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Lyndon B. Johnson Quotes

107 Notable Quotes By Lyndon B. Johnson

Famous As: 36th President of the United States (1963 - 1969)

Born On: August 27, 1908

Died On: January 22, 1973

Born In: Stonewall, Texas, United States

Founder / Co Founder: National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Economic Opportunity, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Died At Age: 64

Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36^th President of the United States. He was the predecessor of Republican leader Richard Nixon. Johnson accomplished an extraordinary feat of being one out of only four politicians ever to serve as President, Vice President, Senator and Representative. Before the New Deal era, many believe that Johnson’s tenure as president marked the zenith of modern liberalism of the United States. Johnson’s initiated several legislative reforms in the realms of civil rights, public broadcasting, aid to education, urban and rural development, the arts and public services. His ‘War on Poverty’ act helped millions of American to peeve a way across the poverty line which increased the standard of living in the country. As a statesman, Johnson expressed his views and thoughts on several issues ranging from politics to society. We have collected Lyndon B. Johnson’s quotes from his speeches, writings, articles, interviews and policies. Here are some of the most intriguing quotes from this domineering leader in the history of the United States.

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Leaders

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.
Lyndon B. Johnson

Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.

Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.
Books
Lyndon B. Johnson

That bitch of a war killed the lady I really loved -- the Great Society.

That bitch of a war killed the lady I really loved -- the Great Society.
War I
Lyndon B. Johnson

We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.

We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.
Past
Lyndon B. Johnson

The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources--because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.

The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources--because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.
Lyndon B. Johnson

[T]he vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.

[T]he vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.
Lyndon B. Johnson

A man without a vote is a man without protection.

A man without a vote is a man without protection.
Lyndon B. Johnson

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read "President Can't Swim.
I
Lyndon B. Johnson

I may not know much, but I know chicken shit from chicken salad.

I may not know much, but I know chicken shit from chicken salad.
I
Lyndon B. Johnson

While you're saving your face, you're losing your ass.

While you're saving your face, you're losing your ass.
You
Lyndon B. Johnson

Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.

Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.
Lyndon B. Johnson

Guns and bombs, rockets and warships, are all symbols of human failure.

Guns and bombs, rockets and warships, are all symbols of human failure.
Lyndon B. Johnson

The noblest search is the search for excellence

The noblest search is the search for excellence
Lyndon B. Johnson

Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.

Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.
Will
Lyndon B. Johnson

We did not choose to be the guardians of the gate, but there is no one else.

We did not choose to be the guardians of the gate, but there is no one else.
Lyndon B. Johnson

I'll have those niggers voting Democrat for the next 200 years.

I'll have those niggers voting Democrat for the next 200 years.
Lyndon B. Johnson

Don't Spit in the Soup, We All Gotta Eat

Don't Spit in the Soup, We All Gotta Eat
Lyndon B. Johnson

Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.

Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.
Lyndon B. Johnson

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize Oh man....I could be eating a slow learner.

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize Oh man....I could be eating a slow learner.
I
Lyndon B. Johnson

Whoever won't fight when the President calls him, deserves to be kicked back in his hole and kept there.

Whoever won't fight when the President calls him, deserves to be kicked back in his hole and kept there.
Lyndon B. Johnson

We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.

We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.
Home
Lyndon B. Johnson

We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.

We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.
Lyndon B. Johnson

He’s [Gerald Ford] a nice guy but he played too much football with his helmet off.

He’s [Gerald Ford] a nice guy but he played too much football with his helmet off.
Lyndon B. Johnson

In our home there was always prayer - aloud, proud and unapologetic.

In our home there was always prayer - aloud, proud and unapologetic.
Home
Lyndon B. Johnson

If the American people don't love me, their descendants will.

If the American people don't love me, their descendants will.
Love
Lyndon B. Johnson

Only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it.

Only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it.
Think
Lyndon B. Johnson

I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go to Harvard.

I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go to Harvard.
Believe
Lyndon B. Johnson

There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.

There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.
Lyndon B. Johnson

I seldom think of politics more than eighteen hours a day.

I seldom think of politics more than eighteen hours a day.
Think
Lyndon B. Johnson

There are plenty of recommendations on how to get out of trouble cheaply and fast. Most of them come down to this: Deny your responsibility.

There are plenty of recommendations on how to get out of trouble cheaply and fast. Most of them come down to this: Deny your responsibility.
Lyndon B. Johnson