The Public Record
Lyndon Baines Johnson was the 36th President of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. A member of the Democratic Party, he was born in Texas and began his political career as a U.S. Representative in 1937, later becoming a U.S. Senator in 1949. Johnson ascended to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and his administration is noted for significant domestic policies, including the Great Society programs aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice. His legislative achievements included the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid.
I know of no way in which such devotion and such dedication could ever be rewarded fully or honored adequately, but I am sure that the personal knowledge of what he has done to make our freedom more secure is reward enough for Admiral Felt.
They stand with us, and our cause is the cause of free men everywhere.
We have come here this morning to pay honor to an outstanding officer and his outstanding career of honorable and faithful service to our country and to the cause of freedom in the world.
We have sown the seeds of decency, and I believe that we shall reap a harvest of victory if we continue on our course of preparedness and prudence and firm purpose.
It is my privilege now, and a very great honor for me, on behalf of the Government and the people of the United States to add another honor to the many that you have received already in war and in peace--the Distinguished Service Medal.
For the fine work that the Congress has done, I want to commend them all.
We cannot and we do not rely upon massive spending programs as cure-alls.
This is by any standard one of the most profoundly significant domestic measures to be enacted by the Congress during the 1960's.
I hope and I expect that this milestone measure will serve us as a beneficial forerunner of many other steps forward in meeting the present challenges of metropolitan life in America.
I am very pleased to be able to sign today the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964.
We face a great task, publicly and privately, of catching up with our full potential and making life as good as it can be and making life as good as it should be for this generation of Americans.
In the courtrooms of the United States, you represent no individual but you represent the Government of your country.
There is much more that I would like to take the time to say to you, but I was once told by an old lawyer friend of mine that two thousand years ago Plato said that a lawyer is always in a hurry, so I think I will just say we are pleased…
I applaud the courage of those who are helping to help make and break new ground in this regard.
We do not seek and we do not want--and the conscience of the American people will never tolerate--a concept of justice which seeks convictions at the expense of human decency and at the expense of liberty and at the expense of privacy.
We are very proud and very glad to have you, and I am greatly honored to welcome you here to your house.
I believe the work of this Committee has done much to lay the groundwork for the responsible and, I believe, peaceful acceptance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The ideal of equal opportunity, I believe, is the bedrock ideal of our society and of our system.
The people of this country have a long, hard road to travel before we will have achieved all of our objectives.
I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate July 9, 1964, as Monocacy Battle Centennial.
Politicians like Lyndon Johnson
