Oral history transcript, Lady Bird Johnson, interview 21 (XXI), 8/10/1981-8/11/1981, by Michael L. Gillette

Activities during the summer of 1947 leading up to Luci Johnson's birth; riding on the Sequoia with Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and friends; LBJ's interest in national defense and U.S. relations with the Soviet Union; Luci's birth; the Johnsons' desire to have a son; James Forrestal; the 1901 Dillman Street house in Austin and its residents; a trip through South Texas with John and Nellie Connally; visiting Jim West's garage; Mr. and Mrs. Sam Fore; measuring support for a 1948 Senate election bid; LBJ's interest in a career in government versus business; General George Marshall; LBJ's beliefs and speeches regarding national defense and atomic energy; the issue of dividing the Holy Land into Jewish and Arab states; LBJ's lifelong fondness for his alma mater in San Marcos; the House Un-American Activities Committee; Christmas 1947; a portrait of Mrs. Johnson, Lynda, and Luci given to LBJ for Christmas; Luci's christening; the creation of a 70-group air force; LBJ's relationship with Stuart Symington; tidelands legislation; LBJ's relationship with the oil industry; President Harry Truman's speech announcing the establishment of a commission on civil rights; LBJ's opinion of the Fair Employment Practices Commission and poll taxes; the Johnsons' social life; the Johnsons' pediatrician, Dr. John Washington; Mrs. Johnson's gynecologist, Dr. Radford Brown; 1948 birthday party for Lynda; funding the Marshall Plan; LBJ's support for the Women's Army Corps; LBJ's opinion of disposing of the country's rubber plants; a trip to New York City with LBJ's relatives; Warren Woodward and Horace Busby joining LBJ's staff; Soviet control of the occupation zone in Germany; LBJ's first television appearance and why he was a less effective speaker on television; visits to historic sites around the Washington, D.C. area with guests; the 75th Club, the Congressional Club, and Women's National Democratic Club; Mrs. Johnson's interest in interior design; LBJ's decision to run for the Senate in 1948; renovation of the White House and purchasing discarded building material from the White House; the battle over control of tideland resources; Evalyn Walsh McLean's estate sale; LBJ's announcement of a 1948 Senate campaign and Governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson's endorsement; Mrs. Johnson's return to Austin with Lynda and Luci to begin the campaign; the division of duties and organization in the campaign office; Jacqueline Cochran; LBJ's hospitalization for kidney stones in 1948; Jacqueline Cochran flying LBJ to the Mayo Clinic for treatment by Dr. Gerst Thompson; concern that LBJ might give up the campaign because of his illness.