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Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
That Thars a Gonna Be a Rough Ride Podnar!
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

That Thars a Gonna Be a Rough Ride Podnar!

Artifact ID1973.1.2025
Medium Ink on drawing paper
DimensionsOverall H 12 3/8 in x W 14 5/8 in (31.4 cm x 37.1 cm )

Physical Description
Physical DescriptionOriginal cartoon drawing. LBJ, a cowboy, twirls a rope and watches a bucking donkey try to lose its load ("Foreign Aid”, “Civil Rights”, and “Tax Cut"). A masked man runs in the background with a lasso. The sun (“A Texas Son.”) in the sky has a face. Caption: “That Thars a Gonna Be a Rough Ride Podnar!”. Artist signature lower right: "W. James Thacker”.
Inscriptions and MarkingsHandwritten at lower right: "With best wishes to President Johnson, may your days be pleasant and successful".
Historical NoteWhen Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Revenue Act that decreased income taxes and refused to raise taxes, spending by consumers and businesses increased. Along with government spending on the Great Society and in foreign affairs, all of this increase of demand led to inflation. The Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s with Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the publicized desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Bloody Sunday and the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights took place in March 1965, during Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential term. Later that year in August was the Watts Riot in Los Angeles. The summer of 1967 saw many more riots and demonstrations in urban areas. King planned the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, but was assassinated before it could take place. The campaign, which included the building of the temporary Resurrection City, lasted in May-June 1968 to bring attention to economic injustices.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteThe item was a gift from the general public to President Johnson during his term in office. It was received by President Johnson, until the President donated it to the Lyndon B Johnson Presidential Library in 1973.
Credit LineGift of Lyndon Baines Johnson
Use Restriction StatusRestricted - Fully
Use Restriction NoteCopyright or other proprietary rights are held by individuals or entities other than the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. The LBJ Presidential Library and Museum does not warrant that the use of materials will not infringe on the rights of third parties holding the rights to these works, or make any representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement, treaty, or protections that may apply. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy any copyright or other use restrictions. Pertinent regulations can be found at 36 C.F.R 1254.62.
Person Referenced Lyndon Baines Johnson (United States, 1908 - 1973)
Not on view
Place Described