LBJ Time Machine
March 1, 1967. 3:04 PM. An irritated LBJ complains to Sen. Richard Russell about a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s in which he proposed a bombing halt in Vietnam. Referring to the Tet bombing pause of last month, LBJ says:
“Now we just finished doing that.. I don’t know where in the hell he was.”
March 2, 1966. An amendment to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin resolution is defeated in the Senate, 95-5. The amendment had been submitted by Wayne Morse, a Democrat from Oregon who (along with Alaska senator Ernest Gruening) had been one of two No votes on the Resolution in 1964. According to Vice President Humphrey, LBJ didn’t hold his Vietnam position against Morse:
“…But every Thursday Morse would get up in the Senate and say he was going to impeach Johnson over the weekend. And Johnson would still call him up and ask him to come over to the White House. he never mentioned his attacks.
“Because he knew that after Wayne’s attack on Thursdays, and this went on for months, years, Wayne would be back the next Monday and give a rip-roaring speech on the Senate floor about Johnson’s great domestic programs.
“Then it would come Thursday again, and Wayne would want to impeach him again. “
— Hubert Humphrey, in Merle Miller, Lyndon: An Oral Biography. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1980, p. 460. More on Wayne Morse here. Photo from Senate.gov.
February 1966. Senator J. William Fulbright, a Democrat from Arkansas, begins hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which he is Chairman. Fulbright had voted in favor of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, as had all but two Senators, but he has since declared doubts. Listen here to LBJ speaking to Larry O’Brien about Fulbright on February 5.
Above: Fulbright and LBJ look at art together in happier times, at the White House Arts Festival in 1965. They are looking at (Squaring the Circle) by Richard Anuszkiewicz.
January 1966. As Congress reconvenes for the second half of its session, most Americans have a favorable view of their legislators and of the federal government in general. According to a Harris poll, the approval rating for Congress is at 71 percent:
“‘It is evident that many of last year’s most controversial measures [including laws on immigration, voting rights, higher education, elementary and secondary education, and Medicare] have been accepted and even become popular….In fact, Congress has impressed the people so much that it is more popular than the president—four points higher than the chief executive’s last recorded positive rating of 67 percent.’
Lyndon frequently read that poll aloud to anyone who could not escape, leaving out the paragraph comparing his popularity and that of Congress, unless, of course, he was reading the poll to a member of Congress.”
—Merle Miller, Lyndon: An Oral Biography. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1980, p. 453
October 15, 1964. LBJ campaigns with RFK across New York. The former Attorney General is campaigning to be elected Senator from New York against Kenneth Keating.
According to his memoir The Vantage Point, LBJ encouraged and assisted Kennedy both out of loyalty to JFK and because he though Bobby would make a good Senator. Adlai Stevenson had also decided to try for the nomination, but when LBJ threw his weight behind RFK, Stevenson dropped out.
LBJ Library photos 415-181-WH64 and 415-139-WH64. Public domain.
March 5, 1960. Aide George Reedy writes a memo on strategy for the presidential nomination. LBJ cannot beat JFK in the primaries, but if JFK comes to the convention with not quite enough delegates, the convention might turn to someone else —LBJ!— if he maintains his status as a national leader, not a sectional candidate.
Therefore LBJ’s performance in Congress, solving national issues, is of utmost importance. Above, LBJ views the interior of a TIROS satellite with William G. Stroud of NASA. LBJ worked hard to obtain funds for space exploration, including the creation of NASA.
LBJ Library photo 60-4-3. Use free with a credit to Frank Muto.
August 7, 1957. The Senate passes the first civil rights bill in 82 years (Civil Rights Act of 1957), under the direction of LBJ. Five southerners break tradition and vote for the bill: LBJ, Yarborough, Kefauver, Gore and Smathers.
Sixteen civil rights groups issued a statement saying, “Disappointing as the Senate version is, the bill does contain some potential good.” They urged passage of the bill in hopes that it will be improved in conference with the House.
December, 1956. Senators John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey both announce their support for LBJ as Democratic floor leader. Kennedy says,
“We can achieve more progressive legislation united behind our present congressional leader than under any alternative choice.”
His words are interpreted as a slap at the Americans for Democratic Action, which suggested LBJ resign his leadership position because Texas had “dragged its feet” in supporting Stevenson and Kefauver in the previous election.
Above: JFK in his Senate office, in 1959 (via the Kennedy Library); Humphrey (2nd from right) at the State DFL Convention, Brainerd, MN (via the Minnesota Historical Society).
March 12, 1956. 101 southern congressmen (19 senators and 82 representatives) sign the Southern Manifesto to Congress, the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles.”
The manifesto is a response to the Supreme Court’s decision of May 31, 1955, which implements the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, above, that declared segregated schools unconstitutional. The Southern Manifesto criticizes the Supreme Court desegregation decision and pledges to overturn it by lawful means.
LBJ and Sam Rayburn did not sign the manifesto. LBJ reports that he has neither seen the document nor has he been asked to sign it. He says it is a statement issued by individual senators and concludes his comments by saying,
“In my opinion, the solution of the problem cannot be found on the federal level, for it involves basic values reflected in the sovereignty of the states. It’s my hope that wise leaders on the local levels will work to resolve these differences.”
January 4, 1955. LBJ is elected Senate Majority Leader.
Above is a sofa (1970.21.16) used by LBJ during this period. LBJ was known to work long hours and spend many a late night on this obliging couch. At over 7 feet long, it was one of the few sofas that could fit his 6’3” frame. It is now in our museum.
April 11, 1951. President Truman removes General Douglas MacArthur from his position as Commander in Chief of United Nations Forces in Korea. The photo above (via National Archives) was taken from 15 miles north of the 38th parallel about a week before his removal.
On April 19 MacArthur makes a dramatic speech before a joint session of Congress. Closed hearings into the firing will be conducted jointly by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.
On April 26, LBJ, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, writes H.L. Hunt that he has been receiving as many as 4,000 letters a day on MacArthur’s removal. The two committees will begin the joint hearings on the incident on May 3 with MacArthur as the principal witness. LBJ has met MacArthur before.
January, 1951. LBJ is elected Democratic whip, President Truman delivers his State of the Union address, and Luci and Lynda host a birthday party for Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn.
Meanwhile, the Air Force calls up 150,000 reserves and National Guard forces to active duty, and gives Congress the choice of drafting 18 year-olds or fathers and non-veterans ages 19-25. The Korean War, which had begun on June 25, 1950 as a United Nation’s “police action” in the wake of North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, was now a significant issue in American politics.
Photos via the Department of the Navy’s Naval Historical Center. Public domain.
March 9, 1949: LBJ gives his first speech in the Senate, “Unlimited Debate: The Defense of Reason.” Mrs. Johnson and Mary Rather are in attendance in the gallery.
The speech is part of a filibuster designed to block changes to Senate Rule XXII, the rule that allows for a small minority of Senators to block legislation through the filibuster. More on filibusters here.
LBJ had his speech published and bound for distribution, and we now have this copy in our archives.
We are working like dogs, the mail is terrifically heavy and the visitors make Room 231 look like Grand Central Station. Really there have been over 500 people through the office since January 1st. It has reached the point where you can’t even get to your own desk, much less do any work. God, it has been awful. Maybe it will simmer down though, and we can start trying to get some effective work done.
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