Cowboy Mythology in National Politics: The Pre-Presidential Political Career of Lyndon Johnson

Authors

Alyson Bujnoski, The College of WoosterFollow

Abstract

Lyndon Johnson represents an important shift in politics towards a strategy involving the conscious manipulation of imagery to achieve both local, statewide, and national electoral appeal. Most historians argue that Johnson's conscious and overt manipulation of cowboy and western mythology began after his election to the Senate in November of 1948. Using a close analysis of Johnson's pre-Presidential speeches, this work explores the ways in which Johnson began to manipulate frontier myth as early as in his election to the House of Representatives in 1937.

Advisor

Roche, Jeff

Department

History

Recommended Citation

Bujnoski, Alyson, "Cowboy Mythology in National Politics: The Pre-Presidential Political Career of Lyndon Johnson" (2012). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 3844.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/3844

Disciplines

Political History | United States History

Keywords

lyndon johnson, myth, national politics

Publication Date

2012

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar