Lyndon Baines Johnson and Education.

Overview & Synopsis

The Higher Education Act of 1965 fulfilled a dream for President Lyndon Baines Johnson. To understand this president's deep interest in education, one must first understand the factors which were responsible for the development of Lyndon Johnson, the man. His family background had much to do with his veneration of education. Both his parents and his grandfather had been educators and his father and grandfather had held public office. Thus, the tradition of public service was instilled in him at an early age. Later, as President, Johnson created a task force to reorganize the United States Office of Education. During his presidency, President Johnson secured the passage of some 60 education and education-related pieces of legislation. The amount of money invested in education almost tripled. Finally, Johnson's numerous educational accomplishments were curtailed by rising energy costs, inflation, and retrenchment during the subsequent, conservative administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and especially Reagan. (BZ)