Special Message to the Congress - The American Promise (1965)

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Special Message to the Congress - The American Promise (1965)

LBJ Library & Museum

Sound | 1965 | B/W | English

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Lyndon Baines Johnson

LBJ Library and Museum

On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress, and the nation, regarding “the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy.” President Johnson’ s speech focuses upon the need to guarantee citizens voting rights, and he used the occasion of the address to pressure congress to quickly pass the bill. The President refers to the bill as the Civil Rights Bill, though it would be passed as the National Voting Rights Act of 1965. In speaking, President Johnson links the bill with other causes, notably with the threat of poverty and recounts his firsthand encounters working with the impoverished when he was a young teacher in Cotulla, Texas.

Courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library & Museum.

Purchased from a family member in 1951 while Lyndon B. Johnson served in the U.S. Senate, "the ranch," located in Gillespie County in the Texas Hill Country was the Johnsons' family home. The LBJ Ranch made its debut to the American public during Johnson's vice presidency (1961 - 1963) when it was used to host state visits of foreign dignitaries, high-ranking Washington politicians, and campaign functions. As President (1963 – 1969), Johnson conducted official business at the ranch, including state visits and lawn chair staff meetings, earning it the name, the Texas White House. On December 2, 1969, the ranch, along with Johnson City and Johnson's birthplace, was authorized as Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site, and became a United States National Historic Park on December 28, 1980. Both President and Lady Bird Johnson are buried in the family cemetery within the National Historic Park.

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