The President April 1968

[Music] [Applause] [Music] on Sunday evening March 31st president Lyndon  Johnson delivered a radio and television address rest to the American people the early substance  of his speech concerned the bombing of North Vietnam tonight I renew the offer I made  last August to stop the bombardment of North Vietnam we ask that talks begin promptly  that they be serious talks on the substance of peace tonight I have ordered our aircraft  and our Naval vessels to make no attacks on North Vietnam except in the area north of  the demilitarized zone where the continuing enemy buildup directly threatens Allied  forward positions and where the move and so with the decision about the bombing made  public the president turned his attention to domestic affairs almost casually he set  the stage for one of the most startling and unexpected announcements ever made by an American  president with Americans sons in the field far away with America's future under challenge  right here at home with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance  every day I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any  personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office the  presidency of your country accordingly I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination  of my party for another term as your president but let men everywhere know however that  a strong and a confident and a Vigilant America stands ready tonight to seek an  honorable peace and stands ready tonight to defend an honored cause whatever the  price whatever the burden whatever the s that Duty may require thank you for  listening good night and God bless all of you [Music] [Music] moments later President Johnson held  a press conference in the yellow oval room how did he feel now that he had  made the announcement good considering all that he had gone through during the  past 24 hours now all of his energies and efforts could be directed toward a  peaceful settlement of the war in Vietnam the following morning while a stunned  world was still measuring the seismic impact of his decision the president flew to  Chicago to address the National Association of broadcasters mayor Richard Dy  was on hand to meet him at O'Hare Airport one of my Aid said this morning  said things are really getting confused around Washington Mr President and I said how's  that said looks to me like that you're going to the wrong convention in Chicago although he would  speak with humor and poignancy about his decision of the night before and his own shortcomings as  a communicator the major theme of his speech was National Unity sometimes I have been called a  seeker of consensus more often that has been criticism of my actions instead of Praise of them  but I have never denied because to heal and to build support to hold people together is something  I think that is worthy and I believe it is a noble task and so on the afternoon of the  first day in April President Johnson found himself freed of his political  restraints hopefully his gesture of March 31st had cleared the way for  a change in the course of the war in Vietnam on April 3rd some 60 hours after the  president's Sunday evening address radio Hanoi issued a 1,000-word broadcast of its own it  was confident boastful and bristling with the usual Hardline cliches but buried in the rhetoric  with one significant paragraph and that paragraph electrified the Free World and gave the United  States its first real diplomatic breakthrough of the war Hanoi it said was ready to meet with  United States representatives to discuss the cessation of us bombing raids and all other acts  of War perhaps the sudden willingness of the North Vietnamese to talk was a tactical maneuver a probe  costing them nothing perhaps it was a test of settlement terms or simply a counter move to avoid  losing a propaganda round whatever it was the potential for ending the long diplomatic stalemate  was suddenly there after an intensive round of consultations with some of his closest advisers  President Johnson made a prompt and affirmative reply accordingly we will established contact with  the representatives of North Vietnam consultation with the government of South  Vietnam and our other allies are now taking [Music] place despite the  crucial midm morning activity surrounding the Hanoi broadcast President Johnson  took time to honor a prior request by Senator Robert Kennedy that the two men  meet to discuss problems of national Unity this meeting the last that they would ever hold  took an hour among the items discussed was the Hanoi proposal two months and 3 days later  while seeking the nomination of his party for the presidency Senator Kennedy would die  at the hands of an assassin in the city of Los Angeles following the meeting with Senator  Kennedy President Johnson held a second hourong session in the cabinet  room this one with vice president Hubert Humphrey just back from  a diplomatic mission to Mexico City on Saturday April 27th the vice  president would join Senators Kennedy and McCarthy as a declared candidate  for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday April 4 President Johnson  and his daughter Lucy flew to New York City to witness installation of the most Reverend Terrence  J cook as the new Archbishop of St Patrick's Cathedral two hours later with  his helicopter warmed up and waiting for the takeoff to Kennedy  International the president decided on a second stop within minutes his  motorcade was moving through Manhattan's crowded East Side toward the UN Plaza and a  70-minute meeting with un Secretary General uant just before 6:00 p.m. Air Force One took  off from Kennedy International Airport and headed for home by morning the big jet would  be on the first leg of the president's trip to Hawaii but then at 8:05 p.m. Eastern  Standard Time the country was stunned by the tragic news out of Memphis  Tennessee Dr Martin Luther King Jr the Negro Apostle of nonviolence had been  shot and killed by an assassin [Music] throughout the evening and into the following  two days and nights a shock wave of looting and arson would sweep through a number of cities and  towns from coast to coast including Washington [Music] DC in the immediate aftermath of Dr King's  death President Johnson canceled his trip to Hawaii and spoke to the American people  on radio and television asking them to reject the kind of blind violence  that had caused the Negro leaders death on the following morning he met with a large  group of prominent and influential Americans black and white to see what could be done about stemming  the apparent tide of violence in the cities among those attending the conference were mayor Walter  Washington of the District of Columbia Supreme Court Justice thur Good Marshall Vice President  Humphrey Senate Democratic leader Mike Mansfield the Reverend Walter fonty of Washington's Southern  Christian leadership conference Whitney Young director of the National Urban League Speaker  of the House John McCormick Roy Wilkins the executive director of the NAACP and Bayard Rustin  Chief planner of the 1963 March on Washington there had been few weeks like it in American  history a president had stepped out of the political arena in an election year then came  the hope and Elation over the promise of a new peace offensive and now just as suddenly  a great negro leader was dead and there was sorrow and despair over the burning  and looting in the streets [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] once again the heart of America is heavy for a  tragedy that denies the very meaning of our land the life of a man who symbolized the freedom  and Faith of America has been taken but it is the fiber and the fabric of the Republic  that's being tested and no words of mine can fill the void of the  eloquent voice that has been still but this I do believe deeply the dream of Dr Martin Luther King Jr has not died with  him men who are white men who are black must and will now join together as never in the  past to let all the forces of divisiveness know that America shall not be ruled by the bullet  but only by the ballot of free and of just Men by Friday evening the first of over 11 ,000  regular army and National Guard troops that would occupy the capital city until mid Monon  had taken up positions in and around the riot [Music] area perhaps the country's viewpoint on the fires  and rioting was most eloquently expressed by Mrs Johnson during her 5-day tour through the state of  Texas with 38 European journalists the journalists were from 13 different European countries and had  been invited to this country as part of a discover America Tour our visitors have come at a time  of Anguish and turmoil in our country they saw our frictions laid bare but I believe that they  have also seen that the crashing headlines which shook us as much as they did the world are not  all the story of this country they do not blot out the progress that has been made across this  great democracy behind the smoke of our troubled cities there is a great wide land of strength  and confidence and warmth our tears for our country country's troubles are deep but deeper  still is our confidence in the future and our ability in our ability to meet and  master man's basic problem how to live in peace on Saturday the 6th General William West  Morland commander of the US forces in Southeast Asia arrived at the white house for two days  of talks with President Johnson on their agenda were discussions on the progress of the war  in South Vietnam the selection of military advisers to accompany the American delegation  to the talks with the North Vietnamese and the appointment of his successor after General West  Morland assumed his new position as Army Chief of Staff by far the most significant news out  of Viet Nam during the general stay was the word about operation Pegasus as suddenly as  it had begun the siege of quesan was over on April 5th the combined drive by us and South  Vietnamese forces had cleared Highway 9 and opened the major ground Supply route to the  embattled Marines who had held it for over 76 days on Monday of the following week President  Johnson received an official message from Hanoi repeating in formal terms its previous statement  agreeing to meet with American diplomatic [Music] Representatives coincidentally the  president had already made arrangements for an evening flight to Camp David where he plan to conduct a broad review  of the war in Vietnam [Music] early the following morning Ambassador Ellsworth  bunker arrived from South Vietnam he had been joined on the last leg of his journey  to Camp David by Secretary of State Rusk Secretary of Defense Clifford and general Earl  wheeler chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in his original reply to the Hanoi broadcast  President Johnson had proposed Geneva as a meeting site for the negotiating  teams and stated that Ambassador ail Harman was immediately available  as the US Representative for initial [Music] contacts the agreement to meet could  develop into a settlement but the chance also carried with it a risk that couldn't be  ignored if the talks failed to bring an acceptable accommodation the war could rage  even more fiercely than before so the immediate problem for the United States and its allies  was to be sure that the site for talks was mutually acceptable to both sides and that  we were dealing from a position of strength President Johnson asked Ambassador bunker for  his personal evaluation of the progress of the war in Vietnam if Ted was a psychological  and political success abroad it suddenly was a resounding military defeat for them in Vietnam  the Vietnamese forces for example many of them were only at half strength they inflicted very  heavy casualties and drove the Communists from every city in the country the government did  not collapse but turned to with great will and determination the arban forces did not  defect the people after the initial shock emerged strengthened in their anger and their  hatred for Communists and their determination to resist on Wednesday April 10th president and Mrs Johnson welcome Chancellor and Mrs  Joseph klouse of Austria to Washington [Music] Mr Chancellor and Mrs Cloud we welcome you to the  beautiful Washington Spring Mr Chancellor at a time of turbulence and hope in our nation as it is  for us here in America so it is around the world there is turbulence today in America and  in Eastern Europe and in Southeast Asia and there is hope as well in all  of those places so our aim at this season is to sift The Hope from  the turbulence so hope May grow unfettered Mr Chancellor the experience  of your nation tells us that it can you give us additional cause to believe that hope can  coexist with turbulence and that freedom and order will in time Prevail we expect this spring day in  Washington that this will happen in our country in America and that it will happen in Southeast Asia  and will happen wherever man of goodwi earnestly seek and pursue peace and equity and justice for  [Music] all even while President Johnson talked to Chancellor klouse about America's responsibility  in a time of Crisis and challenge word came from Capitol Hill that Congress had passed and sent  to the White House the Civil Rights Act of 1968 included in the measure was a landmark open  housing bill which when fully effective would forbid discrimination in Approximately 80% of all  housing offered for rent or for sale in the United [Applause] States I do not exaggerate when I say  that the proudest moments of my presidency have been times such as this when I have signed into  law the promises of a century I shall never forget that is more than a hundred years ago when Abraham  Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation but it was a proclamation it was not a fact and in  the Civil Rights Act of 1964 we affirmed through law that men men equal under God are also equal  when they seek a job when they go to get a meal in a restaurant or when they seek lodging for the  night in any state in the Union and now the Negro families no longer suffer the humiliation of  being turned away because of their race in the Civil Rights Act of 1965 we affirm through law  for every citizen in this land the most basic right of democracy the right of a citizen to  vote in an election in his country in the five states where the ACT had its greater impact negro  voter registration has already more than doubled now with this bill the voice of Justice speaks  again it proclaims that fair housing for all all human beings who live in this country is now  a part of the American way of life we all know that the roots of Injustice Run Deep but violence  cannot redress a solitary wrong or remedy a single unfairness and we just must put  our shoulders together and put a stop to both The Time Is Here action must be now [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] at midm mon from all outward appearances the city  of Washington was returning to normal despite many problems she seemed determined to whether  the remaining days of April with a remarkable Poise on Saturday the 13th president and Mrs  Johnson were at home in Texas for the Easter weekend for the moment all of the meetings  and Affairs of state were lost in a pleasant two-day Montage of Open Fields Texas  Sunshine family and friends [Music] as the smallest member of the Johnson family  little Lyn nent soon found out that Easter Sunday met bunny rabbits other children a short but  abortive walk with his grandmother and a horseback ride courtesy of of his constant companion  the president of the United States [Music] [Music] on Monday April 15th  at 9:20 a.m. President Johnson left Bergstrom Air Force Base for Honolulu Hawaii among those accompanying him  were William Bundy assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs presidential  troubleshooter Cyrus Vance us protocol chief Andrew biduk General Earl G wheeler chairman  of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Special Assistant Walt rostow and Ambassador winre  Brown former US ambassador to Korea during the two weeks following  the president's speech of March 31st the administration had officially  proposed five neutral sites for possible peace talks Switzerland venon  rangon Jakarta and New Delhi Hanoi had rejected them all insisting instead that  the United States choose either pomen or Warsaw coupled with this was the matter  of reassuring allies like President Changi Park that the United States intended to  remain steadfast in its commitments in Asia [Music] the presidential party arrived at  honolulu's International Airport just after 1 p.m. local time among  those on hand to meet the president were Governor John Burns and Pacific  Commander Admiral Grant sharp Jr [Music] [Music] our ties across the Pacific go back a long  way at least a century and a quarter to the time when we became involved in China and  then a little later in Japan but it is only in the past 27 years that we have learned  that the destiny of the United States is once and for all bound up with the fate  of the peoples of Asia and the Pacific I deeply believe that this nation will contined  to play its part in helping to protect and to develop the New Asia I deeply believe that  my successor whoever he may be will act in ways that will reflect America's abiding  interest in Asian's freedom and in Asia's Security on Wednesday the 14th President  Johnson and South Korean president chuni Park met at the the ocean front estate  of the late industrialist Henry J Kaiser their one-day meeting had a  packed agenda which ranged from the war in Vietnam to the North Korean seizure  of the USS Pueblo during the month of [Music] January the days are long gone when Americans  could say that Asians are not our kind of people people who love peace and freedom whatever their  color or their religion or their national origin are our kind of people we wish to see Asia like  Europe take an increasing responsibility for shaping its own destiny and we intend and we  mean to help it do so America will remain the friend and the Ally and the partner of Europe but  America will also Remain the friend and the Ally and the partner of free men in Asia and this  is my faith this is my Bel this is my judgment on Thursday morning April 18th President  Johnson landed at California's March Air Force Base for a conference on Asian  affairs with former President Eisenhower [Music] after the meeting between President  Johnson and general Eisenhower ended the administration announced that it had  prepared a list of 10 more possible sites for diplomatic contacts with North Vietnam six  in Asia and four in Europe it was time for the Communist to give a prompt and serious  answer to the question of meeting sites the journey to Hawaii ended where it  had begun at the LBJ Ranch in Texas [Music] [Music] with his announcement on the night  of March 31st it seemed inevitable that friends and critics alike would take  a searching second look at the man in the white house but because of the momentous  happenings during the month of April few would have the opportunity to study the events  behind the major headlines events that would clearly reflect many of the accomplishments  hopes and aspirations of the John Johnson presidency on the night of the 24th President  Johnson arrived at Chicago's Conrad Hilton Hotel to address a rally of Cook County Democrats  their reception for him was spontaneous and deeply felt no man could serve where I have served now  for more than four years and five long months without sensing that we are once again in a new  time there are young men and women wondering if there's a place for them in a world that they did  not make their mothers and fathers who despise War as their children despise it but the story of  our land the UN United States of America is not a dismal story of wrongs Without End here in America  as nowhere else since time began we are striving eagerly to let the sunlight shine upon all of our  people because that is what America is all about step by step year by year we're moving  out of the darkness and out of the shadows out into a new day of light  and justice for all of our [Applause] people in 19 37 President Johnson was a  young Congressman representing the 10th congressional district in the state  of Texas during that year Washington had only 60 foreign missions  doing business in the nation's capital in April of 1968 during  the annual diplomatic reception the number had grown to 117 testimony not  only to the speed of the jet age but to a country's willingness to assume global respons  responsibility during a time of explosive [Music] change under Mrs Johnson's leadership private  donors had given nearly $3 million to make Washington a more pleasant and livable place as  a rallying cry her efforts to help the District of Colombia had had a profound influence on  planners and conservationists across the country on April 17th she invited the 200 private donors  and the members of her committee for a more beautiful Capital to a White House luncheon  and City Tour one of the guest speakers and one of Mrs Johnson's staunchest allies in  City beautification work was mayor Walter Washington her Heritage as first lady and not  in beautification per se it's in communication it's in The Hope and the desire to identify  a human being with his environment and this is a really the heart of the turbulence and  turmoil we're going through now the extent to which people have been alienated alienated  from participation alienated from the American dream and I would like to think the days  ahead are great days I think this is sign ific for us that if we touched one child  alone in this great effort I think it's important on April 22nd President Johnson  signed a bill which gave the citizens of the District of Colombia the right to elect  their own School Board overall it had been a momentous year for the district we have  installed a mayor and a city council in the city hall the new government is responding  responding to the needs and the hopes of the people in day-to-day operations and in crisis  as well with this legislation we will restore another basic right of popular government the  right of people to help shape the education of their children Washington should become  in every sense a model City it must be a place where democracy is inin not only in  monuments but in the lives of its people the people must be given the right to elect  their own representatives in the congress the people must be given the most basic right of  all home R and someday they will be of that I am sure as expected April would have  its moments of nostalgia on the 18th Mrs Johnson celebrated the White House  acquisition of a portrait of Mrs best Truman at the first lady's side was Mrs Margaret Truman Daniel in the room a host of  old friends from The Truman Administration another satisfying moment  for the Johnson's during the month of April was the swearingin ceremony for the  new Postmaster General Marvin Watson [Applause] he has served here in the white house for more  than three years I have found him always cool in crisis and we have had enough of them for me  to test him Marvin we'll all miss you we believe that our loss here will be the post office  Department's gain uh the presence of these people here is a sufficient testimony to your  fairness and uh to your service and to the high esteem in which you're held in the government  particularly the executive and Congressional branches this is a happy moment for me  too because I know and trust Marvin and his family and I believe in them I wanted to  ask all of you guests if you won't come to the next Garden the Jaclyn Kennedy garden where  you'll have a we'll all have an opportunity to visit with Marvin and Marian and their  family and have some refreshments [Applause] [Music] on the 26th President Johnson met with the  Board of Trustees from the new Urban Institute a private nonprofit corporation The Institute  was chartered at the president's request to launch a free and searching in quiry into the  problems of Decay and growth in the American city on the international calendar President  Johnson asked Congress to approve a far-reaching plan to reform World Finance he called for the  creation of a new form of international currency special drawing rights or paper gold to relieve  drains on the US Gold Supply and thus strengthen its position position in World Trade just as  the Breton Woods agreement of 1944 prepared us for the postor War II era of trade this new Step  looked forward to the Decades of the 1970s and 1980s the decisions that we must make this year  are among the most vitally important decisions that Americans have ever been called upon to  make perhaps more than at any time in all of your past we shall be choosing our future and we  shall be choosing the future of our children the test of our compassion will continue long after  the ordeal of our great cities the trial of our course and our wisdom will continue far beyond  the terrible ordeal of Vietnam our politics today has changed and it's changing our issues  are new our styles are new our slogans are new and all of this is good for it reflects and  it serves the changes that are being wrought by America's own advances in the world but the  purpose of our politics is not changed and it must not change for that purpose is to serve  the unity of all of our people all the [Music] time for