>> thursday, july 6, at 7:00 p.m. eastern time on american history tv, the museum of the american revolution. >> the white house naval photographic unit produced monthly film reports on the activities of president lyndon johnson. up next on american history tv's america, "the president: june 1967." events depicted include the six-day war in the middle east, the nomination of thurgood marshall to the supreme court, and a three day summit. the navy films on the johnson administration are archived at the lbj presidential library and you can watch many of them on their youtube channel. ♪

>> on the second of june, prime minister wilson of great britain was welcomed to the white house. the visit had been arranged to discuss the urgent problems common to both governments. however, a crisis that developed with suddenness would be given priority. the recent impasse in the

historically explosive middle east situation. president johnson: we come here today in another time of trouble when peace and justice are again in the balance. it is on occasions like this that the council of old and trusted friends is most welcome. >> israel facing yet another climactic point in her 19 year struggle for survival saw not only the threat of maritime blockade but the threat of extinction. with all attempts at private negotiations failing, solutions through diplomacy and united nations intervention seemed increasingly remote. the time for talk was over. to gather, great britain and the united states drafted a maritime declaration to be circulated maritimee world's nations. its principles were simple. the gulf of aqaba was an international waterway. all nations have the right for free and innocent passage. they hoped to challenge the egyptian blockade of the strait of tehran. all in all, it was a gamble against time.

time, as prime minister wilson declared, was not on our side. ♪ >> the president received the first word of the fighting at 4:00 in the morning on the fifth of june. in the situation room, the all-too-familiar maps of southeast asia have been replaced with those of the eastern mediterranean. the president had tried to avert hostilities. now that diplomacy has given way to war, his one compelling task was to contain it, to tamp it out. the team had been assembled. men for whom foreign affairs have long since become a way of life and for whom foreign crises have become the coin of daily living. as the war progressed, false

charges would be made attempting to brand the united states and great britain as active participants. the unspoken parol behind each embassy report was the ever present threat of direct confrontation between the united states and the soviet union. with fighting in progress, it was imperative to avoid miscalculation. at 8:00, the soviet premier and the president of the united states exchanged direct teletype messages, advising that their respective governments would not intervene with armed force. at that point, the world was apprised of the fact that the two powers could prevent conflict from spreading. directly following their initial conference, he asked secretary rusk and secretary mcnamara to brief both senate and house

leaders. the president returned to the oval office to monitor the exchange of statements on the floor of the united nations security council the council had been called to urgent session. it was through this forum that the united states would now concentrate all its energies to bring about an immediate cease-fire. the major obstacle to agreement lay in the question of troop withdrawal. under the leadership of the security council president, a draft resolution would be drawn up the following day. in the agreement to contain and limit the conflict, the key to the unconditional cease-fire lay in the joint and parallel action of the united states and soviet union. the newsflash clarifies situation. it soon became apparent the middle east power patterns of the last decade were being changed in a matter of hours. military analysts called it a lightning war. although the fighting would continue for six days, the verdict of the battlefield had been rendered during the opening

round. the road to a permanent peace in the middle east would be a long one. more issues were raised by the fighting that were settled. to coordinate on problems, president johnson established a special committee of national security council. he asked george bundy to serve as the executive secretary. the war on the deserts of the sinai involved far more than governmental concern. blood ties, national origins, deep-seated sympathies made themselves felt virtually to the doorstep of the white house. [chanting]

>> we want our land. >> we want our land. >> no peace without justice. >> no peace without justice. >> by the eighth of june, only the arab state of jordan had agreed to accept the cease-fire resolution. at that moment president johnson was drafting a resolution, word was passed to the white house that egypt had agreed to a cease-fire. ♪ [singing]

>> on the 10th of june, syria, the last arab holdout, agreed to a cease-fire. the fighting was now stopped. at his 102nd news conference, the president advised the best action was to let things clear up. to let the people of the area in the world realize what had just happened. the tensions that had built during the first 10 days in june were dissolved. returning to austin, texas, the hub of his old congressional district, lyndon johnson was greeted by incumbent congressman

jake pickle. ♪ a good time to meet a whole new generation of constituents, including one who seemed a little unsure of his political convictions. a little persuasion from the number one party leader was all that was needed to bring him into the fold. the main event of the evening was a southwest democratic dinner with loyal fundraisers of five states attending. also sharing in the festivities was dr. lucy, soon to be visited by the stork. the tab was $1000 per plate. on the menu was a democratic party approaching solvency. for the president, it was a chance to relax in a down-home atmosphere. president johnson: after three

weeks of wrestling with the middle east, it is a real pleasure to come home tonight to the peace and quiet of texas politics. in case there should be any differences of opinion, i want to make my position abundantly clear in the beginning. i am for peace, territorial integrity, and the unrestricted navigation of the houston ship channel. ♪ >> the president returned to the white house for a round of duties. he had often remarked that one of the chief executive's most important jobs is attracting able and talented public servants to washington. the month of june would see two major appointments. first, the secretary of commerce and thurgood marshall as associate justice of the supreme court. the president introduced mr. marshall to a group of 121

teenagers. each of the presidential scholars had demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. each was awarded a special medallion in a white house certainly. ceremony.ouse lyndon johnson, perhaps more than any other president, is at his best when challenging the youth of the nation. he does it at every opportunity. president johnson: if you're looking for energy and enthusiasm and courage, you can find it with our young people. i have seen it among the white house fellows, the washington interns we have brought here. i have seen it in the peace corps and the teachers corps. card a graduating class of inal pages.

johnson: for the world that you enter very much needs your help today. our nation is called upon not just maintain the blessings we now enjoy, but to multiply those blessings, to improve the world for all people and to prove it for generations it to come. -- for generations to come. in your lifetime, you will have to completely rebuild this country. you're going to have to tear out the slums. you are going to have to rebuild the city's and the factories -- theild the cities and factories. >> lyndon johnson was not the only national figure stomping for youth on the south lawn. making an impromptu appearance was dr. billy graham. the well-known evangelist reminded the group that as they took inspiration from the president, he in turn needed their strength. billy graham asked everyone whatever their religious background to pray that god would give the president strength and wisdom at this hour in the history of the world. on june 14, the middle east was

again the focal point of white house deliberations. the newly appointed crisis committee convened late in the evening. a soviet resolution calling for centuries israel had been rejected by the united nations. the russians, in a surprise move, called for an emergency session of the general assembly. the delegation due to arrive in three days would be headed by the soviet premier. on the day the russian premier arrived in new york, president johnson made a short hop to dulles airport. he greeted the prime minister of angeles. who was -- prime minister of australia who was en route from expo 67 to los angeles. now, he would be the presidents guest at camp david. with the informal atmosphere of a presidential retreat, a backdrop for unhurried

discussion, they covered the all spectrum of middle east problems. the almost insoluble question of the refugees. the arab refusal to accept israel as an independent nation. as far as the press was concerned, there was only one question -- would there be a meeting between the big two? as the president made it clear, he would be happy to see the premier. the prime minister showed his american host why australia has , for years, dominated the court. ♪ >> following a quiet service, the president reminded the daughter of the commandant that it was father's day and undoubtably sensed momentary anticipation that he himself would soon be a grandfather. on the following day, the president offered his formula for lasting peace in the middle east.

president johnson: the middle east is rich in history, rich in its people and resources. it has no need to live in permanent civil war. it has the power to build its own life as one of the prosperous regions of the world in which we live. if the nations of the middle east will turn toward the works of peace, they can count with confidence upon the friendship and help of all the people of the united states of america. our country is committed. we here reiterate that commitment today. a peace that is based on five principles. first, the recognized right of

national life. second, justice for the refugees. third, innocent maritime passage. fourth, limits on the wasteful and destructive arms race. fifth, political independence and territorial integrity for all. >> on june 22, the president invited four guests to the white house. the british foreign secretary, the premier from denmark, and the premier from italy and his foreign minister. all four had been attending the emergency session of the united nations. each in private conferences informed the president of the views held by the various organizations. -- various delegations.

development inhe the middle east since the cease-fire. they brought each other up-to-date, again expressing the hope that arms shipments should be recorded and publicly disclosed. as the president conferred with his guests, dean rusk was finalizing arrangements. on june 22, a modest stone house suddenly became a permanent part of the world's history books. the white house announced president johnson had invited the chairman to meet with him the next day at the home of the president of glassboro state college. the chairman accepted. it was no yalta nor geneva, but a simple 19th-century home near an early american farming settlement. in its own way, a uniquely appropriate setting for the two statesmen who would meet there. both possess unimaginable power.

yet, both were unpretentious, straightforward. both understood the language of the farmer and the factory worker. in this simple arena they would face each other for 10 hours, both becoming the focal point of the troubled world's hopes and prayers. [cheering] ♪ johnson: i was glad to

meet the chairman this morning. we talked throughout the day quietly and straightforwardly. i am glad to say to you that i found that he came to our meeting in the same spirit. we talked about the problems of the middle east in detail, and we shall continue to talk about them. we talked about the problems of southeast asia. we have talked about the arms race and the need for new agreements there. we talked about the need for common action on constructive initiatives for peace. we reached no new agreements. new agreements are not always reached in a single conversation. we will eat lunch and spend sunday together again. >> the first day of summit talks was over. for the president, there was still much work to do. after assuring the thousands of enthusiastic onlookers the meeting had been a good and

useful one, he bid a momentary goodbye to his historic guest. this was the 25 hour day. he had been on the go since 4:30 in the morning and had five thousand miles and 12 more hours to burn before there would be any rest. it would be difficult to pinpoint any moment in lyndon johnson's political career as satisfying as this day. he had fired the imagination of the public with sudden bold moves that led to the face-to-face encounter at glassboro. at a $500 a plate dinner for the of los angeles, he was able to announce that financially, the democratic party was over the top. if that was not enough good news for one day, he could relish the report he had received only 18 hours earlier -- he was a grandfather. it was now saturday in a small room in austin, texas.

president johnson: i would like to help make a world in every land that will be safer and more prosperous and more hopeful, and certainly more peaceful by far than the world that i have inhabited. working together, planning together, being patient and understanding together, i believe we can achieve such a world. >> on sunday, june 25, the president returned to glasborough. this time, he brought the family. on hand to welcome him back were new jersey's governor and mrs. hughes, who had been instrumental in making holly bush available. ♪

>> profound differences between the two statesmen still remain. but nothing could dampen the spirit or ardor of the day. the premier was accompanied by his daughter, ludmila. [cheers] >> as the second day of talks

continued, heavy rain storms lashed the campus. the thousands who had come to witness history stood their ground. they had talked for more than four hours. delving even deeper into the many questions that separated their two countries. by 7:20 in the evening, they had finished. president johnson we have made progress in an effort to improve -- president johnson: we have made progress in an effort to improve our understanding of each other other's thinking on a number of questions. i believe more strongly than ever that these have been very good and very useful talks. >> the premier had been visibly touched by the warmth and enthusiasm showed by the people of glassboro. he touched them and saluted friendship between the u.s. and the russian people.

>> these have not ended our troubles and dangers. i cannot promise you that will not happen again. the world remains a very small and dangerous, and even the greatest of nations have very hard and very painful choices. i can tell you that i have no doubt about it at all, it does help a lot to sit down with a man all day long and reason with him in the eyes particularly if he is trying to reason with you. that is why we want to holly bush this morning. reasoning together there today was the spirit of holly bush. [applause] >> on the 27th of june, after a week of exhausting effort, president johnson turned his energies towards his domestic programs. at the junior chamber of commerce annual convention, he spoke out for the things that were right with the country.

he praised the doers, the builders. to the doubters, the draft card ners, and therd bur deserters -- president johnson: you say to them it is not absolutely essential, it is not a prerequisite, it is not required that you tear our country down and our flag down in order to lift them up. [applause] >> the month of june was virtually over. on what one staffer called a good news trip, the president saw partial completion of his ambition, the strengthening of his own people. in philadelphia, in the heart of an impoverished area, the president visited the opportunities industrialization

center. he had heard about the center for months, a community built school where unemployable residence were picking themselves up by their bootstraps and learning a trade. president johnson: i saw human beings that had pride in their eyes instead of fear. the federal government did not do this. the federal government did not .uild the center this is the spirit that is in the breast of every american, the spirit that wants to say yes to life itself and wants to affirm the dignity of man whatever his origins, whatever his race, whatever his religion. if i had to sum up my feelings, i would say to all of you, i believe we are going to make it. ♪ [captions copyright national

cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> you are watching american history tv on c-span3. cspan us on twitter at history. >> american history tv is on c-span3 every weekend, featuring museums, archival films, and more. here's a clip from a recent program. agonizingwo weeks of back and forth about whether they should stay, take a leave of absence, or resign. we finally had the answer. this chapter is called "resignation." 29, iday morning, april

retrieved the washington post from under the azaleas on the patio of our townhouse in georgetown. i should explain, there were so many reporters lingering at our that it would intimidate our newsboy. andould go around the alley --n throw our newspaper into tio which would undoubtedly end up in the azaleas or other flowers. thatg off the dirt, i read he had resolved to give affirmation to the cover-up.

as soon as the president reads all this stuff, he will want john and me to come up to camp david immediately. questioned.mean, i you will want our resignations. i thought you said he will want you to take a leave of absence. things were moving too fast in the other direction, bob said. either way, i will be done at the white house. he walks over to the kitchen window where he looks down on the reporters lingering on the sidewalk. it is time for me to tell our families that i might have to take a leave of absence. be prepared in case i have to resign. as usual, bob has covered all his bases, and his decision is clear to him and he is in control. >> you can watch this and other american history programs on our website where all of our video is archived. that is www.c-span.org/history.

this year marks the 50th anniversary of the june 1967 six day war between israel, egypt, jordan, and syria. next on american history tv, a panel of four and policy scholars response to johnson's response to the war, and how the conflict has had a continuing effect on the middle east. :lb andminute event titled is hosted by the washington institute or near east policy. >> good afternoon. i'm delighted to welcome you to this event. 2017 is a year of anniversary. today we are discussing one 50th of the the six-day war.