them and delegated them to Johnson.

Following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1933, Johnson became a staunch supporter of his New Deal program. Around that time, Johnson was elected speaker of the so-called “Little Congress” consisting of Congressional aides. It enabled him to get acquainted with Congressmen, lobbyists, and journalists. Among Johnson’s new friends were aides to President Roosevelt, as well as Congressman Sam Rayburn and Vice President John Nance Garner, both fellow Texas natives.

In 1935, Johnson was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration. He held the post for two years before resigning to run for Congress, following the death of Texas Representative James P. Buchanan. He won the election and served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1949. In 1941, Johnson was called to active duty and served in the Navy until July 1942.

In 1948, Johnson ran for Senate and won the election, defeating the Republican candidate Homa J. Porter. He was re-elected in 1954 and became majority leader. Thanks to Johnson’s success in the Senate, he was increasingly spoken of as a potential Democratic presidential candidate.

Johnson indeed entered the 1960 presidential campaign as a write-in, bypassing primaries, but the Democratic convention eventually nominated John Kennedy. When Kennedy won the presidential election, Johnson was appointed Vice President. Following the assassination of John Kennedy, Johnson assumed the presidency; later, he won the 1964 presidential election and continued to serve.

Johnson named his domestic agenda the Great Society, since its main goal was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. During his tenure, President Johnson expanded civil rights (which included the adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), lowered the top marginal income tax rate by 20%, introduced Medicare and Medicaid, provided aid to education and the arts, promoted urban and rural development, and more. On the other hand, it was Johnson who escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War.

By the end of his term, Johnson had lost control of the Democratic Party. Despite being the early frontrunner for the nomination in the 1968 presidential election, he withdrew from the race. After leaving the presidency, Johnson spent his final years at his ranch in Texas, where he died of a massive heart attack on January 22, 1973.

Following Johnson’s death, the Texas State Legislature declared his birthday a legal state holiday. Despite the official statures of Lyndon B. Johnson Day, it is optional for state employees, and state offices remain open.