Address before Joint Session of Congress, 11/27/63 MP505

President Lyndon B. Johnson's Address to Congress, November 27, 1963. MP505.
Description: President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to Congress following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Index terms: Speeches; Congress; JFK.
Credit: LBJ Library video by CBS News. For research purposes only. Use/publish only with permission from CBS.

[@mrscottnorth]

Paused reading Rober Caro's book to view this speech. So grateful it is available. After understanding the context, the national grief, the transition of power, and the preparation, this speech takes on new meaning.

[@wbrand2]

Thank you for making this inspiring historical document available. It is enlightening to view it after reading Caro's description in Passage of Power of the preparation and delivery of the address. It is a great American speech, made with courage under extraordinary pressure at a moment when the nation was still in shock, and a personal achievement for a man who had not previously been an accomplished speaker. It mobilized America for some of its finest achievements in words still needful today.

[@philbourque5216]

I just read the latest Caro and it's beenanother chapter in my 30 year reevaluation and education of LBJ, Thank you for this incredible resource and labeling it to be found so easily. It's wonderfully rewarding to immerse oneself in the time and the man. LBJ, the sixties, JFK...You know it's complicated.

[@simondavey8684]

Yes, I am here too because of Caro.

[@paullovesdominoes]

Am reading "Passage to Power" and just got to this speech. Very powerful. Thank you for posting it!

[@Lonewolf911100]

Hope this one gets through. I was reading Robert Caro's book The Passage of Power. I read the part where the author discusses Johnson's Address to the Joint Session of Congress. It was a very moving passage. I wanted to look up the speach myself and in my very humble opinion it was the best speach any President could have made to a nation still in shock.It can still inspire us after all these years Thanks for having this available.

[@kayjames4162]

I wept while reading Caro's description of this speech, and just had to watch it. The nation desperately needed these words, and LBJ gave the speech of his life in response to that need.

[@johncollins9592]

and LBJ went on to start a war that killed 47.000 Americans

[@TheOleMissippian]

Well, Eisenhower started it. But I get your point. That's why he's a fascinating and complex man. Also, don't forget the million plus Vietnamese killed.

[@zackdavis7086]

If you truly believe he started the war you are ignoring a significant portion of the history of the Vietnam War. Eisenhower and Kennedy placed Vietnam near the center of America's involvement in the Cold War.

[@vernpascal1531]

That's not true. JFK did everything possible to not put in ground troops and turned down escalation at least 8 times in Laos,Cambodia ,and Vietnam.

[@jerryboucher5622]

Kay you clearly do not know when to put down the bottle.

[@Mitch2742]

Ha, I like that we're all here because of Caro.

[@hotrock51]

Actually I’m here because of the book The Soul Of America by John Meachham, I never heard of Caro

[@MCO18]

Wow, Bryan Cranston's portrayal of this was spot-on, even the nod he gives to the speaker at 1:23

[@RolandDuke]

I disagree, I being from Texas thinks he didn't nail it if you didn't grow up in this most greatest of all states, then you can tell when someone isn't from here. Cranston is a cali boy and his delivery of this speech was over acted, Lyndon B was pretty stoic which again isn't what Cranston I think in my opinion pulled off.

[@devinthierault]

Raul Duke Yes its very hard. I have some family who spends a lot of time in Texas but lives in California but they're so very different.

[@danmckeon3847]

This really isn't about Bryan Cranston. Bryan Cranston is simply an actor. This is about something far more important. Jus Sayin.

[@Drakelx55]

Raul Duke well I’m from Texas too and I think he did a fantastic job as LBJ, I can’t even count how many times I’ve been down to the LBJ Ranch.

[@anonymousperson7121]

As a Texan, you’re crazy if you think Harrelson didn’t hit the nail on the head...

[@davidbroughall3782]

It seems I'm not alone in pausing in my reading of Robert Caro's fourth installment of his LBJ epic to watch and listen to this speech. Johnson could not have done better in speaking to Congress, to the country, and to the world. Even Robert Kennedy, in his grief, and with his contempt for Johnson, had to come to his feet at the conclusion of that speech.

[@stuartmckennon8142]

Caro's magnificent book perfectly sets the stage for a review of this speech. LBJ rose beautifully to the occasion. His remarks about unnecessary venom in public discourse are especially relevant today as well.

[@nwdixieboy]

/wbrand2, you said what I felt most eloquently! What a powerful speech!!!!!

[@trentbdog]

One of the greatest speeches ever. Very glad this was posted.

[@supreDrross09]

I am left in tears over the words that the President spoke ,it makes me proud to be an American .We are not prefect ,but we are all we have, as a Nation under GOD ,These truths are self evident an We should never lose their purpose or power !Thanks for reminding me of what this great country stands for !

[@Murrman84]

I concur with wbrand2: Thank you for providing this piece of our history. History is a living, breathing thing, and it is a powerful beast indeed. We as Americans demand and deserve access to the uncensored and raw recordings of our history. "One cannot set foot into the future, without having begun such a journey from within the past..." - Me ( ;) )

[@mkl62]

Thanks for posting.

[@quinnimon]

A man unafraid to admit his weakness and and beseech the citizenry for their help. Truly inspiring.

[@compton300]

Not a natural orator, but he nailed this one! Wonderful quote of the old 1895 poem to close. Volume 5 from Mr Caro will be interesting!

[@acadiachef767]

It was a speech that Eisenhower helped lay out the framework for. He advised LBJ heavily during his presidency.

[@andrewdancy2849]

acadia chef Try the other way around

[@michaelbrightside291]

Look 👀 at all those geezers....Good Morning Vietnam 🇻🇳 😎😎😎

[@mooncrab]

Exactly 55 years ago.

[@orwoodwellson685]

What's happened since this speech because of him?

[@johntexas8417]

56

[@SatchmoSings]

Hard to believe that a man from one of the Confederate States of America would come out so forcefully and unequivocally for civil rights. Still, if you know something about the way Lyndon Johnson grew up it's really not hard to imagine this at all and Robert Caro tells that story, too as much as why we're all here watching this speech.

[@johncollins9592]

Easy..he had no principles

[@philrm99]

Woody Harrelson's portrayal of Johnson in LBJ brought me here.

[@Nicholas.T]

Likewise me, having just watched it on SBS on Sydney television tonight, Sept 20, 2019

[@tedb3966]

Bryan Cranston’s portrayal was light years better than his

[@martinchrist6745]

Very obedient clapping 👏

[@TheRealClassPresident]

it's great video just whats at the beginning hurts my ears

[@andreagastinato5199]

Sad that the movie "LBJ" edited this speech so brutally. This is a brilliant speech! Delivered at the perfect time.

[@robertmclaren7002]

I'm another that am in the middle of Caro's biography. What is remarkable to me is that Johnson who had so many flaws could rise to such brilliance in this moment. He could have failed so easily and certainly made mistakes later, but this was probably his finest hour.

[@harlemswingdancehotjazz1205]

+Robert McLaren The whole lot of them who orchestrated and helped with the JFK murder deserved academy awards....

[@jonalderson5571]

Watch his voting rights speech

[@Nikohere]

2:42-2:48 ✊That's the only pt i care to hear from Johnson of this speech. JFK was such a reasonable man to have as president

[@dm95422]

"My Feller Americans......."

[@CrazyChickenDK]

here because of Caros stunning job

[@BlackFlag1719]

It struck me how during critical times in our history, we've always had presidents who rose to the occasion and pulled us through: George Washington during the Revolution, Lincoln in the Civil War, FDR in the Depression and WWII, JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis, George W. Bush after 9/11. And when Kennedy was assassinated, there was LBJ to reestablish order, maintain continuity, guide the nation through its shock and show the world we weren't going to fall apart.And yes, Caro's description of it is extraordinary, and I knew I had to see it for myself.

[@bean7039]

LMAO dude

[@beaselinda9340]

🤣😂😂

[@daveman_50]

Sadly, those are the exceptions. We've had many presidents who failed to lead in times of crisis. Including the current occupant of the White House.

[@UnitedStates17]

@@daveman_50 Yeah, luckily Trump is out of office and now we have Joe Biden. So far, he's been pretty good in my opinion.

[@SatchmoSings]

Not only were people applauding in the House Chamber, many were crying, too; I know I did. Oh, if only it had all worked out as Johnson said in his speech but we all know it really didn't.

[@Nominay]

"All I have I'd give gladly to not be standing here today". God that is a lie if there ever was one.

[@SW2799]

Nominay, I am a great fan of JFK and LBJ. But, what you said has always crossed my mind LOL

[@jackco6981]

Who cares it sounds great.

[@advj1671]

Indeed. LBJ wanted with all his soul to become president. Everybody in that Hall knew it.

[@siononalundula1699]

@@advj1671 every politician wants to be President. But it mustn’t have been fun for him to get there in this way. It’s quite a dreadful thing, actually. To have the start of your presidency be overshadowed by the brutal end of your predecessor’s. One’s inauguration is supposed to be a celebration, his why when the nation was mourning. Again, it doesn’t matter in the end, because a President who was Vice President and ascended to the President by the death of their predecessor has the same powers and duties as a President who was directly elected to the Presidency in their own right. And he, Johnson, was elected in a landslide less than a year later, but if he was given the opportunity to choose for himself how he got to the presidency, he probably would have chosen to be elected to it, rather than to have gotten the job because someone else died.

[@whatspadethinks]

I always have felt Oswald was a patsy and there was a conspiracy, but LBJ's involvement has always been something I'm not sold on. He was like any political figure of that level: extremely ambitious. But Johnson was also a simple, honorable man as well. When pretty much everything afterwards is a moot point when your President is murdered out in the street, I think Johnson's actions, including not running again in '68, show he wasn't so power hungry he'd stay no matter what. Am I 100% sure he wasn't involved? I dunno...

[@harbingerofsalt]

I believe that Johnson wasn't involved in the assassination attempt itself, but was instrumental in the coverup. When Kennedy was murdered, Johnson was pulled into a secure room in Parkland and told to do whatever the conspirators wanted him to or end up like Kennedy, and he bitterly obliged and accepted his fate as a pawn in their game. He did what he had to do in order to not only stay alive, but keep his legacy intact as an honorable man who did his best for the people he was elected and appointed to serve. That's why he fought so hard for the civil rights of black Americans, while also sending young Americans to die in Vietnam. That's also why he didn't run for reelection in '68: He was tired of being played like a fiddle by the bastards who murdered his boss and predecessor. Nixon, who I believe was involved in the assassination attempt, was all too eager to fill the void left by Johnson and please his masters by serving them both diligently and exclusively, completely disregarding the responsibility he had to serve the American people and escalating the war to levels never before seen. He served them well until, somewhere along the way, Nixon pissed off somebody in the know and they decided he was too much of a liability, so they let the Watergate scandal go public to oust him from the office and had the other, more reliable conspirator Ford pardon him after his succession, as to keep Nixon happy enough to not spill the beans on what he knows about the assassination. Nixon lived the rest of his life in shame with a tarnished legacy and blood on his hands. Johnson lived the rest of his life knowing, at least in hindsight, that there wasn't anything more he could've done without risking his life or the lives of his family and friends.

[@BigBingFan]

Not shocking that the murder happened in Texas, my home, where LBJ/Democrats ran it with an iron fist, and covered up with an iron shield.

[@gripnsip3000]

boggles my mind that no one is discussing that here, LBJ was obviously and intimately involved in his killing.. instead everyone discusses some gay hollywood nonsense.... this world is lost

[@bobtaylor170]

@@gripnsip3000 , why don't you try to learn something? Read Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History."

[@GFNTheDrop]

Who is sitting in the VP's chair for this speech? Humphrey has not been appointed yet just days after the assassination & funeral. Can't seem to find the answer.

[@hozonkai9967]

That's Carl Hayden. He was the President pro tempore of the Senate.

[@GFNTheDrop]

Outstandingly done, my friend. Thanks!

[@elwyrick]

We had no vice-president until Humphrey was inaugurated in January 1965 after the 1964 election. Speaker of the House John McCormack was next in line until then. Until the 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967, there was no mechanism for replacing a vice-president who moved to the presidency.

[@C77-C77]

John McCormack is Speaker, seated right if looking from Chamber rear, Carl Hayden is P.P.T, seated left. Both WWI veterans.

[@C77-C77]

@@elwyrick Correct. I find lots have a misconception that the Speaker automatically assumes the VP position though. They do not. Both chambers of Congress must vote to appoint the Speaker as VP, IF the former VP who became President wants the Speaker as their VP. They can nominate anyone they wish to be their VP, who must also face votes by both chambers of Congress.

[@davidviton1065]

No words can tell you how he got away with murder

[@truelightningstriker5803]

Despite LBJ wasn't the best US President, he was here for us during America's darkest time.

[@rockyracoon3233]

I will say that for the first two years(63-65)he was probably better than JFK.

[@stylesj.4752]

He was good enough

[@7071t6]

All of those dreams of jfk were never implemented at all, LBJ just put his name over the top of everything jfk wanted to do, except for any Military actions, which LBJ took over re: Vietnam & other Leaders or countries at that time that the CIA hit teams were put into actions to make sure that the TRUTH about the jfk assassination would not come out, how many witness were killed off by the CIA hit teams &local police Hit teams that worked for the Military & the CIA ? LBJ/HOVER/Allan Dullas/JACK Vilenti & Mac Wallace/ James Files & all the MOB leaders that were all killed re: witness called before the house select committee were all killed off ? They can all rot in hell & i hope the real TRUTH will e exposed, as they Marina OSWALD said if the real truth came out, it will over turn the country & the Leader's & the citizens will start a new revolution to bring the USA back to the constitution as it should be & not leaders doing anything they want with out oversite by the government / congress etc.

[@jeremycrandall2899]

Whether or not they’re just following tradition, somehow the lengthy applause at the beginning just seems inappropriate given the events that had taken place in the previous five days.

[@KM-ce9cz]

Except for the VERY real possibility that he's the one that had JFK killed! Wow. Good actor.

[@bobtaylor170]

Learn something: read Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History."

[@Wartoz]

10:30

[@tommyboy1653]

Classified comment 😎

[@futurepredictions3396]

You can feel the somber vibe in there

[@edthompson2181]

If you look at those at this saddest of speeches, they all rose, as one. Would that our current president and Congress understood this unity.

[@johnnypastrana6727]

Ed Thompson At what price would President Trump have to give for this unity...??? Who wants to unify with traitors of either party.

[@cherylmills9700]

Please join again pres Johnson.... Dianna Louis Louise ECT ECT.... And lady bird and Mrs Johnson of course....I Dianna Spencer and I jfk...do promise to....(to the people) not the make believe ...also please confer with the boys John f k Jr....and my dad prince charles.... Hamlot

[@navidnamini1169]

LBJ was a good president. Got too much heat for Vietnam, a war which JFK actually started

[@Snarferbee]

Navid Namini very true

[@johncollins9592]

LBJ started all of this socialist crap

[@GeorgiaKev1]

The Vietnam War actually started under Dwight Eisenhower. I'm not trying to start a partisan fight, there was plenty of blame to go around. The crucial problem with Vietnam was that our government failed to see early on that it was a war which could not be won.

[@GeorgiaKev1]

Like Medicare and Medicaid? Are you aware that since LBJ's Great Society, we no longer have the fatalistic attitude towards a blind child, a deaf child, or a child who was born mentally retarded?

[@johnsteiger4550]

Johnson’s mistake re Vietnam was in escalating US involvement to a level way, way beyond what Ike and JFK had committed to, and then not winning ...

[@jefferyjones7765]

When an american asks for help.....

[@stc40]

Caro is good. Now read Roger Stone.....

[@blofeld39]

The convict?

[@edwardstevens1438]

Johnson, knew he'd never be reelected without the support of northern democrats. So, he threw the southern democrats under the bus. All that mattered to him was his own pursuit of power and ambition. The chickens would come to roost with his handling of the war.

[@philipschneider9081]

Reading Doris Goodwin book on Leadership and LBJ clearly a leader in this speech. Sadly today we have no leader in the White House. The current President should watch this speech.

[@perappelgren948]

Could somebody please translate into English? :-)

[@attaboi8110]

"I pledge that the expenditures of your government will be administered with the utmost thrift and frugality." Oh yeah.

[@micheletewell7762]

considering that lbj had jfk murdered this speech is a joke

[@NkrumahTure]

Michele Tewell Not that I doubt that, but what is the evidence that LBJ did?

[@bobtaylor170]

That's a vile thing for you to say. Assuming, as charity obligates me to do, that you're not a character assassin, only an idiot, I tell you that you need to learn something. Read Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History."

[@roadrules3671]

Johnson WAS a POS. Period.

[@Don3PO]

All I have I would give to see Paul Ryan give this speech next year.

[@johncollins9592]

LBJ was a crook