The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library

The library is on the campus of the University of Texas and next to the LBJ School of Public Affairs (which has a good café).

As you enter the building, you are greeted with LBJ' s car that he ordered after he left office but which he used to drive around his ranch. 

 Our self-guided tour started with a video with commentary by several of the colleagues and historians who have written about the Johnson years, such as Robert Caro and Doris Kearns Goodwin.  He is described as a force of nature, a hard worker and a forceful personality.  Abe Fortas said, “When Lyndon is breathing in your mouth, you are finished.”  His many accomplishments are praised by colleagues and historians, but Vietnam is what destroyed him.  He declined to run again trying to get peace there.

The museum has a pictorial and narrated time line of Johnson’s life in context with historical and cultural events during his sixty-four years.  Jerry found the presentation effective; Anna Lee felt there was more culture than history.                           

We learned that LBJ started his career as a teacher of poor Mexican children and how that influenced his commitment to end racism and poverty in America.  His father and grandfather were in local Texas politics.  Claudia Alta Taylor aka Lady Bird has one of her excellent report cards on display.

There was a temporary side exhibit on the Beatles.

A life-size mannequin of Lyndon tells some of his humorous stories.  Political cartoons are all around the library.

We took the Grand Staircase to the Great Hall where a series of murals shows LBJ with each of the Presidents he served from Roosevelt until himself.

Another video, Force for Change, salutes his many legislative accomplishments in education, the environment, health, poverty, jobs, etc.

Throughout the library are actual tapes of conversations he had with members of the government and influential citizens, ie. Katherine Graham of the Washington Post pressuring her to write about congress being on vacation instead to tending to business, and Congressman Adam Clayton Powell for getting millions for a project in his district but failing to support the legislation Johnson wanted.

The replica of his Oval Office is 7/8 the size of the real one.

 The Lady Bird Gallery has many of her personal items including clothing and jewelry.  This photo was her actual office that she used into her 80s.  Their daughters tell of life as teenagers growing up in the White House.

However, there were a couple discrepancies.  A photo of LBJ and John F. Kennedy before the convention is captioned that JFK was eager to have LBJ as a running mate and that they were good friends, not true.

Vietnam is mentioned mostly as its effect on Johnson and the section about the Gulf of Tonkin incident claims our ship was attacked by the Vietnamese, a discredited  claim. 

Before leaving the museum, we toured a small exhibit featuring people who have been effected by LBJ’s legislation.  Among the better known individuals is Oprah who received part of her education from Upward Bound.  Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, walked along part of the National Trail System.  George Foreman was in the Jobs Corps.  Johnson signed hundreds of bills during his five-year term most of them having a continuing positive effect on our country.

As a whole this library is a good memory experience for those of us who lived through his administration and a good history lesson for those younger.