"Between the Creeks" Page: 91
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LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON & ANCESTORS
Lyndon B. Johnson fostered Texas image 10-11-87
Sometime back, we asked "what is a typical Texan?" Since, we have seen that
from the beginning, Texans have been very individualistic. If one characteristic could be
used to describe all Texans, it is individualism. However, we actively promote a
mythical Texas stereotype, even those of us who have never owned a pair of boots and
should never be seen in blue jeans.
Perhaps the champion promoter of the Texas myth was President Lyndon Baines
Johnson. He began to foster his Texas image the day Texas Governor James V. Allred
told the young politician that he should get rid of his city hat if he wanted to get
anywhere with Texas' grassroots. Some sources say that Allred gave Johnson his own
"lucky hat."
LBJ began to tell colorful, sometimes true stories about his Johnson ancestors,
who were trial drivers in the heyday of the Texas cattle industry. Little mention was
made of the Deshas and Buntons, or of his mother's Perrin, Huffman and Baines families.
His ancestors did suffer the deprivations and Indian attacks of the Texas frontier;
however, they were among the educated political elite of Texas and had been since John
Wheeler Bunton signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Texans expect to be entertained by their politicians, and we have never been
disappointed. Back in the 193Os, we had a 'biscuit salesman' with a hillbilly band.
Johnson countered with his own bands and barbecues. (All of this hoopla has led others
to believe that this state is politically naive, but we enjoy the barbecue and listen to the
rhetoric. Then we vote the way we please and usually surprise everyone.)
Johnson's use of the Texas myth was an example of his political savvy. The
Western myth has extended beyond our state' boundaries to include the rest of the nation.
In The Psychoanthropology of American Culture, Howard F. Stein says, "Americans
everywhere play the childhood game of cowboys and Indians: and says all recent
successful presidential candidates have elevated this western ethos to be the national
model.
No biographer of Lyndon Baines Johnson has failed to examine his Texas
heritage. However, the womenfolk of his family have often been overlooked. The truth
is that they were all exceptionally strong individuals, and most were well educated for
their times. Rebekah Baines Johnson, the mother of the president, was a woman ahead of
her time - an educated career woman at the turn of the century. (We are indebted to her
for her well-documented family history and for many of the quotes used in these articles.)
Her marriage to Sam Johnson was spiced with their arguments; he said they
frequently disagreed over the small things but always agreed about the larger issues. Her
influence on her son's ambitions was a major factor in his life.
If we look for easy analysis of LBJ's character such as those who say he has an
"Alamo complex" in dealing with Vietnam, we also have to consider certain paradoxes.
Although he was raised in a Southern white society, a present-day history says of his
presidency: "No president since Lincoln had worked harder or done more for civil rights.
None had shown more compassion for the poor, the ill-educated, and the black."91
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Spreadsheet index of personal and family names found in the compiled transcriptions of newspaper articles written by Gwen Pettit about the local history of Allen, Texas.
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Pettit, Gwen. "Between the Creeks", book, July 2006; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth752794/m1/96/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .