page_title: Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr.
section_title: Business career
hierarchical_section_title: Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. / Business career
caption_attribution_description: Photo portrait of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Oval Office, leaning on a chair.
context_page_description: Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. was an American businessman and politician. He was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives representing the 89th District. He served in the 29th, 30th, 35th, 37th, and 38th Texas Legislatures. He was the father of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the son of Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr. He was a struggling farmer and cattle speculator who lived in the Texas Hill Country.
context_section_description: Samuel Johnson had made gains in the cotton futures market in 1902, 1903, and 1904; however in 1905, he lost all of the money he had invested. His son, Lyndon B. Johnson later noted, "My daddy went busted waiting for cotton to go up to twenty-one cents a pound, and the market fell apart when it hit twenty". In 1906, he took out a loan and bought futures contracts on margin, but lost money again. When he arrived in the Texas State Capitol after his election in 1906, he was "several thousand dollars in debt".
  After retiring from the legislature in 1908, Johnson began to buy and sell real estate in addition to farming. He did well in selling real estate, so well that he hired a local teenager as a chauffeur and paid a staff of cleaning ladies to handle household tasks for his wife. He re-invested the profits from real estate into buying local businesses. He bought several ranches, a small movie theater, as well as the only hotel in Johnson City. In 1916, he bought the local newspaper, the Johnson City Record, an "eight page weekly" from its owner. Four months later, he sold the paper to Reverdy Giddon, as many of his subscribers could not pay in cash. Having regained his financial footing, he ran for a third term in 1917.
  In 1920, he sold all of his real estate, and went $40,000 into debt to restart cotton farming.  He was motivated by post-WWI cotton prices, which were $0.40, but expected to rise to $0.50 or $0.60.  Heavy spring storms repeatedly washed away the crops, and cotton prices fell to $0.08.  The Johnson family lost everything.
caption: Portrait of Samuel Johnson's son, Lyndon B. Johnson
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