How Former First Lady Claudia Johnson Contributed to Environmental Preservation - Assignment Example

FORMER FIRST LADY “LADY BIRD” JOHNSON’S CONTRIBUTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION INTRODUCTION Background Environmentalist, business woman, political activist and Former First Lady Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson, or “Lady Bird Johnson”, as she was known, was born on December 12, 1912, in Karnack, Texas, to Thomas Jefferson Taylor (1874-1960) and Minnie Patillo Taylor (1874-1918). She was the youngest of the Taylor family, following two brothers (Thomas Jr. and Antonio) . She earned the nickname “Lady Bird” when the family’s cook and nursemaid Alice Tittle , an African-American , commented that the little girl was as pretty as a lady bird. It is very unclear what kind of reference this may have been. However, as many would think , this seemed much of a prophetic name , as she would later champion for wildlife conservation . Before her untimely passing, following a fall down the staircase , Minnie Patillo would read books for Lady Bird, imparting in her, a reading culture and an appreciation for learning. After her mother’s death , Lady Bird spent most of her time playing in the woods near their home and would paddle in the dark bayous of Caddo Lake in East Texas, under ancient cypress trees decorated with Spanish moss. Lady Bird’s unmarried aunt , Effie Patillo,who left her home to help take care of her, encouraged her and spent much time explaining to Lady Bird how lovely the fields and meadows could be . Day by day, Lady Bird developed an appreciation for beauty . She learnt the names of trees and flowers and would remember their details later , with great admiration.The sense of place that came from nature never left her. She would devote much of her time to preserving the beautiful landscape . She later recalled: “When I was a little girl, I grew up listening to the wind in the pine trees of the East Texas Woods. On Caddo Lake , which was close to Karnack , I loved to paddle in the dark bayous where time itself seemed ringed around by silence and ancient cypress trees,rich in festoons of Spanish moss. Now and then an alligator would surface like a gnarled log. It was a place of dreams .” Lady Bird attended grade school in Karnack and Jefferson in Texas , and also briefly in Alabama (1918-1923). At the age of 15, she graduated from Marshall High School (1923-1928) , and joined St. Mary’s College for girls (1928-30) , a christian boarding. Later , she earned two degrees : History(1930-1933) and Journalism(1933-1934 ), from the University of Texas, in Austin. Not only did Lady Bird excell in her academics, but she also wrote for the Campus newspaper, the Daily Texan , something that earned her great popularity among her peers . Though Lady Bird had expressed great interest in pursuing a writing career, it never came to be. Her aspirations took a different path, when she met her husband Lyndon Johnson, who by then , was working as a congressional secretary for Texas congressman.They got married in 1934, and Lady Bird had to to resign her writing interests, in part, to support her husband’s political aspirations . Lyndon, who had risen to become Vice President , took over as the 36th President of the US (1963- 1969), after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, thrusting Lady Bird to the office of First Lady. LADY BIRD’S ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION Lady Bird’s timing and choice to champion for environmental conservation were excellent. She became First lady at a time when environmental issues were gaining popularity through books such as Rachel Carson’s 1962 Silent Spring, which called attention to the environmental effects of pesticides. Also, this was the time the city of Washington required a major face-lift . The preceding administration (President John F. Kennedy) had convened a White House conference on conservation issues and promoted various environmental measures, most of which were pending at the time of Kennedy’s assassination. Lady Bird would pick up the cause and carry on with it , far beyond what the previous administration envisaged . A reference to the beauty of the natural landscape in a speech made by President Johnson at the University of Michigan in May of 1994, as she would recall , prompted her to focus on environmental preservation, during her full four-year term as First lady . In response to Lady Bird’s commitment to champion for beautification, Secretary of Interior ,Stewart Udal, sent her a memorandum suggesting she make Washington D.C , “a garden city whose floral displays and plantings that would make it a model for other cities and the entire nation, ” and Lady Bird quickly embraced the idea . The nation’s city had ignited concerns in many , due to its deteroriating physical situation as well as increasing social problems and was refered to as “shabby city” . Therefore, transformation of Washington D.C would be an excellent model for other cities and capitals . The beautification campaign When Lady Bird first visited Austin I 1930 to look over the Univeristy of Texas, she remarked: “I fell in love with Austin the first moment I laid eyes on it and that love has never slackened.” The city’s natural beauty was appealing. “There were bluebonnets with red poppies and primroses among them, I remember them like a friend” . In 1935, when her husband asked her if she would like to live in Austin, It was as though he asked “ How would you like to go to heaven ” . Lady Bird’s admiration for Austin and many other beautiful places she had visited , inspired her to bring the cause of environmental conservation and beautification to national attention. Two weeks and one day after inaugration, on February 4, 1995, President Johnson, in his State of the Union adress , supported her Beautification initiative and launched it , indicating his intent to make the Potomac River “ a model of beauty” . Her ambition and determination allowed her to carve out an identity of her own, emerging as one of the most prominent advocates of environmental conservation of her time. She became the point person of the Johnson’s administration on environmental issues . Though Lady Bird did not like the word “beautificaton”, and had struggled to find a better term , the name survived. As such, the term ‘beautification’ came to represent what she called “the whole broad tapestry of environment : clean water ,scenic river,new national parks,wildness areas”. She once remarked : “Ugliness is so grim.. ” , “A little beauty,something that is lovely, I think ,can help create harmony which will lesson tension” . The idea that beauty can help restore peace and improve the state of mind of the people living in a particular society , and her determination to beautify America’s landscape became Lady Bird’s legacy. Lady Bird felt that her programs and initiatives were in line with the President’s Johnson’s administration; in particular , the War on poverty , and Crime and the Head Start Program. During President Johnson’s tenure (between 1965-1969 ), according to a statement by the National Park Service, “over 300 conservation measures were signed into law,forming the basis of the modern environmental movememt”. Clearly, their partnership paid off . In an interview with Post in 1994, Lady Bird told the The Washington Post: “ Once you are in that Position and you want to serve whatever you husband’s efforts are on behalf of the country, you choose those that make your heart to sing ” . Using her background and skills as a business woman, Lady Bird adopted a formal staff structure that would support her agenda. There being no office structure for First Lady in the US by 1963, Lady Bird borrowed federal employees from other departments and had them detailed to the White House. Several assistants were assigned to Lady Bird’s program to assist in realization of the objectives and goals.With this structure in place, . Her first effort was the creation of Committee for a More Beautiful Capital , which brought together wealthy philanthropists, local civic leaders, environmental advocates, African-American leaders and Steward Udall , whose department oversaw the National Park Service. Together, the team worked towards the achievement of the objectives of the beautification program . The Committee for a More Beautiful Capital agreed to plant flowers all over Washington, D.C. , to give neightbourhood beautification awards , to press for the revitalization of Pennyslavia Avenue , and , the preservation of Lafeyette Park. Generous donations of cash and azaleas,cherry trees , daffodils, dogwood and other plants ,that exist to date, were generated by the Committee . Approximately two million daffodi and tulip bulbs , 83,000 flowering plants , 50,000 shrubs , 137,000 annuals and 25,000 trees were planted around or near public buildings . Lady Bird’s beautification effort of Washingtom D.C. was multi-faceted. First, She worked to upgrade and reclaim city areas, with the assistance of Philanthropic friends , such as Mary Lasker and Laurance Rockfeller ,as well as Nash Castro ,who was the national park Service regional director in tha capital region.She launched tree and flower plantings ,which were central to the city’s revitalization . Having no dependable staff or funds beyond what she could pull together on her own,she founded the Society for A More Beautiful National Capital , through which, enormous funds were raised to enhance the city’s appearance. By 1968, the society had collected more than $2.5 million for its activities. Hundreds of thousands of trees , plants and flowers were planted . Another facet of the Washington D.C work was to take the beautification campaign outside the city; to the ‘ghetto’. Lady Bird once said: “ all of our efforts will fail unless people in these neighborhoods can see the challenge and do the work on their own front yards ” . Therefore, she created demonstration projects and pilot initiatives that took the beautification campaign to the neighbourhoods. One African–American who worked closely with Lady Bird noted , Lady Bird’s beautification program of the city’s black residents, “ went to the heart of filling the gap and beginning to work with alienation”. . In support of her beautification efforts , a number of philantropists earmarked their donations with specific locations in mind. For example, Mrs. Lasker, focused her efforts on the beautificatin of downtown and tourist areas, by donating thousands of dollars and trees and plants.Soon afterwards , she lobbied for medical research and natural beauty . Lady Bird’s view of the “Beautification project” stretched far beyond planting native flowers . She was also concerned about several other issues , including, pollution (air, water, land and soil), urban decay, recreation, mental health ,public transportation and crime rate. She led an effort to clean up trash and control rats in the Shaw section of Washington. This efforts soon developed into Project Pride, enlisting Howard University students and high school students to clean up their neighbourhoods.With a $ 7,000 grant from the Society for a More Beautiful capital, Lady Bird funded the project . Lady Bird also sougtht the support of Brooke Astor (a New York philantropist) , Polly Shackleton (a democratic activist), and Walter Washington (a former executive director of the National Capital Housing Authority , who later got elected as mayor during President Johnson’s term), to expand Project Pride activities . This program encouraged 250 inner city youths to clean-up playgrounds and parking lots . The program was quite successful and received funding from Laurance Rockfeller for Project Trail Blazers. This made it possible for 110 inner city youth to transform a shut-down movie theater into a community museum in the city of Washington. The former home of Fredrick Douglas, a nineteenth century black leader, created recreational space for children , in support of the cause . Walter Washington also led beautification activities by rallying chldren in juniour high schools and elementary schools to clean- up, fix- up,paint-up and plant-up. Walter described his programs as: “an attempt to motivate children ,youths, adults and family units in a long-range program of self-involvement for enhancing the physical appearance of the community” . Lady Bird wrote in her diary , on January 27, 1965 : “Getting on the subject of beautification is like picking up a tangled skin of wool. All threads are interwoven-recreation,pollution and mental health,and the crime rate,and rapid transit,and highway beautification,and the war on poverty ,and parks- national, state and local.It is hard to hitch the conversation into one straight line,because everything leads to something else .” Lady Bird showed interst in the development of major landmarks such as: Pennysylavania Avenue , the Mall , and the Potomac shore. Since the national mall had various Smithsonian museums located in it , Lady Bird coaxed modern art collector Joseph Hirshhorn to donate his collection to the institution . In return , the institution would create a museum bearing his name located in it . She encouraged the Job Corps to include landscaping in their professional skills. She also gave impetus to the upgrading of Pennyslyavania Avenue , an idea that was borne in President Kennedy’s adminstration . In honour of President Kennedy’s administration , Lady Bird created the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Children’s Garden . The Highway Beautification Act Many a time, before election into presidency, President Johnson and his wife were frustrated by the ever increasing number of junkyards and billboards along the way, as they drove from their home in Texas to Washington D.C. As soon as President Johnson was elected, Lady Bird began thinking on what could be done about the billboards and junkyards. She envisioned the highways clear of billboards and junkyards , and filled with green landscaping flowers. In an attempt to preserve the scenic beauty of America’s highways, Lady Bird championed for the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (HBA), informerly known as the “Lady Bird’s Bill”, to be passed to Law. The HBA called for control of advertising, including the prohibition of construction of new billboards and removal illegal bill boards (those that were erected without propal permits), along the Nation’s growing Interstate System and the existing Federal-aid primary system. Billboards that did not meet the HBA standards , would be designated as non-conforming and marked for removal. It also required that certain junkyards along Interstate or primary highways, be removed or screened and encouraged scenic enhancement and roadside development . Opponents of the legislation were powerful. Politicians knew that bill boards were an instrumental tool for modern campaigning and opposition from local operators could jeopardize their re-election. Therefore, this opposition resulted in compromises that in the end proved to be a serious weakness , though at the time, the initial reaction environmental advocates and anti-bill board community was cautiously positive .This was considered a promising start, the major weakness being the insertion of a ‘just compensation’ clause. The clause on ‘just compensation’ required that billboard owners be compensated , rather than allow jurisdictions to use their power of zoning to secure its goals, made it unacceptably expensive to enforce . Despite the fact that the power of the billboard industry was a tough match for the White House , President Johnson, in his State of the Union speeches and cabinet meetings, supported and promoted Lady Bird’s efforts, as though they were his own. This is how the HBA came into Law . President Johnson told his cabinet and staff members: “ You know I love that woman and she wants that Highway Beautification Act”. When the battle to pass the HBA seemed fierce, he said “ by God, we’re going to get it for her”. In the end , President Johnson successfully signed the HBA into law, on December 22, 1965. Without Lady Bird’ s active lobbying , there would have been no HBA. Her role and confidence in ensuring that the HBA bacame Law, expanded the institutional role of the Office of first Lady, and she in turn received immense support from thousands of Americans ,who rallied to her cause, including the President. Today, the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocatin Assistance Act of 1987 , which requires that at least 0.25 of 1 percent of funds for landscaping projects in the highway system be used to plant native flowers,plants and trees, is part of the HBA legacy . Conferences on environmental issues A White House Conference on Natural Beauty, which was coordinated by Laurance S. Rockefeller , convened in May 1966 . Being a key player , Lady Bird opened the conference with a question: “Can a great democratic society generate the drive to plan, and having planned,execute projects of great natural beauty?” . Soon afterwards, this conference sparked a series of similar local conferences, adding momentum to Lady Bird’s national conservation movement . These conferences led to creation of the President’s Council on Recreation and Natural Beauty , which was chaired by Vice President Hubert Humprey. The council served as a vehicle for spreading the message of environmental conservation and promoting local efforts such as clean-up and proper waste disposal and management campaigns . President Johnson issued a proclamation declaring 1967 a “Youth Natural Beauty and Conservation year”. The President and his First Lady opened the year with a press conference in honor of Youth Leaders at the Lady Bird Johnson’s Ranch . Visits to important historic sites One other way in which Lady Bird used her influence to spearhead the environmental conservation measures, was by calling to attention the preservation of important historic sites and parks, such as the California Redwoods and the Hudson River in New York. She made visits to historic sites, national parks and scenic areas, accompanied by one Nash Castro, from National Park Service, several dignitaries and media representatives . On one occasion , when she visited Indian Reservations and dedicated the Flaming George Dam in Utah in 1994 , she vividly told audiences that natural beauty was their greatest resource and must be protected . Support for environmental initiatives All through her tenure as First Lady , Lady Bird tactfully supported environmentalist positions. She was such an instrumental influence and advocate for the expansion and upgrading of the national park system . Interior secretary, Stuart Udall , called her “ a secretary of the interior in the White House”. Lady Bird played a key role in encouraging ecologically friendly and sustainable conservation measures in the national mind. For instance, Lady Bird supported the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She also supported efforts by President Lyndon’s administration to establish a Redwoods National Park in California. Privately, Lady Bird opposed her husband’s administration efforts to construct dams in Grand Canyon . Lady Bird chaired the Town Lake beautification Project along the Colorado River, which now stands as Austin’s signature park. In a letter to Stuart Udall, she wrote: “ My interest in conservation-beautification continues unabating ,though now on a very little stage- my current project is the Riverfront in Austin-a hike and bike trail, many blooming trees(red bud, crepe, myrtle ,etc). In a subsequent interview, she revealed: “we spent a busy five years raising funds ” . She once recalled: “Each time I walk along the shores of the river, I come away feeling deeply satisfied in seeing our dreams becoming a reality”. When the people of Austin tried to have Town Lake renamed in her honor, she always declined. Even though she did not agree to have the Lake named after her, the Austin city Council voted to rename Town Lake, the Lady Bird Lake, when she died . On her 70th birthday, December 12, 1982, she and actress Hellen Hayes founded the National Wildflower Research Centre, on 60 acres of undeveloped land east of Austin. This was a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that was devoted to the preservation and reintroduction of native plants, in planned landscape. Lady Bird donated $125,000 towards the project. She explained her commitment to wild flowers in a statement: “When Lyndon and I came back from Texas in 1969, I was dismayed that every place was so starting to look like every other place. The meadows and hillsides were all being replaced by highway grids and shopping malls. I wanted to try and restore some of our native habitat. We in Texas are blessed with what we have. I just want Texas to keep on looking like Texas…The wildflower centre is my love. I can’t control the purity of the air or solve the problem of acid rain, but the wild flower centre is an effort to fill a little niche in the whole environmental picture. If we can get people to see their own corner of the world with caring eyes, then I’ll be really happy”. By 1995, the Wildflower Research Centre was so successful, that it outgrew its site. This led to the leading to the opening of another larger site elsewhere. In 1998, it was renamed: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre. Hundreds of thousands visited the place every year. In 2006, the centre became an organizational research unit of the University of Texas at Austin, a move that Lady Bird supported. Lady Bird ,together with her husband gave the LBJ ranch ,their home on the Pedernales River , to be operated by the National Park Service as a 438 acre National Historic Site. Lady Bird also launched an annual awards ceremony, held at LBJ, to honor highway beautification programmes of the Texas Highway department. She was hopeful that the recognition of highway officials would motivate and impart in others, “a growing sense of the importance of the projects that save and use plant material so as to realize ecological benefits, while enjoying the aesthetic results” . Lady Bird fulfilled her obligation: “ to keep the beauty of the landscape as we remember it in our youth….and to leave this splendor for our grandchildren”. Unlike many other First ladies, including her predecessors, Lady Bird continued to champion for environmental conservation, even after leaving the White House, making her one of the most renowned First Ladies in the history of the US. . She worked from her office in LBJ Presidential library for some 25 years sponsoring programs and symposiums on civil rights and the environment. At the age of 94, on July 11, 2007, Lady Bird Johnson died. She was buried next to her husband, at LBJ Ranch, 50 miles west of Austin. In 2008, as Lady Bird had wished, the LBJ Ranch became a historical national park open to the public. It was operated by the national Park Service . Today, Lady Bird is renowned for her campaigns and commitment to preservation of the integrity of the American landscape through the protection wildflowers , reduction of bill boards on nation’s cities and highways, preservation of national parks and historical sites , conservation of natural resources, restoration of inner city playgrounds, as well as efforts to cover open landfills . A 1982 poll of historians ranked Lady bird third , among the most influential First Ladies, after Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt . Lady Bird’s awards for her contribution Owing to her continuous service and unrelenting efforts on environmentalism, Lady Bird received enormous awards and honors throughout her life. Though her major focus was on environmental preservation, she was involved in a number of programs, making her an all-round First Lady. Her environmental efforts and resilience in supporting the environmental conservation and her active lobbying for legislation inspired many. Unlike other First Ladies, Lady Bird was the first to call to national attention matters on environment. She continued as a public figure even after leaving the White House. Some of the major awards that Lady Bird earned included: Conservation Service Award – Department of the Interior, 1974 “Woman of the Year” Award for Quality of Life –Ladies Home Journal, 1975 Abraham Lincoln Award- Southern Baptist Convention, 1976 Medal of Freedom –Awarded by President Gerald Ford, 1977 Wildflowers Across America Award of the Year – Garden Writers Assocation, 1994, Congressional Gold Medal- Awarded by President Ronald Reagan, 1988 Lifetime Achievement Award – Nature Conservancy of Texas, 1994 Earth Day Award- Motorolla, 1995 Chairman’s Award- National Geographic Society, 1995 Conservation Achievement Award- Southwest Regional Office of the National Park Service, 1995 National Conservation Achievement Award for Conservationist of the year – National Wildlife federation, 2005 Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor Medal – Garden Club of America, 2006 Founders Award –The National Park Foundation, 2008 On July 26, 1968, President Johnson presented his First Lady with 50 pens he used to sign environmental legislation which she had proposed and active lobbied for. Before President Johnson left office, He presented Lady Bird with a plaque that read: “To lady Bird, who has insured me and millions of Americans, to try to preserve our land and beautify our nation? With love from Lyndon” . REFERENCES Carlin, D. "Lady Bird Johnson: The Making of a Public First Lady with Private Influence." In Inventing a Voice: The Rhetoric of American First Ladies of the Twentieth Century, edited by M. M. Wertheimer, 273-95. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. DeBard, A., and P. Jankowski. "A Former First Lady Leaves Us Her Legacy." The Daily Texan.July 12, 2007. Gillete, M.L. . Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Gould , L. "Lady Bird Johnson." In American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacies, edited by L Gould, 335-50. New York: Garland Pub, 1996. Holley, J. . "Champion of Conservation, Loyal Force Behind Lady Bird Johnson." The Washington Post, Retrieved July 21, 2007. 2007, p. A1. Johnson, L. "White House " (1971). Lady Bird Johnson. "The Beautification Campaign: Shattered Dreams. ." Public Broadcast Systems, http://www.pbs.org/ladybird/ (12 July 2007). Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. "Our Environmental First Lady." http://www.wildflower.org/ladybird/ (12 July 2007). Russell, J. J. . "Lady Bird Looks Back." Texas Monthly.December, 1994, 112 - 23. Read More