Speeches & Audio | Videos | Photos

Johnson Takes Oath of Office Aboard Air Force One (0:34)

Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States aboard Air Force One before the plane leaves Dallas for Washington, D.C.

Listen to Similar Speeches & Audio

Your Parental Control settings do not allow you to view thiscontent.

Speeches & Audio (30)

  • Johnson Takes Oath of Office Aboard Air Force One
    Johnson Takes Oath of Office Aboard Air Force One

    Audio Clip (0:34)

    Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States aboard Air Force One before the plane leaves Dallas for Washington, D.C.

    Audio Clip (0:34)
  • Lyndon Johnson's Inaugural Address
    Lyndon Johnson's Inaugural Address

    Audio Clip (2:02)

    On January 20, 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson began his first elected term as president of the United States. In his inaugural address, Johnson calls for the nation to unite toward a common goal.

    Audio Clip (2:02)
  • Johnson Will Not Seek Reelection
    Johnson Will Not Seek Reelection

    Audio Clip (0:38)

    Facing a country sharply divided over the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces in a national television and radio broadcast on March 31, 1968, that he will not seek reelection to the presidency.

    Audio Clip (0:38)
  • Lyndon Johnson Phones Jacqueline Kennedy
    Lyndon Johnson Phones Jacqueline Kennedy

    Audio Clip (2:01)

    In a December 2, 1963, recorded telephone conversation, President Lyndon B. Johnson expresses his fondness for former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on the eve of her departure from the White House following the assassination of President Kennedy.

    Audio Clip (2:01)
  • Johnson Declares Day of Mourning for JFK
    Johnson Declares Day of Mourning for JFK

    Audio Clip (2:49)

    On November 23, President Johnson issued his proclamation, declaring November 25 to be a day of national mourning for President Kennedy.

    Audio Clip (2:49)
  • McNamara Briefs President Johnson on Tonkin Gulf
    McNamara Briefs President Johnson on Tonkin Gulf

    Audio Clip (1:00)

    On August 4, 1964, as events in the Tonkin Gulf unfold, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara apprised President Lyndon B. Johnson of the situation in a series of phone calls. In the third secretly recorded phone call of the day, McNamara reports that two U.S. destroyers deployed in the Gulf east of Vietnam are under attack. While McNamara did not know it at the time, the information he relayed was later determined to be false.

    Audio Clip (1:00)
  • Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in Vietnam
    Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in Vietnam

    Audio Clip (5:02)

    In June 1965, shortly after a coup in South Vietnam led to the 10th change of government in the war torn country, an attack by the North Vietnamese destroyed three U.S. aircraft at Danang. During a recorded telephone conversation with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara on July 2, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson contemplates whether the war can be won.

    Audio Clip (5:02)
  • Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara Plan Airstrikes in Vietnam
    Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara Plan Airstrikes in Vietnam

    Audio Clip (3:31)

    In a recorded phone call on February 26, 1965, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson discuss possible airstrikes in Vietnam.

    Audio Clip (3:31)
  • LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North Vietnam
    LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North Vietnam

    Audio Clip (1:16)

    In a broadcast from the White House on January 31, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson informs the nation that U.S. airstrikes on Vietnam have resumed after a 37-day pause in bombing.

    Audio Clip (1:16)
  • Lyndon Johnson Expresses Doubts About Vietnam War
    Lyndon Johnson Expresses Doubts About Vietnam War

    Audio Clip (1:13)

    Speaking to his special assistant for national security, McGeorge Bundy, in a May 27, 1964, recorded telephone conversation, President Lyndon B. Johnson expresses his worry that the war in Vietnam is turning into another Korea.

    Audio Clip (1:13)
  • Johnson Introduces "Great Society"
    Johnson Introduces "Great Society"

    Audio Clip (2:54)

    In a speech presented at the University of Michigan on May 22, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlines his vision of a "Great Society," which includes the ideas that will later become programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start.

    Audio Clip (2:54)
  • Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
    Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Audio Clip (3:44)

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education, and outlawed segregation in public facilities.

    Audio Clip (3:44)
  • Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights Act
    Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights Act

    Audio Clip (4:41)

    On August 6, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. In a speech delivered at the signing ceremony, Johnson describes the historic day as a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory won on any battlefield.

    Audio Clip (4:41)
  • Johnson Signs Medicare Bill Into Law
    Johnson Signs Medicare Bill Into Law

    Audio Clip (1:52)

    On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson joined former President Harry Truman in Independence, Missouri, to sign the Medicare Bill into law. In his remarks following the signing of the document, President Johnson credits Presidents FDR and Truman with paving the way for the bill.

    Audio Clip (1:52)
  • Lyndon Johnson on Missing Civil Rights Workers
    Lyndon Johnson on Missing Civil Rights Workers

    Audio Clip (3:00)

    On June 23, 1964, two days after three civil rights workers disappeared in Mississippi, President Lyndon B. Johnson telephones Senator James Eastland for help with the matter, but Eastland denies trouble and declares the event a publicity stunt.

    Audio Clip (3:00)
  • Lyndon Johnson Gets News About Missing Civil Rights Workers
    Lyndon Johnson Gets News About Missing Civil Rights Workers

    Audio Clip (4:00)

    On June 23, 1964, the burned car of three missing civil rights workers who had disappeared in Mississippi —James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman—was discovered. In a recorded phone call later that day, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover delivers the news to President Lyndon B. Johnson. While Johnson holds out hope that the three men may still be alive, Hoover suspects the worst.

    Audio Clip (4:00)
  • Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights Workers
    Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights Workers

    Audio Clip (1:33)

    On August 4, 1964, in a recorded phone call, FBI Deputy Director Cartha “Deke” DeLoach informs President Lyndon B. Johnson that the bodies of the three civil rights workers who had been missing in Mississippi since June 21, 1964, have been found.

    Audio Clip (1:33)
  • Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights Workers
    Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights Workers

    Audio Clip (0:59)

    After receiving news that the bodies of three missing civil rights workers were found in Mississippi on August 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson calls Civil Rights Counselor Lee White and asks him to inform the families of the victims.

    Audio Clip (0:59)
  • Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights Worker
    Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights Worker

    Audio Clip (4:28)

    On March 25, 1965, Viola Gregg Liuzzo was murdered in Selma, Alabama. The following day, President Lyndon Johnson announces on national radio and television the capture of her killers.

    Audio Clip (4:28)
  • Lady Bird Johnson Critiques the President
    Lady Bird Johnson Critiques the President

    Audio Clip (2:30)

    President Lyndon B. Johnson holds a press conference on March 7, 1964, and takes questions on a range of topics, from the pending civil rights bill to the war in Vietnam. Afterward, in a recorded conversation with the president, Lady Bird Johnson evaluates her husband’s performance and awards him a “B+.”

    Audio Clip (2:30)
  • Lyndon Johnson Lifts Dog by Ears
    Lyndon Johnson Lifts Dog by Ears

    Audio Clip (2:23)

    When President Lyndon Johnson lifted his beagle, Him, by its ears to pose for an A.P. photographer, he set off a nationwide barrage of protests from animal lovers. In this April 29, 1964, telephone call with Senator Mike Mansfield, Johnson briefly discusses the civil rights bill, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate, then complains about how Senator Everett Dirksen is focusing on the incident with the dog.

    Audio Clip (2:23)
  • Johnson Delivers State of the Union
    Johnson Delivers State of the Union

    Audio Clip (1:22)

    During his State of the Union address on January 4, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson outlines his proposal for domestic legislation aimed at creating what he calls the "Great Society."

    Audio Clip (1:22)
  • Death of Former President Lyndon Johnson
    Death of Former President Lyndon Johnson

    Audio Clip (1:37)

    A special White House correspondence describes President Nixon's reaction to the news of Lyndon Johnson's death. LBJ died of a heart attack on January 22, 1973, less than one week before the Vietnam peace agreement was signed.

    Audio Clip (1:37)
  • LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
    LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

    Audio Clip (1:39)

    On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper while standing outside his hotel room in Memphis. After attending a memorial service the next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation about the tragedy in a broadcast from the White House.

    Audio Clip (1:39)
  • Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican Republic
    Johnson Orders Troops to Dominican Republic

    Audio Clip (1:18)

    In a broadcast from the White House on April 28, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson reads a statement to the nation on his decision to deploy U.S. troops to the Dominican Republic. U.S. Marines were ordered to safely evacuate Americans from the Caribbean country, where internal fighting could not be contained.

    Audio Clip (1:18)
  • Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell
    Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell

    Audio Clip (2:29)

    In a heated telephone conversation on March 1, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson accuses Adam Clayton Powell of holding up the passage of an education bill.

    Audio Clip (2:29)
  • Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's Arm
    Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's Arm

    Audio Clip (3:30)

    In early 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to pass an excise tax bill, but, with two members of his party opposing, the bill was likely to die in the Senate. In a secretly recorded telephone call to Senator Abraham Ribicoff on January 23, Johnson is heard applying his power of persuasion.

    Audio Clip (3:30)
  • Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator Hartke
    Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator Hartke

    Audio Clip (1:45)

    In a secretly recorded telephone conversation with Democratic Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana on January 23, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson pressures Hartke to vote for his excise tax bill, which is hung up in the Senate. On June 21, 1965, Johnson signed the Excise Tax Reduction Act into law.

    Audio Clip (1:45)
  • LBJ Engages in First Satellite Conversation
    LBJ Engages in First Satellite Conversation

    Audio Clip (1:03)

    Shortly after its launch, AT&T Chairman Frederick Kappel, at Telstar headquarters in Andover, Maine, spoke with Vice President Lyndon Johnson in Washington in the first telephone conversation via satellite in history.

    Audio Clip (1:03)
  • Johnson Runs for President in 1960
    Johnson Runs for President in 1960

    Audio Clip (2:23)

    After weeks of campaigning, Sen. Lyndon Johnson of Texas officially announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination at a press conference on July 5, 1960. But by July 14, after a poor first-ballot showing against Sen. John F. Kennedy, Johnson accepted a second-place role, becoming his former rival's running mate.

    Audio Clip (2:23)

Videos (12)

  • LBJ: Before the War on Poverty
    LBJ: Before the War on Poverty

    Video Clip (2:15)

    LBJ spent time after college teaching impoverished Mexican-American immigrants on the border of Texas and Mexico, an experience that shaped his personality and presidential ambitions.

    Video Clip (2:15)
  • Lyndon Johnson's Presidential Legacy
    Lyndon Johnson's Presidential Legacy

    Video Clip (4:06)

    Lyndon Johnson's presidency is remembered in part for his handling of the Vietnam War, but he also advanced civil rights and equality throughout the nation.

    Video Clip (4:06)
  • LBJ: Gulf of Tonkin Incident
    LBJ: Gulf of Tonkin Incident

    Video Clip (3:49)

    The Gulf of Tonkin incident was the result of mounting tensions between the U.S. and North Vietnam.

    Video Clip (3:49)
  • White House Christmas
    White House Christmas

    Video Clip (0:45)

    Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson celebrate Christmas morning at the White House in 1968.

    Video Clip (0:45)
  • Johnson Buries Goldwater
    Johnson Buries Goldwater

    Video Clip (1:43)

    Lyndon Johnson beats Barry Goldwater for Presidential election in 1964.

    Video Clip (1:43)
  • The Daisy Ad
    The Daisy Ad

    Video Clip (3:02)

    The Daisy Ad, run for the first and last time on September 7th, 1964, but its impact was immeasurable. Political advertising was never the same.

    Video Clip (3:02)
  • Johnson Says He Won't Run
    Johnson Says He Won't Run

    Video Clip (1:42)

    In a History Uncut video, President Lyndon B. Johnson confidently gives his resignation speech as he steps down from the office of the presidency on March 31st of 1968.

    Video Clip (1:42)
  • History Uncut: Ladybird Johnson
    History Uncut: Ladybird Johnson

    Video Clip (0:49)

    See footage of former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson at the White House Fair in this video clip form 'History Uncut'.

    Video Clip (0:49)
  • Ladybird Johnson Enjoys White House Fair
    Ladybird Johnson Enjoys White House Fair

    Video Clip (0:50)

    In a History Uncut video, see footage of President Lyndon B. Johnson's wife, Ladybird Johnson, enjoying herself at a fair at the White House in 1967.

    Video Clip (0:50)
  • Lyndon Johnson's Management Style
    Lyndon Johnson's Management Style

    Video Clip (3:00)

    When he took office following JFK's death, President Johnson's unique approach took some in the White House by surprise.

    Video Clip (3:00)
  • Ask Steve: Why Vietnam War Dragged On
    Ask Steve: Why Vietnam War Dragged On

    Video Clip (1:23)

    In this video from Ask Steve, the reason for the continuation of the unpopular Vietnam War is discussed. The question of why the war continued for five years after the public turned against it in 1968 is under review.

    Video Clip (1:23)
  • Deconstructing History: White House
    Deconstructing History: White House

    Video Clip (1:35)

    It may not have been home to the president until 1800 or even called the White House until 1901, but it remains a symbol of freedom and democracy throughout the world.

    Video Clip (1:35)

Photo Galleries (1)

  • Lyndon B. Johnson
    Lyndon B. Johnson

    19 Photos

    See pictures from the life and presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.

    (19 Photos)

Most Popular Videos on History.com

More videos

Newest Videos on History.com

More videos

Read More about Lyndon B. Johnson

The 36th U.S. president, Lyndon B. Johnson took office in 1963 and is remembered for his social reform measures.

Go

Shop HISTORY

See More