詹森(1908～1973年)

Johnson, Lyndon B(aines)

美国第三十六届总统（1963～1969）。早期在休斯顿的中学任教，1932年到华盛顿特区担任议会助理。他与雷伯恩（S. Rayburn）结为好友，因此詹森的政治事业迅速发展。他在新政推行期间受到保守派的攻击，而赢得联邦众议院席次（1937～1949）。他的忠心令罗斯福总统印象深刻，他将詹森纳为党羽。1949年在一次有缺陷的竞选，包括双方在决定性的民主党初选中都有舞弊行为，被选入参议院。在担任民主党党鞭（1951～1955）和多数党领袖（1955～1961），他发挥了他的长才，利用机智但又常常是无情的手段，在参议院建立起纪律严明的民主党党团。在1957和1960年对通过人权法案发挥了主要作用，这在20世纪尚属首次。1960年被选为副总统；在甘乃迪被刺杀後他成为总统。在他上任的最初几个月中，这位新总统竟能使国会通过了以前拖延不决的有关人权、减税、反穷困计画和资源保护等极为重要的立法。1964年的选举中以空前多的选票击败高华德，并宣布他的「伟大社会」的计画。他制定法律以扩大美国在越战中的军事卷入程度，始於东京湾决议案。他的政策受到左右两派的批评。他受支持的程度显着减少，使得他宣布不再寻求1968年的总统连任。退休後住在其在德州的牧场。

English version：

1908～1973年

Johnson, Lyndon B(aines)

36th president of the U.S. (1963-69). Born in Gillespie Co., Texas, he taught school in Houston before going to Washington, D.C., in 1932 as a congressional aide. There he was befriended by Sam Rayburn and his political career blossomed. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1937-49) as the New Deal was under conservative attack. His loyalty impressed Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, who made Johnson a protégé. He won election to the U.S. Senate in 1949 in a vicious campaign that saw fraud on both sides. As Democratic whip (1951-55) and majority leader (1955-61), he developed a talent for consensus building among dissident factions with methods both tactful and ruthless. He was largely responsible for passage of the civil-rights bills of 1957 and 1960, the first in the 20th century. In 1960 he was elected vice president; he became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In his first few months in office he won from Congress passage of a huge quantity of important civil-rights, tax-reduction, antipoverty, and conservation legislation. He defeated Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election by the largest popular majority to that time and announced his Great Society program. He was diverted from overseeing its enactment by the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, beginning with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. He pursued strategies criticized on both the left and the right. His approval ratings diminished markedly and led to his decision not to seek reelection in 1968. He retired to his Texas ranch.