The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966 Page: 541
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
Lyndon Johnson is President today not because of the quality
education he received in San Marcos so much as because of his
tremendous native intellect and ability.
One of the individual influences which was examined at length
in this book was the young Johnson's association with Professor
H. M. Greene, a nonconformist, who, for all his idiosyncracies,
was a gifted teacher. Under him the future President studied two
courses called "Problems of Organization and Control of the
National Government," in which Greene stressed the protection
of individual liberties, as well as social and economic responsi-
bilities by a strong central government. In 1964, Professor Greene
wrote, "he [Johnson] was clearly the best student in government
and politics I ever had the pleasure of teaching." The effect of
this professor's teaching on the President's philosophy can be
seen in one statement which Greene frequently made: "Democ-
racy is of necessity a compromise. It is made of strong minded
men who cannot all prevail as individuals. Therefore, their con-
certed action must be a compromise." Surely this declaration
rang in the ears of the most skilled and successful majority leader
ever to serve in the United States Senate.
Perhaps the most significant section of this book is the exam-
ination of numerous editorials which young Lyndon Johnson
wrote for the college newspaper. These editorials should silence
the cynical critics who doubt that the President has creative tal-
ent. They show remarkably mature reflection on a wide spectrum
of subjects. They show that certain personal and political tenets
were incubating in the President's mind as early as 1928 and
1929. Some of the editorials are particularly interesting in the
light of subsequent events. On Armistice Day 1927, when Lyn-
don Johnson was only nineteen years old, he wrote, "Let us
promote the cause of peace-a peace so dearly bought, so bravely
gained, so anxiously awaited. . . Let us unite in the attempt to
secure the best for our nation and our people, making high ideals,
instead of selfish gain and prideful ambition, our goal." Are
these not the very aims of the Great Society toward which Lyndon
Baines Johnson leads this nation in 1966?
This compact book is unusually attractive. The colorful dust
jacket and end papers are tastefully appealing as well as mean-541
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966, periodical, 1966; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117144/m1/619/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.