III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 354 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2008 

Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 100th birthday of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 

36th President, designer of the Great Society, politician, 

educator, and civil rights enforcer. 

Whereas August 27, 2008, marks the 100th birthday of Lyndon Baines Johnson; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, 

to Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., a Texas representative, and 

Rebekah Baines, on August 27, 1908; 

Whereas upon graduation, Lyndon B. Johnson enrolled in 

Southwest Texas State Teachers’ College, where he 


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vigorously participated in debate, campus politics, and 

edited the school newspaper; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson had several teaching positions 

throughout Texas, including at the Welhausen School in 

La Salle County, at Pearsall High School, and as a public speaking teacher at Sam Houston High School in 

Houston; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson went to work as a congressional 

assistant at the age of 23; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson served the 10th Congressional 

District in the Texas House of Representatives from 

April 10, 1937, to January 3, 1949; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson became a commissioned officer 

in the Navy Reserves in December 1941; 

Whereas during World War II, Lyndon B. Johnson was recommended by Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who assigned 

Johnson to a three-man survey team in the southwest 

Pacific; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was conferred the Silver Star, 

which is the military’s third highest medal, by General 

Douglas MacArthur; 

Whereas in 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected to the Senate at the age of 41; 

Whereas in 1951, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Senate minority leader at the age of 44 and elected Senate majority leader at the age of 46, the youngest in our history; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice President at 

the age of 52, becoming president of the Senate; 


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Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson’s congressional career and his 

leadership spanned the stock market crash, the Great 

Depression, World War II, the nuclear age, the Cold 

War, the space age, and the civil rights movement, some 

of the most turbulent years in American history; 

Whereas Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was appointed 

as head of the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, through which he worked with African Americans and other minorities; 

Whereas an hour and 38 minutes after the assassination of 

President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as 

President aboard Air Force One; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was a bold leader; 

Whereas as President, Lyndon B. Johnson believed that government could guarantee human rights, could lift people 

out of poverty, and provide access to quality education 

and health care throughout the Nation; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was an idealist, a force of nature, and had the energy and determination and leadership to turn those dreams into reality; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was a ‘‘can-do’’ President because no matter how difficult and daunting the task at 

hand, he never rested until it was completed; 

Whereas in 1964, the Johnson Administration passed the 

landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned de jure 

segregation in the Nation’s schools and public places; 

Whereas the Johnson Administration passed the Voting 

Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed obstructive provisions that were rendered impractical and impartial to potential voters; 


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Whereas in January of 1965, the Johnson Administration introduced the Great Society, which included provisions for 

aid to education, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, 

conservation, the development of depressed regions, a 

wide-scale fight against poverty, and the removal of obstacles to the right to vote; 

Whereas in 1967, President Johnson nominated Thurgood 

Marshall as the first African-American to serve on the 

Supreme Court; 

Whereas during Johnson’s presidency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration made spectacular steps 

forward in space exploration when 3 astronauts successfully orbited the moon in December 1968; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson died at 4:33 p.m. on January 

22, 1973, at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas, at the age 

of 64; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson was posthumously awarded the 

Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980; 

Whereas Lyndon B. Johnson is honored, venerated, and revered for his drive to establish equality for all Americans, 

illustrated in the momentous legislation passed during his 

Administration; 

Whereas Congress recognizes the 100th birthday of Lyndon 

B. Johnson, the 36th president; 

Whereas Congress extols the contributions of Lyndon B. 

Johnson to the United States and his commitment to the 

War on Poverty through the Economic Opportunity Act; 

Whereas Congress commends Lyndon B. Johnson for establishing the Medicare Act of 1965 that has helped millions 

of Americans; and 


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Whereas Congress requests that the President issue a proclamation calling upon the American people to observe the 

Centennial Celebration of Lyndon B. Johnson and his 

‘‘can-do spirit’’ with appropriate ceremonies, programs, 

and activities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the Congress— 

3 (1) reaffirms its support for the Civil Rights 

4 Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; 

5 (2) recognizes the significance of the Voting 

6 Rights Act of 1965; and 

7 (3) honors Lyndon B. Johnson for his work as 

8 a civil rights enforcer. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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