President Lyndon B. Johnson – Goat Herder
Lyndon B. Johnson grew up in Texas and it was a very modest upbringing. He lived in a small farmhouse with his parents and four siblings. Johnson’s parents were insistent that he should attend school, and it was there that he excelled. He especially enjoyed public speaking, debate, and baseball. Johnson sought out ways to make money in order to finance his education and help his parents. At the age of 9, he started shining shoes during the summer and he was so good at it that he would take up the job again in high school when he needed money.
Johnson also took on work on his Uncle’s farm. His first job for his uncle was as a goat herder where he would ensure that the goats got where they needed to in order to graze and then bring them back again. When he was not herding the goats, he was sent off to the cotton fields.
He kept up these jobs until he graduated high school, after which he took a job as a teacher before making his way into politics in 1930. As a politician worked his way up from the House to the Senate to the Vice Presidency with a break in-between to serve in the Navy during World War II.
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the President just hours after the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963. He ran for election in 1964 and won the Presidency in his own right. He decided not to run for re-election in 1968, and instead decided to focus on building his party behind a new candidate.