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Although publicly posing as a Civil Rights hero, in private Johnson was—like most southern Democrats of the 1960s—a racist: When his sometime chauffeur, Robert Parker, told LBJ he’d prefer to be called by his name rather than "boy," "nigger" or "chief," Johnson replied, "As long as you are black, and you're gonna be black till the day you die, no one's gonna call you by your goddamn name. So no matter what you are called, nigger, you just let it roll off your back like water, and you’ll make it. Just pretend you’re a goddamn piece of furniture."<ref>Robert Parker and Richard L. Rashke, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=JKhpZMj8Z6wC Capitol Hill in Black and White]'' (Penguin Group, 1989), ISBN 0515101893, p. v.</ref>

Although publicly posing as a Civil Rights hero, in private Johnson was—like most southern Democrats of the 1960s—a racist: When his sometime chauffeur, Robert Parker, told LBJ he’d prefer to be called by his name rather than "boy," "nigger" or "chief," Johnson replied, "As long as you are black, and you're gonna be black till the day you die, no one's gonna call you by your goddamn name. So no matter what you are called, nigger, you just let it roll off your back like water, and you’ll make it. Just pretend you’re a goddamn piece of furniture."<ref>Robert Parker and Richard L. Rashke, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=JKhpZMj8Z6wC Capitol Hill in Black and White]'' (Penguin Group, 1989), ISBN 0515101893, p. v.</ref>

In his capacity as Majority Leader of the Senate, Johnson joined with [[Strom Thurmond]] to kill the Civil Rights Act of 1957. But when Senate Republicans re-introduced the bill, LBJ said, "I'm going to have to bring up the nigger bill again," according to LBJ's White House Special Counsel Harry McPherson.<ref>Michael L. Gillette, [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/mcpherson/mcpher06.pdf Transcript, Harry McPherson Oral History Interview VI], 5/16/85, LBJ Library, 16 May 1985.</ref> "Let's face it. Our ass is in a crack. We're gonna have to let this nigger bill pass," he told Senator John Stennis (D-MS), according to a Pulitzer Prize winning<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Biography-or-Autobiography Biography or Autobiography]. Past winners & finalists by category. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-03-24.</ref> biography.<ref>Caro, Robert A. (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U87rzAqVhbwC The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate, Volume 3]''. New York: Knopf. p. 954. ISBN 0394528360.</ref> According to Bancroft Prize winning<ref>[http://library.columbia.edu/about/awards/bancroft/previous_awards.html The Bancroft Prizes: Previous Awards]. The Columbia University Libraries/Information Services</ref> biographer Robert Dallek, he asked Senator Sam Rayburn (D-TX), "Sam, why don't you all let this nigger bill pass?"<ref>Dallek, Robert (1991). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=t_LjEJdaAiYC Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960]''. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 519. ISBN 0195054350.</ref> According to former Harvard historian and Johnson staffer Doris Kearns Goodwin, LBJ explained his position to Senator Richard Russell, Jr. (D-GA) thus:

In his capacity as Majority Leader of the Senate, Johnson joined with [[Strom Thurmond]] to kill the Civil Rights Act of 1957. But when Senate Republicans re-introduced the bill, LBJ said, "I'm going to have to bring up the nigger bill again," according to LBJ's White House Special Counsel Harry McPherson.<ref>Michael L. Gillette, [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/mcpherson/mcpher06.pdf Transcript, Harry McPherson Oral History Interview VI], 5/16/85, LBJ Library, 16 May 1985.</ref> "Let's face it. Our ass is in a crack. We're gonna have to let this nigger bill pass," he told Senator John Stennis (D-MS), according to a Pulitzer Prize winning<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Biography-or-Autobiography Biography or Autobiography]. Past winners & finalists by category. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-03-24.</ref> biography.<ref>Caro, Robert A. (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U87rzAqVhbwC The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate, Volume 3]''. New York: Knopf. p. 954. ISBN 0394528360.</ref> According to Bancroft Prize winning<ref>[http://library.columbia.edu/about/awards/bancroft/previous_awards.html The Bancroft Prizes: Previous Awards]. The Columbia University Libraries/Information Services</ref> biographer Robert Dallek, he asked Senator Sam Rayburn (D-TX), "Sam, why don't you all let this nigger bill pass?"<ref>Dallek, Robert (1991). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t_LjEJdaAiYC Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960]''. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 519. ISBN 0195054350.</ref> According to former Harvard historian and Johnson staffer Doris Kearns Goodwin, LBJ explained his position to Senator Richard Russell, Jr. (D-GA) thus:

{{cquote|These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.<ref>Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1977). [http://books.google.com/books?id=HS9aAAAAYAAJ Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream]. New York: New American Library. p. 155. ISBN 0451140826</ref>}}

{{cquote|These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.<ref>Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1977). [https://books.google.com/books?id=HS9aAAAAYAAJ Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream]. New York: New American Library. p. 155. ISBN 0451140826</ref>}}

Johnson saw to it that once the bill reached the Senate judiciary committee it was weakened enough to ensure passage, the first passed since Reconstruction. Johnson then took credit. He was a master at balancing the powerful southern wing of the Democratic party with the liberal northern and eastern wing. He would employ very effective tactics of persuasion with senators; including intimidation, flattery, threats and promises. Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president prior to the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 election]], but accepted the nomination for vice-president following Kennedy's nomination.

Johnson saw to it that once the bill reached the Senate judiciary committee it was weakened enough to ensure passage, the first passed since Reconstruction. Johnson then took credit. He was a master at balancing the powerful southern wing of the Democratic party with the liberal northern and eastern wing. He would employ very effective tactics of persuasion with senators; including intimidation, flattery, threats and promises. Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president prior to the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 election]], but accepted the nomination for vice-president following Kennedy's nomination.

==Presidency==

==Presidency==

{{see also|Great Society}}

{{see also|Great Society}}

Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the [[President of the United States of America|Office of the President]] just hours after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The [[Oath of Office]] took place aboard [[Air Force One]] just prior to the flight to [[Washington DC]] from [[Dallas]]. It was administered by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] (one of the first justices to hear and write the decision for [[Roe v. Wade]] in favor of [[abortion]]).<ref>University of North Texas Libraries, Sarah T. Hughes Collection, http://www.library.unt.edu/archives/historical-manuscripts/historical-manuscripts-exhibits/hughes/</ref> Also, since no Bible could be found aboard Air Force One, Johnson recited the oath with his hand on a [[Roman Catholic]] [[missal]] which had been in Kennedy's desk.<ref>New York Times, "After a Time of Tragedy, a Beginning Toward the 'Great Society,'" January 1973. Online at http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/04/12/specials/johnson-tragedy.html</ref> Largely because of the KGB's disinformation campaign shortly after the JFK assassination, Johnson was often believed by conspiracy theorists to have been the one who arranged for Kennedy's assassination to get into the presidency. However, declassified CIA documents in 2015 that dated back to the assassination revealed that Johnson learned from the CIA that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, had been getting visas for escape from the country via Cuba and the Soviet Union only three days after the assassination occurred, making this motive unlikely.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3237770/Declassified-CIA-memo-reveals-Lee-Harvey-Oswald-visited-embassies-Cuba-Soviet-Union-plot-escape-assassinating-John-F-Kennedy.html</ref>

Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the [[President of the United States of America|Office of the President]] just hours after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The [[Oath of Office]] took place aboard [[Air Force One]] just prior to the flight to [[Washington DC]] from [[Dallas]]. It was administered by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] (one of the first justices to hear and write the decision for [[Roe v. Wade]] in favor of [[abortion]]).<ref>University of North Texas Libraries, Sarah T. Hughes Collection, http://www.library.unt.edu/archives/historical-manuscripts/historical-manuscripts-exhibits/hughes/</ref> Also, since no Bible could be found aboard Air Force One, Johnson recited the oath with his hand on a [[Roman Catholic]] [[missal]] which had been in Kennedy's desk.<ref>New York Times, "After a Time of Tragedy, a Beginning Toward the 'Great Society,'" January 1973. Online at https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/04/12/specials/johnson-tragedy.html</ref> Largely because of the KGB's disinformation campaign shortly after the JFK assassination, Johnson was often believed by conspiracy theorists to have been the one who arranged for Kennedy's assassination to get into the presidency. However, declassified CIA documents in 2015 that dated back to the assassination revealed that Johnson learned from the CIA that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, had been getting visas for escape from the country via Cuba and the Soviet Union only three days after the assassination occurred, making this motive unlikely.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3237770/Declassified-CIA-memo-reveals-Lee-Harvey-Oswald-visited-embassies-Cuba-Soviet-Union-plot-escape-assassinating-John-F-Kennedy.html</ref>

As President, Johnson greatly expanded the federal government with his [[Great Society]] programs.  He played a key role in helping the [[civil rights movement]] win legislative victories, pushing for the adoption of the [[Civil Rights Act]] (1964), which outlawed segregation, and the [[Voting Rights Act]] (1965), which guaranteed African-Americans' right to vote. President Johnson's support for civil rights was purely partisan. Discussing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with two southern governors on Air Force One, LBJ stated, “I’ll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years,” according to Air Force One steward Robert M. MacMillan. “That was the reason he was pushing the bill," added MacMillan, an African American, "not because he wanted equality for everyone. It was strictly a political ploy for the Democratic Party. He was phony from the word go.”<ref>Interview with Robert M. MacMillan, March 23, 1993, cited in Ronald Kessler, ''[http://books.google.com/books/about/Inside_the_White_House.html?id=lJz-yIZNE2sC Inside the White House]'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), p. 33, ISBN 0671879197.</ref>

As President, Johnson greatly expanded the federal government with his [[Great Society]] programs.  He played a key role in helping the [[civil rights movement]] win legislative victories, pushing for the adoption of the [[Civil Rights Act]] (1964), which outlawed segregation, and the [[Voting Rights Act]] (1965), which guaranteed African-Americans' right to vote. President Johnson's support for civil rights was purely partisan. Discussing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with two southern governors on Air Force One, LBJ stated, “I’ll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years,” according to Air Force One steward Robert M. MacMillan. “That was the reason he was pushing the bill," added MacMillan, an African American, "not because he wanted equality for everyone. It was strictly a political ploy for the Democratic Party. He was phony from the word go.”<ref>Interview with Robert M. MacMillan, March 23, 1993, cited in Ronald Kessler, ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/Inside_the_White_House.html?id=lJz-yIZNE2sC Inside the White House]'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), p. 33, ISBN 0671879197.</ref>

Johnson also appointed [[NAACP]] lawyer [[Thurgood Marshall]] the first African American Supreme Court Justice. When a young White House attorney recommended Federal Judge William Henry Hastie—who had been Marshall's professor at Harvard Law School—as a more qualified African American candidate, LBJ rejected the light-skinned Hastie, explaining, "Son, when I appoint a nigger to the court, I want everyone to know he's a nigger."<ref>Dallek, Robert (1991). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=t_LjEJdaAiYC Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960]''. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 519. ISBN 0195054350. Hastie had previously been considered for the Court by Eisenhower in 1956, who shelved the idea because Hastie's nomination would have been "[https://books.google.com/books?id=RAVl_KwcBuAC&pg=PA122#v=onepage&q&f=false filibustered to death] by Southerners on the floor of the Senate" (All 22 southern Senators at the time were [http://historycms.house.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=40930 white Democrats]); and again in 1962 by Kennedy, who rejected him after white liberals -- Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William O. Douglas -- objected that Hastie, an African American, was [https://books.google.com/books?id=7UTPwJNHQG4C&pg=PA143#v=onepage&q&f=false too conservative] (As Warren put it, "He's not a liberal, and he'll be opposed to the measures we're interested in.") During World War II, Hastie had laid the groundwork for the 1947 integration of the US armed forces when he [http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2014/09/_1st_black_federal_judges_who_were_they.html resigned as aide to Secretary of War Henry Stimson] in protest of segregated training in the US Army Air Force for the Tuskeegee Airmen.</ref>

Johnson also appointed [[NAACP]] lawyer [[Thurgood Marshall]] the first African American Supreme Court Justice. When a young White House attorney recommended Federal Judge William Henry Hastie—who had been Marshall's professor at Harvard Law School—as a more qualified African American candidate, LBJ rejected the light-skinned Hastie, explaining, "Son, when I appoint a nigger to the court, I want everyone to know he's a nigger."<ref>Dallek, Robert (1991). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t_LjEJdaAiYC Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960]''. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 519. ISBN 0195054350. Hastie had previously been considered for the Court by Eisenhower in 1956, who shelved the idea because Hastie's nomination would have been "[https://books.google.com/books?id=RAVl_KwcBuAC&pg=PA122#v=onepage&q&f=false filibustered to death] by Southerners on the floor of the Senate" (All 22 southern Senators at the time were [http://historycms.house.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=40930 white Democrats]); and again in 1962 by Kennedy, who rejected him after white liberals -- Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William O. Douglas -- objected that Hastie, an African American, was [https://books.google.com/books?id=7UTPwJNHQG4C&pg=PA143#v=onepage&q&f=false too conservative] (As Warren put it, "He's not a liberal, and he'll be opposed to the measures we're interested in.") During World War II, Hastie had laid the groundwork for the 1947 integration of the US armed forces when he [http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2014/09/_1st_black_federal_judges_who_were_they.html resigned as aide to Secretary of War Henry Stimson] in protest of segregated training in the US Army Air Force for the Tuskeegee Airmen.</ref>

During the 1964 Presidential campaign, Johnson ran "[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/revisiting-the-daisy-ad-revolution/ the most negative political ad in American history]," a campaign ad titled "Daisy," smearing Republican challenger [[Barry Goldwater]] as a warmonger who threatened nuclear devastation. Thus "[http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/lbjs-atomic-ad1964-daisy-girl/ the negative political ad was born], initiating the clever use of image and sound to paint an opponent in negative or scary terms."  

During the 1964 Presidential campaign, Johnson ran "[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/revisiting-the-daisy-ad-revolution/ the most negative political ad in American history]," a campaign ad titled "Daisy," smearing Republican challenger [[Barry Goldwater]] as a warmonger who threatened nuclear devastation. Thus "[http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/lbjs-atomic-ad1964-daisy-girl/ the negative political ad was born], initiating the clever use of image and sound to paint an opponent in negative or scary terms."