The 36th President of the United States may have spent much of his professional life in Washington DC, but Lyndon B. Johnson’s roots were in the South.
LBJ was born Lyndon Baines Johnson on August 27, 1908, in central Texas. The first of five children, he grew up in a rural area close to Johnson City – so named after his father’s cousin, who had helped found the community. It is widely thought that LBJ’s childhood bore a strong influence on his later political views.
Read more below about LBJ’s early years, and the impact they may have had on his political career.
LBJ’s Upbringing
Born to farmer, businessman and state lawmaker Sam Ealy Johnson Jr. and his wife Rebekah Baines Johnson, LBJ had three sisters (Rebekah, Josefa and Lucia), and one brother (Sam Houston).
The family’s ancestors hailed from Germany, England and Ulster (Ireland). LBJ grew up with a strong Christian influence, particularly from his paternal Grandfather, who was raised a Baptist and later joined the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Christadelphians.
Though the Johnson family were renowned farmers and ranchers, LBJ’s father lost the family farm after running into financial trouble when LBJ was in his early teens.
At the same time, Johnson was struggling through his studies, though he successfully graduated from Johnson City High School in 1924. The economic hardship and difficulties at school did not deter young LBJ, however: it is reported that at the age of twelve he told classmates, “You know, someday I’m going to be president of the United States.”
LBJ also continued his education in the area, studying at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. It was here at college in San Marcos that LBJ was primed for a career in politics. He was a key figure in campus politics, regularly took part in debates and edited the college’s campus newspaper, The College Star.
Representing Texas
In 1931, LBJ started out as an aide to Texas congressman Richard Kleberg in the US House of Representatives.
Following his marriage to Claudia Alta Taylor in 1934, 1935 saw LBJ appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration. Here he worked to grow education and job opportunities for young people in the state.
LBJ’s time to serve as a congressman himself came in 1937, when he won a special election for Texas’s 10th congressional district. He served in the House from April 10, 1937, to January 3, 1949.
In 1948, LBJ was elected to represent Texas in the United States Senate, where he served from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1961. During this time, he variously served as both Minority and Majority Senate Leader.
What Influence Did LBJ’s Youth Have on His Politics?
It is often said that LBJ’s personal experience of rural poverty shaped his political views.
In addition to the financial struggles of his own upbringing, his time teaching disadvantaged students of Mexican descent in south Texas further opened his eyes to the realities of poverty, prejudice and discrimination.
LBJ’s compassion and desire to resolve these issues were the start point of his most famous political achievements.
After taking office, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963, LBJ launched his “Great Society” policy initiatives in 1964-65. The broad aims of these reforms were to bring an end to poverty and racial inequality in the United States, while protecting the environment and reducing crime.
Among the specific programmes he spearheaded as part of the “War on Poverty” were Medicare, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
The Legacy of the Lone Star State
The influence of Texas on LBJ’s life goes far beyond the trademark cowboy hat he was often seen wearing as a child.
From the first-hand experience of the hardships of rural life to his witnessing of racial discrimination, much of LBJ’s political ideology can be traced back to his upbringing in central Texas.