LBJ’s Personality

772 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Lyndon b Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson, otherwise known as LBJ, was an egotistical senator, president, and life long politician. LBJ was born in Stonewall, Texas to a family where he felt neglected for most of his childhood. That shaped LBJ into the man he was. Always in need of fellowship, LBJ found himself working hard, trying to be the best at everything. As a result, he wanted to outdo every politician America had ever seen. It did not stop there, LBJ also wanted to be known as the greatest politician in the history of the United States. Throughout LBJ’s career, he did have many successes, but also many failures, which mostly stemmed from his outlandish personality.
LBJ’s strive to be a world class politician had to start somewhere. After serving in the House of Representatives for a full six-year term, he went on to the next step, becoming a senator. On a highly debatable victory, LBJ found himself a United States Senator for the state of Texas in 1949. The senate complimented LBJ’s personality because it was based off of personal relationships, something he excelled at. LBJ was a people’s person; he liked to please people, but if someone tried to go against him, he would slam them to the ground. It was a form of passive aggressive political hardball that LBJ was famous for. He took advantage of it all, which steered him to become the Majority Leader in 1955. A few months after assuming the position of Majority Leader, LBJ’s personality and habits affected him fatally; he suffered a severe heart attack. Many believe his heart attack was due to the amount of stress he was under, along with his tobacco addiction. One of LBJ’s major problems was that he could never relax and could never stop thinking about politics. It essentially was his entir...

... middle of paper ...

... LBJ’s career, his egotistical personality caused his successes and his failures. Because LBJ always wanted to be the best, he would not accept failure, which lead to the Americans hating him during the Vietnam War because they also did not want to accept failure. He did not want to be the first president to lose a war, especially a war that he did not start. Overall, LBJ was not given a fair hand inheriting a war he did not start, a war that was sure to cause the downfall of anyone. Although his personality failed him in that aspect of his career, it helped him earlier on in becoming a successful Senator, creating a promising civil rights bill, and everything else leading up until his re-election and Vietnam. LBJ was solid throughout his career, but when it came down to the pressure situation, he struck out, and unfortunately, he will mostly be remembered for that.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theodore Roosevelt stepped into head of office on September 19, 1901 when President William McKinley was assassinated. He was the youngest man to become president. His motto was “speak softly but carry a big stick.” President Roosevelt would come into power offering America the square deal. He would take the power away from the industrialists as he controlled big business from the White House. He would soon become known as a TrustBuster. Roosevelt used American power for American interests and was quoted as saying, “I am an American first and last. “ Although some historians argue that Roosevelt acted like a six-year-old throughout his presidency and that he didn’t think things through, ie “he thought with his hips”, one can admire the tremendous leadership qualities that Teddy Roosevelt had. First, he was a very bold man who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. The average citizen was aware of what a “positive, warm and tough, authoritative and funny” president that they had leading them. His leadership qualities stemmed from his time as a New York state Assembly man, a deputy sheriff, a ...

    Read More

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Presidency

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Still, Roosevelt's historical reputation is deservedly high. In attacking the Great Depression he did much to develop a partial welfare state in the United States and to make the federal government an agent of social and economic reform. His administration indirectly encouraged the rise of organized labor and greatly invigorated the Democratic party. His foreign policies, while occasionally devious, were shrewd enough to sustain domestic unity and the allied coalition in World War II. Roosevelt was a president of stature.

    Read More

  • John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were elected to Congress in 46, a year in which the New Deal took a serious beating as the Republicans regained control of Congress on the slogan Had Enough? Nixon of course, had campaigned against incumbent Jerry Voorhis on an anti-New Deal platform, but it's often forgotten that when JFK first ran for the House in 1946, he differentiated himself from his Democratic primary opposition by describing himself as a fighting conservative. In private, Kennedy's antipathy to the traditional FDR New Deal was even more extensive. When Kennedy and Nixon were sworn in on the same day, both were already outspoken on the subject of the emerging Cold War. While running for office in 1946, Kennedy proudly told a radio audience of how he had lashed out against a left-wing group of Young Democrats for being naive on the subject of the Soviet Union, and how he had also attacked the emerging radical faction headed by Henry Wallace. Thus, when Kennedy entered the House, he was anything but progressive in his views of either domestic or foreign policy. It didn't take long for these two to form a friendship. Both were Navy men who had served in the South Pacific, and both saw themselves as occupying the vital center of their parties. Just as JFK lashed out against the New Deal and the radical wing of the Democratic party, so too did Richard Nixon distance himself from the right-wing of the Republican party. Nixon's support of Harry Truman's creation of NATO and the aid packages to Greece and Turkey meant rejecting the old guard isolationist bent of the conservative wing that had been embodied in Mr. Republican Senator Robert Taft. Indeed, when it came time for Nixon to back a nominee in 1948, his support went to the more centrist Thomas E. Dewey, and not to the conservative Taft. Kennedy decided to go into politics mainly because of the influence of his father. Joe Kennedy, Jr. had been killed in the European arena of World War II and so the political ambitions of the family got placed on the shoulders of John. Nixon, however, got involved in politics by chance. While celebrating the end of the war in New York, he received a telegram from an old family friend indicating that they needed someone to run against the Democrat Jerry Voorhis.

    Read More

  • Rankings of Presidents Based on Domestic Policy and Foreign Policy

    3331 Words  | 7 Pages

    United States Senate. “Lyndon Baines Johnson.” U.S. & Senate: Art and History. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Lyndon_Johnson.htm (accessed May 2, 2014).

    Read More

  • LBJ's Great Society

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded the presidency after John F. Kennedy's assassination he spoke of his vision of a Great Society in America. This Great Society included "an end to poverty and racial injustice," and also was intended to turn America into a place where kids can enhance their mind, broaden their talents, and people could restore their connection with the environment. In order to reach his goal, LBJ enacted numerous proposals involving taxes, civil rights, poverty, and much more. For the most part Johnson did an excellent job on delivering his promises, but international affairs threatened the Great Society and although LBJ won the presidency in a landslide victory in 1964, by 1966 he and the Supreme Court began to face serious criticism.

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Dbq Essay

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lyndon Johnson was a teacher at WElhusen Elementary School in Coltulla Texas. During this time he seen that the children's parents are giving them all they can, an they are hardworking people. Having money, eating, and learning was difficulties to them at this time, but the Civil Rights Acts guarnteed all Americans the right to use the facilties. The White House wasn't LBJ's the natural habbit, he wasn't used to the luxary. Texas is a long from way from the White House, and their attitude was a lot different than he was used to. Johnson put in a lot of effort to changing things in American.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of President Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt Vs. Roosevelt

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    He drove politics by using his personality to get what he wanted accomplished. First, he went after America’s greatest evil, too much power in the hands of corporate America. He felt that the industrialist, like JP Morgan, held too much power. Teddy took on the industrialist; he sued the Northern Security’s corporation; he wanted to halt the monopolization of the Western Railways. Teddy won his case in the Supreme Court.

    Read More

  • Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism

    352 Words  | 1 Pages

    This brief biography of Lyndon Johnson outlined his life beginning in rural Texas and followed the ups and downs of his political career. It discusses his liberal, "active government" mentality and its implications on both domestic and foreign issues. Johnson was obviously a man who knew how to get things done but his "under the table" methods are brought into question in this book, although, in my opinion, Schulman presents a fairly positive portrayal of LBJ.

    Read More

  • Andrew Johnson - A Short Analysis

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Andrew Johnson lifted himself out of extreme poverty to become President of the United States. He was a man with little education who climbed the political ladder and held many different high offices. As a strict constitutionalist, Johnson believed in limiting the powers of the federal government. President Johnson was one of the most bellicose Presidents who “fought” Congress, critics, and many others. President Andrew Johnson faced numerous problems post-Civil War Era including reconstructing the Southern states to combine peacefully with the Union, his battles with Congress, and his career ending impeachment.

    Read More

  • Lyndon B Johnson Argumentative Essay

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, is not one of the most well-known presidents to have ever served in office though he did do some good things during his presidency. The vice president’s journey to the presidency began after the assassination of the beloved president, John F. Kennedy. Before serving as president, he was the youngest Senator to ever serve as a majority leader and he sat in the House of Representatives. Although Johnson served two terms as president, he only ran in one election because of the death of Kennedy. However, the one election he ran in, he won in by a landslide (Ridings & Melver 231). Lyndon B Johnson, the Democratic president, who served from 1963-1969, might have been infamous for the decisions he made during the Vietnam War, but his Great Society and Civil Rights Act helped shape the nation in a good way.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Compare And Contrast Essay

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    But for the majority of the country during one of our toughest times, he was what we needed. Without consulting history, it’s impossible to judge what he did very negatively. The old ways weren’t working, and while President Hoover tried to do something, it wasn’t enough. President Roosevelt was more successful with the actions he took for relief during the Great Depression. References: EyeWitness History editors.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction Reagan, Ronald Wilson (1911- ),the 40th president of the United States (1981-1989), enforced the policies that reversed a general direction of movement toward greater government involvement in economic and social regulation. Reagan as the younger of two sons, was born in Tampico, Illinois and spent most of his childhood in Dixon, Illinois. After studying at Eureka College,a small Disciples of Christ college near Peoria, Illinois, he majored in economics, and became the president of the student body, a member of the football team, and captain of the swimming team. He had special drawings toward acting, but after the graduation in 1932 the only job available related to show business was as a local radio sportscaster. In 1936 he became a sportscaster for station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. A year latter, Reagan went to Hollywood and began an acting career that spanned more than 25 years. He played in more than 50 films, including "Knute Rockne"-All American (1940), "King's Row" (1942), and "Bedtime for Bonzo" (1951). Early political career Reagan's first political activities were associated with his responsibilities as a union leader. As union president, Reagan tried to remove suspected Communists from the movie industry. When the U.S. House Committee. Began an investigation in 1947 on the influence of Communists in the film industry, Reagan took a strong anti-Communist stand testifying before the committee. Reagan emerged on the national political scene in 1964 when he made fervent television speech supports for the Republican presidential candidate, United States Senator Barry Goldwater from Arizona. Although the election was lost, Reagan's speech brought in money and admiration from Republicans around the country. After the speech a group of Republicans in California persuaded Reagan to run for governor of California in 1966. Reagan appealed to traditional Republican voters. He defeated Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, Sr., Democrat, by almost a million votes. The election of 1980 Reagan spent years making political friends at party fund-raising dinners around the country. In the election of 1980 for the president, the candidates were Carter and Reagan. The contrast between the television personalities of two candidates was very important to people. Carter’s nervous manner had never been popular to people, while Reagan’s charm and happy face was a call for return to patriotism, which appealed to the public. Many voters believed that Reagan was forceful leader who could get their lives in shape and who could restore prosperity at home.

    Read More

  • Influential People during the Industrial Revolution

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Theodore Roosevelt rose to his power of influence over the course of many years. It started off during the Spanish-American war, when he commanded a group of volunteer cavalry known as the Rough Riders. From his triumphs in at the Battle of San Juan Hill and the rest of the war, Roosevelt’s popularity quickly escalated. Shortly thereafter, he became the governor of New York. The Republican Party, however, grew quickly concerned with Roosevelt’s ascension to both fame and power. This was entirely due to the fact that Roosevelt had a very different...

    Read More

  • Biography of Theodore Roosevelt

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City, New York. He was always as hard worker but after his father died during his second year at Harvard, which only inspired him to work even harder and continue on to a law degree at Columbia University. He was soon married to Alice Hathaway Lee, a woman from Massachusetts, and began to enter the realm of politics. Roosevelt was rising as a young new political star until one day, February 14, 1884, his wife, Alice died of Bright’s disease, and his mother died of typhoid. This saddened Roosevelt greatly, he moved to the Dakota Territory for two years and becoming a rancher and cattle driver then returning to politics in a big way when he returned. Although he lost the race for the mayor of New York City, he soon started an elite group known as the Roughriders becoming a war hero in the battle of and becoming the Governor of New York. He soon remarried to Edith Carow in 1886, with which he had several children. Teddy was elected as President William McKinley’s Vice President and after McKinley’s re-election and assassination in 1901, Roosevelt became the youngest President in the nations history. Many of the changes he made in his presidency are still clear to see today in everyday life. One of his first big initiatives was called the “Square Deal.” This deal helped to end the strikes going on around...

    Read More

  • The Controversy of Andrew Jackson

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrew Jackson was a controversial man. He was greatly admired by many, but despised by others. Andrew Jackson was raised by his father and also lived along with his brother. His mother died shortly after giving birth. He grew up poor and right in the mist of the American Revolution. He fought in the Revolutionary War at thirteen years of age. He went on to become a lawyer and then moved to Tennessee where in met his wife. Later in life he became a delegate or the Tennessee Constitutional Convention, then a United States representative, followed by serving as a Tennessee senator. He later became a judge of Tennessee superior court. He then became a major general for Tennessee militia where he wins over many of the colonist at the victory of the New Orleans war. He becomes a great conqueror in the eyes of Americans people. However, high class people do not appreciate his unruly attitudes. Then it all comes down to the presidency. How he received the honor, what he did with it, and what people thought about his actions.

    Read More

More about LBJ’s Personality

Open Document