Photo Galleries (1)
-
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson(19 Photos)
19 Photos
See pictures from the life and presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Videos (12)
-
LBJ: Before the War on Poverty
LBJ: Before the War on PovertyVideo Clip (2:15)
Video Clip (2:15)
LBJ spent time after college teaching impoverished Mexican-American immigrants on the border of Texas and Mexico, an experience that shaped his personality and presidential ambitions.
-
Lyndon Johnson's Presidential Legacy
Lyndon Johnson's Presidential LegacyVideo Clip (4:06)
Video Clip (4:06)
Lyndon Johnson's presidency is remembered in part for his handling of the Vietnam War, but he also advanced civil rights and equality throughout the nation.
-
LBJ: Gulf of Tonkin Incident
LBJ: Gulf of Tonkin IncidentVideo Clip (3:49)
Video Clip (3:49)
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was the result of mounting tensions between the U.S. and North Vietnam.
-
White House Christmas
White House ChristmasVideo Clip (0:45)
Video Clip (0:45)
Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson celebrate Christmas morning at the White House in 1968.
-
Johnson Buries Goldwater
Johnson Buries GoldwaterVideo Clip (1:43)
Video Clip (1:43)
Lyndon Johnson beats Barry Goldwater for Presidential election in 1964.
-
The Daisy Ad
The Daisy AdVideo Clip (3:02)
Video Clip (3:02)
The Daisy Ad, run for the first and last time on September 7th, 1964, but its impact was immeasurable. Political advertising was never the same.
-
Johnson Says He Won't Run
Johnson Says He Won't RunVideo Clip (1:42)
Video Clip (1:42)
In a History Uncut video, President Lyndon B. Johnson confidently gives his resignation speech as he steps down from the office of the presidency on March 31st of 1968.
-
History Uncut: Ladybird Johnson
History Uncut: Ladybird JohnsonVideo Clip (0:49)
Video Clip (0:49)
See footage of former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson at the White House Fair in this video clip form 'History Uncut'.
-
Ladybird Johnson Enjoys White House Fair
Ladybird Johnson Enjoys White House FairVideo Clip (0:50)
Video Clip (0:50)
In a History Uncut video, see footage of President Lyndon B. Johnson's wife, Ladybird Johnson, enjoying herself at a fair at the White House in 1967.
-
Lyndon Johnson's Management Style
Lyndon Johnson's Management StyleVideo Clip (3:00)
Video Clip (3:00)
When he took office following JFK's death, President Johnson's unique approach took some in the White House by surprise.
-
Ask Steve: Why Vietnam War Dragged On
Ask Steve: Why Vietnam War Dragged OnVideo Clip (1:23)
Video Clip (1:23)
In this video from Ask Steve, the reason for the continuation of the unpopular Vietnam War is discussed. The question of why the war continued for five years after the public turned against it in 1968 is under review.
-
Deconstructing History: White House
Deconstructing History: White HouseVideo Clip (1:35)
Video Clip (1:35)
It may not have been home to the president until 1800 or even called the White House until 1901, but it remains a symbol of freedom and democracy throughout the world.
Speeches & Audio (30)
-
Johnson Takes Oath of Office Aboard Air Force One
Johnson Takes Oath of Office Aboard Air Force OneAudio Clip (0:34)
Audio Clip (0:34)
Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States aboard Air Force One before the plane leaves Dallas for Washington, D.C.
-
Lyndon Johnson's Inaugural Address
Lyndon Johnson's Inaugural AddressAudio Clip (2:02)
Audio Clip (2:02)
On January 20, 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson began his first elected term as president of the United States. In his inaugural address, Johnson calls for the nation to unite toward a common goal.
-
Johnson Will Not Seek Reelection
Johnson Will Not Seek ReelectionAudio Clip (0:38)
Audio Clip (0:38)
Facing a country sharply divided over the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces in a national television and radio broadcast on March 31, 1968, that he will not seek reelection to the presidency.
-
Lyndon Johnson Phones Jacqueline Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson Phones Jacqueline KennedyAudio Clip (2:01)
Audio Clip (2:01)
In a December 2, 1963, recorded telephone conversation, President Lyndon B. Johnson expresses his fondness for former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on the eve of her departure from the White House following the assassination of President Kennedy.
-
Johnson Declares Day of Mourning for JFK
Johnson Declares Day of Mourning for JFKAudio Clip (2:49)
Audio Clip (2:49)
On November 23, President Johnson issued his proclamation, declaring November 25 to be a day of national mourning for President Kennedy.
-
McNamara Briefs President Johnson on Tonkin Gulf
McNamara Briefs President Johnson on Tonkin GulfAudio Clip (1:00)
Audio Clip (1:00)
On August 4, 1964, as events in the Tonkin Gulf unfold, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara apprised President Lyndon B. Johnson of the situation in a series of phone calls. In the third secretly recorded phone call of the day, McNamara reports that two U.S. destroyers deployed in the Gulf east of Vietnam are under attack. While McNamara did not know it at the time, the information he relayed was later determined to be false.
-
Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in Vietnam
Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in VietnamAudio Clip (5:02)
Audio Clip (5:02)
In June 1965, shortly after a coup in South Vietnam led to the 10th change of government in the war torn country, an attack by the North Vietnamese destroyed three U.S. aircraft at Danang. During a recorded telephone conversation with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara on July 2, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson contemplates whether the war can be won.
-
Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara Plan Airstrikes in Vietnam
Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara Plan Airstrikes in VietnamAudio Clip (3:31)
Audio Clip (3:31)
In a recorded phone call on February 26, 1965, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson discuss possible airstrikes in Vietnam.
-
LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North Vietnam
LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North VietnamAudio Clip (1:16)
Audio Clip (1:16)
In a broadcast from the White House on January 31, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson informs the nation that U.S. airstrikes on Vietnam have resumed after a 37-day pause in bombing.
-
Lyndon Johnson Expresses Doubts About Vietnam War
Lyndon Johnson Expresses Doubts About Vietnam WarAudio Clip (1:13)
Audio Clip (1:13)
Speaking to his special assistant for national security, McGeorge Bundy, in a May 27, 1964, recorded telephone conversation, President Lyndon B. Johnson expresses his worry that the war in Vietnam is turning into another Korea.
-
Johnson Introduces "Great Society"
Johnson Introduces "Great Society"Audio Clip (2:54)
Audio Clip (2:54)
In a speech presented at the University of Michigan on May 22, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlines his vision of a "Great Society," which includes the ideas that will later become programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start.
-
Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964Audio Clip (3:44)
Audio Clip (3:44)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education, and outlawed segregation in public facilities.
-
Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights Act
Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights ActAudio Clip (4:41)
Audio Clip (4:41)
On August 6, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. In a speech delivered at the signing ceremony, Johnson describes the historic day as a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory won on any battlefield.
-
Johnson Signs Medicare Bill Into Law
Johnson Signs Medicare Bill Into LawAudio Clip (1:52)
Audio Clip (1:52)
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson joined former President Harry Truman in Independence, Missouri, to sign the Medicare Bill into law. In his remarks following the signing of the document, President Johnson credits Presidents FDR and Truman with paving the way for the bill.
-
Lyndon Johnson on Missing Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson on Missing Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (3:00)
Audio Clip (3:00)
On June 23, 1964, two days after three civil rights workers disappeared in Mississippi, President Lyndon B. Johnson telephones Senator James Eastland for help with the matter, but Eastland denies trouble and declares the event a publicity stunt.
-
Lyndon Johnson Gets News About Missing Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson Gets News About Missing Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (4:00)
Audio Clip (4:00)
On June 23, 1964, the burned car of three missing civil rights workers who had disappeared in Mississippi —James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman—was discovered. In a recorded phone call later that day, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover delivers the news to President Lyndon B. Johnson. While Johnson holds out hope that the three men may still be alive, Hoover suspects the worst.
-
Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (1:33)
Audio Clip (1:33)
On August 4, 1964, in a recorded phone call, FBI Deputy Director Cartha “Deke” DeLoach informs President Lyndon B. Johnson that the bodies of the three civil rights workers who had been missing in Mississippi since June 21, 1964, have been found.
-
Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (0:59)
Audio Clip (0:59)
After receiving news that the bodies of three missing civil rights workers were found in Mississippi on August 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson calls Civil Rights Counselor Lee White and asks him to inform the families of the victims.
-
Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights Worker
Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights WorkerAudio Clip (4:28)
Audio Clip (4:28)
On March 25, 1965, Viola Gregg Liuzzo was murdered in Selma, Alabama. The following day, President Lyndon Johnson announces on national radio and television the capture of her killers.
-
Lady Bird Johnson Critiques the President
Lady Bird Johnson Critiques the PresidentAudio Clip (2:30)
Audio Clip (2:30)
President Lyndon B. Johnson holds a press conference on March 7, 1964, and takes questions on a range of topics, from the pending civil rights bill to the war in Vietnam. Afterward, in a recorded conversation with the president, Lady Bird Johnson evaluates her husband’s performance and awards him a “B+.”
-
Lyndon Johnson Lifts Dog by Ears
Lyndon Johnson Lifts Dog by EarsAudio Clip (2:23)
Audio Clip (2:23)
When President Lyndon Johnson lifted his beagle, Him, by its ears to pose for an A.P. photographer, he set off a nationwide barrage of protests from animal lovers. In this April 29, 1964, telephone call with Senator Mike Mansfield, Johnson briefly discusses the civil rights bill, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate, then complains about how Senator Everett Dirksen is focusing on the incident with the dog.
-
Johnson Delivers State of the Union
Johnson Delivers State of the UnionAudio Clip (1:22)
Audio Clip (1:22)
During his State of the Union address on January 4, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson outlines his proposal for domestic legislation aimed at creating what he calls the "Great Society."
-
Death of Former President Lyndon Johnson
Death of Former President Lyndon JohnsonAudio Clip (1:37)
Audio Clip (1:37)
A special White House correspondence describes President Nixon's reaction to the news of Lyndon Johnson's death. LBJ died of a heart attack on January 22, 1973, less than one week before the Vietnam peace agreement was signed.
-
LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Audio Clip (1:39)
Audio Clip (1:39)
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper while standing outside his hotel room in Memphis. After attending a memorial service the next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation about the tragedy in a broadcast from the White House.
-
Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican Republic
Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican RepublicAudio Clip (1:18)
Audio Clip (1:18)
In a broadcast from the White House on April 28, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson reads a statement to the nation on his decision to deploy U.S. troops to the Dominican Republic. U.S. Marines were ordered to safely evacuate Americans from the Caribbean country, where internal fighting could not be contained.
-
Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell
Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton PowellAudio Clip (2:29)
Audio Clip (2:29)
In a heated telephone conversation on March 1, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson accuses Adam Clayton Powell of holding up the passage of an education bill.
-
Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's Arm
Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's ArmAudio Clip (3:30)
Audio Clip (3:30)
In early 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to pass an excise tax bill, but, with two members of his party opposing, the bill was likely to die in the Senate. In a secretly recorded telephone call to Senator Abraham Ribicoff on January 23, Johnson is heard applying his power of persuasion.
-
Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator Hartke
Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator HartkeAudio Clip (1:45)
Audio Clip (1:45)
In a secretly recorded telephone conversation with Democratic Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana on January 23, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson pressures Hartke to vote for his excise tax bill, which is hung up in the Senate. On June 21, 1965, Johnson signed the Excise Tax Reduction Act into law.
-
LBJ Engages in First Satellite Conversation
LBJ Engages in First Satellite ConversationAudio Clip (1:03)
Audio Clip (1:03)
Shortly after its launch, AT&T Chairman Frederick Kappel, at Telstar headquarters in Andover, Maine, spoke with Vice President Lyndon Johnson in Washington in the first telephone conversation via satellite in history.
-
Johnson Runs for President in 1960
Johnson Runs for President in 1960Audio Clip (2:23)
Audio Clip (2:23)
After weeks of campaigning, Sen. Lyndon Johnson of Texas officially announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination at a press conference on July 5, 1960. But by July 14, after a poor first-ballot showing against Sen. John F. Kennedy, Johnson accepted a second-place role, becoming his former rival's running mate.
Most Popular Videos on History.com
-
America Divided
(3:54)
-
Caroline Dries: NYU Dorm
(3:26)
Newest Videos on History.com
-
Vietnam in HD Preview
(2:00)
-
Two For the Road
(1:48)
-
HISTORY says Thanks
(2:47)
Read More about Lyndon B. Johnson
The 36th U.S. president, Lyndon B. Johnson took office in 1963 and is remembered for his social reform measures.
GoShop HISTORY
-
The American Civil War DVD Set
Experience for yourself the historical and personal impact of the Civil War.
$81.99
Buy Now -
Civil War: Rebellion to Reconstruction DVD Set
Experience the turbulent events that ignited the bloodiest, most divisive war this country has known.
$53.99
Buy Now -
Swamp People Troy Mask
Want the ultimate Big Head? The Swamp People Troy Mask is for Cajuns and Cajuns at heart.
$44.99
Buy Now
Email Updates
Keep up with the latest History shows, online features, special offers and more.
Sign up
