After Kennedy's assassination, Johnson, until then Vice President, ascended to the position. To publicly emphasize stability by the continuity of government, Johnson made efforts to persuade key people from the Kennedy administration to stay in office. Subsequently, various Kennedy officials, including his brother and Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy, stayed in the Cabinet. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a conversation with Johnson in the Executive Office Building, and in a confidential memorandum, he suggested that Johnson call a joint session of the Congress and deliver a speech. Soon after, Johnson asked Ted Sorensen, Kennedy's chief speechwriter, to prepare a draft version for his speech. Input about the subject matter and content of the speech came from various advisers, including John Kenneth Galbraith.
It was decided to broadcast the speech on television on November 27. After at least nine draft versions, Johnson studied the final version that same morning, making a few minor changes. In his address, he called Kennedy the "greatest leader of our time", and said that "American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication."[1] He called for the earliest possible passage of the civil rights law, and demanded that Congress pass tax reform that would bring tax relief. In contrast with Kennedy's 1961 inauguration address, Johnson said "Today, in this moment of new resolve, I would say to all my fellow Americans, let us continue."[1] He closed the speech with a stanza from "America the Beautiful".
The speech was interrupted 34 times by applause from the audience. It was widely appreciated, and the New York Herald Tribune described his address as "fine words, fitting words, at times inspiring words".[2] Soon after his address, Johnson succeeded in getting the tax reform bill and the Civil Rights Act passed by Congress.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at about 12:30p.m. CST. Upon his death, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded to the presidency. Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One.[3] After the plane landed at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., he gave a brief address to the public, which lasted less than 40 seconds.[4] Kennedy's widow Jacqueline Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and his children remained at the center of media and public attention in the following days,[5] particularly during the funeral ceremonies on November 25, 1963.[6]
All three presidents who were still living at the time pledged their support to Johnson. Former President Harry S. Truman advised him from his own experience of assuming the presidency upon his predecessor Franklin D. Roosevelt's death,[19] while former President Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Washington, D.C., and had a conversation with Johnson in the Executive Office Building. In a confidential memorandum, Eisenhower suggested to Johnson to call a joint session of the Congress and deliver a speech of around 12 minutes.[20] Concluding his memorandum, Eisenhower wrote: "You hope that people of government and the entire nation may now mobilize their hearts, their hands and their resources for one purpose—to increase the spiritual and material resources of the nation and to advance her prestige and her capacity for leadership in the world for peace."[20]
Soon after, Johnson asked Ted Sorensen, Kennedy's chief speechwriter, to prepare a draft version for his speech.[21] Initially, several cabinet members and White House staff suggested that Johnson address the nation from the Oval Office.[22] However, after Eisenhower's memorandum, Johnson felt that the Capitol seemed suitable for the speech, as he had served long as a senator, and was often referred to as "Master of the Senate".[22][23] On the afternoon of November 23, it was decided that Johnson would address the Congress on November 27.[22] On November 25, Johnson attended Kennedy's state funeral,[24] and met with various foreign dignitaries including Lester Pearson, the prime minister of Canada; Hayato Ikeda, the prime minister of Japan; Anastas Mikoyan, the deputy premier of the Soviet Union; Alec Douglas-Home, the prime minister of the United Kingdom; and Charles de Gaulle, the president of France.[25] A day before the funeral, Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of killing President Kennedy was fatally shot by nightclub operator Jack Ruby.[26] Johnson put together a team to develop speech drafts, which included Sorensen, John Kenneth Galbraith, McGeorge Bundy, Horace Busby, and Bill Moyers.[27][28] Several other advisers provided essential ideas and thoughts for the planned speech; inputs came from Abe Fortas (a lawyer and friend of Johnson),[29] Senator Hubert Humphrey, Senator Mike Mansfield, Dean Rusk, Douglas Dillon, Adlai Stevenson, Orville Freeman, and Kermit Gordon.[30] Author Merle Miller wrote that "everybody knew it would be the most important speech of Johnson's career."[31] Many Americans did not know Johnson, and he felt that it was necessary to establish a trust and sense of leadership.[32] Johnson initially agreed to the draft version presented to him by Galbraith; however, on November 25, Sorensen vehemently opposed Galbraith's draft as it presented Johnson in a deprecatory way.[21] Subsequently, Sorensen presented a draft that paid tribute to Kennedy and seemed like his personal obituary.[33][34] In his versions of the draft, Johnson remained in the shadow of his predecessor and was presented as someone who would implement the ideas of his predecessor, but was unwilling to take on independent and hands-on leadership.[35]
Based on useful elements from Sorensen's draft, Senator Humphrey, Abe Fortas, Walter Jenkins, Jack Valenti, Moyers, and Busby provided the synthesis and fine-tuning on the night of November 26.[36] In a memorandum to the secretary of state, the United States ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson expressed his concern for the draft and asserted that it had not sufficiently echoed Kennedy's foreign policy philosophy, including his support for the United Nations. This was subsequently added to the draft, but it appeared briefly in Johnson's address.[37] Remembering Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech in which Kennedy said "Let Us Begin", Busby suggested and inserted the formative words "Let Us Continue" on November 26.[38]
Public speaking was not one of Johnson's strengths. According to Ashley Barrett, his "thick [S]outhern accent often took away from the content of his messages, distracting some listeners and agitating others".[39] During his tenure as the vice president, Johnson began to place more emphasis on his public speaking skills,[40] although he feared that he could not compete with Kennedy's oration.[39] It was decided to broadcast the speech on television.[41] Awaiting answers about Kennedy's assassination, it was estimated that Americans watched television on average between eight and ten hours a day.[5][42] The allusion to Kennedy's words became an instrument for highlighting Johnson's leadership, which pushed for action, especially the political implementation of programs and legislation that had come to a complete standstill.[43] Busby made sure that Johnson did not disappear behind Kennedy, but as a political leader calling on his countrymen to "fulfill the destiny that history has set for us".[44] Johnson had insisted on addressing civil rights prominently the evening before the speech, but advisers considered this topic detrimental because progress could not be achieved in the Congress due to the obstruction policy of Southern politicians.[45] In response, Johnson asked, "What the hell's the presidency for?"[46] After at least nine draft versions,[47] Johnson studied the final version on the morning of November 27. A few lines, including a request for a moment of silence, and a couple of paragraphs describing America's status as a "good society" were omitted from the final draft.[48] Johnson also removed references to "liberal" and "conservative" from the speech, which read: "We must not mask the magnitude of challenge before us for fear of being called 'liberal', just as we must not accept unnecessary programs for fear of being called 'conservative'".[49] Johnson made only minor changes and added hints where he, in danger of speaking too quickly, planned a pause. Underscores marked the words he wanted to emphasize.[49]
The speech opened with Johnson being introduced to members of the joint session by John W. McCormack, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Johnson began with his tribute to President Kennedy and his work. He said: "All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today."[1] He called Kennedy the "greatest leader of our time", and emphasized at the outset that no word was sad enough to gauge the grief that Kennedy's assassination had caused.[1] He continued,
The dream of conquering the vastness of space—the dream of partnership across the Atlantic—and across the Pacific as well—the dream of a Peace Corps in less developed nations—the dream of education for all of our children—the dream of jobs for all who seek them and need them–the dream of care for our elderly—the dream of an all-out attack on mental illness—and above all, the dream of equal rights for all Americans, whatever their race or color—these and other American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication.[sic?][50]
Johnson then declared his intention to maintain continuity in foreign policy. It was followed by a passage devoted primarily to domestic policy.[51] He said: "This Nation will keep its commitments from South Vietnam to West Berlin."[1] He then asked the members of Congress to decide on tax reform and a bill to reduce racial discrimination.[52] He asked all Americans for their help,[53] saying: "An assassin's bullet has thrust upon me the awesome burden of the Presidency. I am here today to say I need your help; I cannot bear this burden alone."[1] Referring to Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address,[52] he said:
On the 20th day of January, in 1961, John F. Kennedy told his countrymen that our national work would not be finished 'in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet'. But, he said, 'let us begin'. Today, in this moment of new resolve, I would say to all my fellow Americans, let us continue.[1]
Johnson requested the earliest possible passage of the civil rights law, for which Kennedy had fought throughout his presidency.[54] He emphasized that equal rights had been spoken of for some time without political action:[52] "It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law. All traces of discrimination and oppression based on race or skin color should be eliminated."[50] He also demanded that Congress pass a tax reform that would bring tax relief.[55] The tax reform was conceived in the spirit of a supply-oriented economic policy.[55][56] He said: "As one who has long served in both Houses of the Congress, I firmly believe in the independence and the integrity of the legislative branch. And I promise you that I shall always respect this... With equal firmness, I believe in the capacity and I believe in the ability of the Congress, despite the divisions of opinions which characterize our Nation, to act--to act wisely, to act vigorously, to act speedily when the need arises."[1] Johnson was aware that such demands could give the appearance of disregarding the autonomy of Congress. He countered this impression by asserting that he firmly believed in the independence and integrity of the legislature, and he assumed that the Congress was capable of intelligent, energetic, and immediate action. He emphasized: "The need is here. The need is now. I ask your help."[50]
Johnson's call for action was expressed in the speech by the frequent use of the term "action", which he used 10 times. He had already repeatedly asked for help in talks with representatives of various interest groups and with individuals.[57] He also used repetitions in other parts of the speech to convey his message.[41] This stylistic device was used right at the beginning of the speech when Johnson spoke that "Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind."[50] Also at the beginning, he used the means of repetition when he recalled the political dreams that Kennedy had begun to realize: "The dream of conquering the vastness of space..."[50] Towards the end of his speech, he alluded to a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address of 1863:[58] "So let us here highly resolve that John Fitzgerald Kennedy did not live – or die – in vain."[50] He closed the speech with a stanza from "America the Beautiful",[52] saying:
And on this Thanksgiving eve, as we gather together to ask the Lord's blessing, and give Him our thanks, let us unite in those familiar and cherished words:
America, America, God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good With brotherhood From sea to shining sea.[1]
Evaluation and legacy
President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson entering the White House
Johnson's speech was interrupted 34 times by applause from the audience.[59] Apart from the members of Congress, his wife Lady Bird Johnson, and his daughters; government members and advisers, Supreme Court justices, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, foreign diplomats, and many members of the press were also present.[60] The applause was longest and loudest when Johnson called on Congress to swiftly pass a civil rights bill.[61] Strong applause also followed towards the end of Johnson's speech, when he called for national and political cohesion across all differences.[62] His listeners finally reacted with standing ovations after he had finished his speech, referring back to song-lines from "America the Beautiful" – very slowly, with feeling, in a soft, almost breaking voice.[21][63] However, not all Congress members applauded during the speech. Republicans held back in many moments. In particular, no Southern politicians applauded Johnson's call for a civil rights bill.[41][64]
Various newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Boston Herald praised the speech.[2] The New York Herald Tribune described his address as: "fine words, fitting words, at times inspiring words. As he stood before Congress and the nation, not a fluke of history but a president."[2] In the following weeks, various letters and telegrams to the White House showed that the speech was also received positively outside the press.[2] The echo in the international press of Western Europe, Latin America (including Cuba), and the Middle East was also favorable.[2]Robert Dallek judged that few other factors had contributed more to the successful transfer of power than this speech.[65]Robert A. Caro called the speech a "triumph".[66]
Soon after his address, Johnson succeeded in getting the long-blocked budget, including a tax reform bill, passed by Congress.[67] Immediately thereafter, efforts began to push through the Civil Rights Act, which succeeded despite considerable resistance from Southern politicians in July 1964. Polls showed high approval ratings for Johnson. Between March and May 1964, his approval rose from 70 to 77 percent.[68]
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Republican Senator Barry Goldwater in a landslide victory. Johnson was the fourth and most recent vice president to succeed the presidency following the death of his predecessor and win a full term in his own right. Johnson won the largest share of the popular vote for the Democratic Party in history at 61.1%. As of 2024, this remains the highest popular vote percentage of any candidate since the advent of widespread popular elections in 1824.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson previously served as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator.
Richard Brevard Russell Jr. was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almost 40 years, from 1933 to 1971. Russell was a founder and leader of the conservative coalition that dominated Congress from 1937 to 1963, and at his death was the most senior member of the Senate. He was a leader of Southern opposition to the civil rights movement for decades.
Theodore Chaikin Sorensen was an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser. He was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, as well as one of his closest advisers. President Kennedy once called him his "intellectual blood bank". He collaborated with Kennedy on the book Profiles in Courage, "assembling and preparing" much of research on which the book was based. Kennedy won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Sorensen helped draft Kennedy's inaugural address and Lyndon Johnson's Let Us Continue speech following Kennedy's assassination, and was the primary author of Kennedy's 1962 "We choose to go to the Moon" speech.
The United States Revenue Act of 1964, also known as the Tax Reduction Act, was a tax cut act proposed by President John F. Kennedy, passed by the 88th United States Congress, and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The act became law on February 26, 1964.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his presidency.
Robert Gene Baker was an American political adviser to Lyndon B. Johnson, and an organizer for the Democratic Party. He became the Senate's Secretary to the Majority Leader. In 1963, he resigned during an investigation by the Democratic-controlled Senate into his business and political activities. The investigation included allegations of bribery and arranging sexual favors in exchange for Congressional votes and government contracts. The Senate investigation looked into the financial activities of Baker and Lyndon Johnson during the 1950s. The investigation of Lyndon Johnson as part of the Baker investigation was later dropped after President Kennedy's assassination and Johnson's ascension to the presidency.
The Lyndon B. Johnson bibliography includes major books and articles about President Lyndon B. Johnson, his life, and presidential administration. Kent B. Germany in his review of the historiography noted in 2009 that Johnson has been the subject of 250 Ph.D. dissertations, well over one hundred books, and many scholarly articles. The New York Times and the Washington Post published 7600 articles on him during his presidency. Only a select subgroup are listed here, chiefly those reviewed by the major scholarly journals.
Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure as the 36th president of the United States began on November 22, 1963, upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and ended on January 20, 1969. He had been vice president for 1,036 days when he succeeded to the presidency. Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, ran for and won a full four-year term in the 1964 presidential election, in which he defeated Republican nominee Barry Goldwater in a landslide. Johnson withdrew his bid for a second full term in the 1968 presidential election because of his low popularity. Johnson was succeeded by Republican Richard Nixon, who won the aforementioned election. His presidency marked the high tide of modern liberalism in the 20th century United States.
John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took office following his narrow victory over Republican incumbent vice president Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1961, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 44th inauguration and marked the commencement of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's only term as president and vice president. Kennedy was assassinated 2 years, 306 days into this term, and Johnson succeeded to the presidency.
The Report to the American People on Civil Rights was a speech on civil rights, delivered on radio and television by United States President John F. Kennedy from the Oval Office on June 11, 1963, in which he proposed legislation that would later become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Expressing civil rights as a moral issue, Kennedy moved past his previous appeals to legality and asserted that the pursuit of racial equality was a just cause. The address signified a shift in his administration's policy towards strong support of the civil rights movement and played a significant role in shaping his legacy as a proponent of civil rights.
Harry Cummings McPherson Jr. served as counsel and special counsel to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and was Johnson's chief speechwriter from 1966 to 1969. McPherson's A Political Education, 1972, is a classic insider's view of Washington and an essential source for Johnson's presidency. A prominent Washington lawyer and lobbyist since 1969, McPherson was awarded American Lawyer magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. He died February 16, 2012, in Bethesda, Maryland.
The 1964 State of the Union Address was given by Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, on Wednesday, January 8, 1964, to the 88th United States Congress in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives. It was Johnson's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress after the assassination of his predecessor John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Presiding over this joint session was House speaker John W. McCormack, accompanied by President pro tempore Carl Hayden, in his capacity as the acting president of the Senate since the office of Vice President was vacant.
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, commonly known by the sentence in the middle of the speech "We choose to go to the Moon", was a speech on September 12, 1962 by John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States. The aim was to bolster public support for his proposal to land a man on the Moon before 1970 and bring him safely back to Earth. Kennedy gave the speech, largely written by presidential advisor and speechwriter Ted Sorensen, to a large crowd at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas. In his speech, Kennedy characterized space as a new frontier, invoking the pioneer spirit that dominated American folklore. He infused the speech with a sense of urgency and destiny, and emphasized the freedom enjoyed by Americans to choose their destiny rather than have it chosen for them. Although he called for competition with the Soviet Union, Kennedy also proposed making the Moon landing a joint project. The speech resonated widely, although there was disquiet about the cost and value of the Moon-landing effort. Kennedy's goal was realized posthumously, in July 1969, with the Apollo program's successful Apollo 11 mission.
The presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson began on November 22, 1963, when Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th president of the United States following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His term ended on January 20, 1969.
The Johnson desk is a mahogany partners desk that was used by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Oval Office as his Oval Office desk. One of only six desks used by a president in the Oval Office, it was designed by Thomas D. Wadelton and built in 1909 by S. Karpen and Bros. in Chicago. The desk was built as part of 125 seven-piece office sets for senators' offices in the Russell Senate Office Building, and was used by Johnson during his terms as U.S. Senator, Vice President, and President. It is currently located at Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum as part of a replica Oval Office.
The United States foreign policy during the 1963-1969 presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson was dominated by the Vietnam War and the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Johnson took over after the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, while promising to keep Kennedy's policies and his team.
The 1964 presidential campaign of Lyndon B. Johnson was a successful campaign for Johnson and his running mate Hubert Humphrey for their election as president and vice president of the United States. They defeated Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater and vice presidential nominee William Miller. Johnson, a Democrat and former vice president under John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president upon Kennedy's assassination. In 1964, Johnson did not look optimistically upon the prospect of being elected president in his own right. Despite Johnson's uncertainty about running, he was seen as the most likely candidate to get the nomination. He entered the primaries starting with New Hampshire and won the state by almost 29,000 votes. Johnson's main opponent in the primaries was Alabama Governor George Wallace, who had announced his intention to seek the presidency even before Kennedy's assassination.
Horace Wooten "Buzz" Busby Jr. was an American opinion journalist, speechwriter, consultant, and public relations expert. He was considered one of Lyndon B. Johnson's closest confidants before and during Johnson's term as President of the United States.
Witherspoon, Patricia D. (1987). "'Let Us Continue:' The Rhetorical Initiation of Lyndon Johnson's Presidency". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 17 (3). Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress: 531–539. JSTOR27550444.
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