lyndon johnson. it fulfills lbj, his primary goal that, the racist national origin system should be set aside that you can't have each country's should have equal terms in terms of the numbers of people that can legally immigrate to the united. there was there is this kind of surface equality. but what fegan has also added is that to qualify legal immigration, you only three options family reunification, you have to have fairly close family member. what called skilled employment and then also refugees. it's actually a very narrow door and the laws really emphasize family reunification and this was fegan strategy for trying to ensure that immigration continue to be predominantly the same as the majority population in the united states of course hasn't worked out right we know that the law has transformative and you know and lbj it what has also been transformative in that law and this criteria was added at the very last minute was that it also under the claim that. well be fully equal. we also have to

in history. - in terms of civil rights, no tree in the forest is as tall as lincoln's except lyndon johnsonng its problems, it is this nation. - johnson had to be the best. he just was driven by this idea to be top dog. that's also how he felt about vietnam. - since i reported to you last january, the enemy has been defeated in battle after battle. - he knew all of that would make him a candidate for some future mount rushmore. but he also knew that he was unlikely to be in any future mount rushmore because of the vietnam war. this was the frustration that made lyndon johnson's fingernails sweat. [mortars, machine guns firing] - b-52 bombers today made six raids on north vietnamese positions around the united states marine base at khe sanh. - khe sanh is a marine base up in the northwestern corner of south vietnam. and north vietnamese forces start surrounding it and attacking it. - 6,000 american marines and 500 south vietnamese rangers are surrounded by 40,000 communist troops. [dramatic music] - and general westmoreland says, "this is great. this is the big culminating battle that we've

and lyndon johnson or john f. kennedy talk about him. he met with robert of kennedy, the attorney general, in may of 1963 and had a seminar discussion about civil rights, and his best-selling book in 1963, published as the longest essay, published in november of 1962, is one of the game changing documents for the second reconstruction, right there on letter from birmingham jail. he really transformed how we think about race and slavery and the american democracy and citizenship, and the very idea of the war on political groups in the united states forever. so baldwin is someone very key when you talk about the 1964 civil rights act, and today would have been his 100th birthday and it is important to recognize and remember him. caller: good morning, dr. joseph? guest: yes. caller: good morning, dr. joseph. i'm an avid fan -- i holly. and i follow your work. thank you christina bobb james baldwin. he is one of my heroes -- thank you. i follow your work. james baldwin is one of my heroes. with the 60th anniversary of the civil rights act, t

who was lyndon johnson? lyndon johnson, a masterful politician. he was every bit richard nixon's match on the democratic side of the aisle. and if he had run in 68 against nixon, that would have been the battle of the titans. i mean, there would be no greater election in modern history. i mean, these were unparalleled, you know, leaders of their parties who were had similar political careers who had who had sort of leapfrogged each other at different times. i mean nixon made it first to the vice presidency. johnson made it first to the presidency. i mean, they they were very competitive when they were they because they often faced each other on a ballot. and i think what they came to realize and 68 is not facing each other on the ballot anymore, that they actually had a lot in common. i think really we have our luci baines johnson said, you know, johnson's daughter, youngest daughter, very different people, different politically different to policy and management. she's like, but it was there. it it was call it rivals shared enemies that brought t

lyndon johnson and joe biden are not the only presidents who did not run for a second term. the 11th president of the united states, james polk, has died. three months after the end of his first term. james buchan was unpopular and had poor health at a time when the country was headed for civil war. kalyn kulich suffered from depression. harry truman decided to end office early after losing the first preliminary race because of the stalemate in the korean war and his desire to return to private life. oleksiy kovalenko, steve herman, voice of america, washington. the kurdish operation of the ukrainian armed forces did not lead to changes in military cooperation between ukraine and the united states. this was stated by pentagon deputy spokesperson sabrina singh during a briefing on monday. packages assistance, in accordance with the presidential powers, will continue - the official said. according to the commander-in-chief of the ukrainian armed forces oleksandr syrskyi, as of august 20, the armed forces of ukraine control more than 1,200.60 km of territory and 93 settlements

that was harry truman in 1952, march 29, and lyndon johnson in 1960 march 31. from an historical standpoint, march was the month to watch. it was early enough the democrats could still gather, they can organize before the convention. if you and i were to have this conversation just over a month ago, i would have said two of the biggest differences between 1968 and 2024 was this year the lack of political violence and the fact president biden did not appear to want to do what president johnson did in 1968, withdraw, and now two of those biggest differences have been erased. host: what are the biggest differences between the protests then and now? guest: it is fascinating. this is one of those issuesi'm sure we ever completely understand because protesters by definition do not leave a lot of records. if you are behind the barricades of a protest or cause, you are not reporting your movements and thoughts the way government officials might be at the time that you are opposed to in the protest. i would say the issues are different. in 1968, it was the vietnam war a

and four days after lyndon johnson decided not to run, martin luther king was assassinated. there was terrible violence. the politics were very different. right now, you have an arranged convention, a coronation of a candidate who, until it was announced and moved -- host: paul, back to 1968, were you involved in any of those protests? caller: yes, i was in grant park. i was wearing a suit, because i wanted to give a good impression. everybody else was wearing other things. the hippies were there. consequently, i saw myself at the intersection, right near the hilton hotel, and the bar at the corner was called the haymarket, strangely, echoes of the haymarket riots of the 19th century. and there i was, and the peace corps had a contingent, and the police charged the sidestreets. host: paul, you talk about there being a very different political setting then versus now. caller: there is one other thing, if i can say, there was journalism van. there was journalism, and "the today show, joe correggio and i think barbara walters were saying "there are kids in the street that are g

that was harry truman in 1952, march 29, and lyndon johnson in 1960 march 31.rom an historical standpoint, march was the month to watch. it was early enough the democrats could still gather, they can organize before the convention. if you and i were to have this conversation just over a month ago, i would have said two of the biggest differences between 1968 and 2024 was this year the lack of political violence and the fact president biden did not appear to want to do what president johnson did in 1968, withdraw, and now two of those biggest differences have been erased. host: what are the biggest differences between the protests then and now? guest: it is fascinating. this is one of those issuesi'm sure we ever completely understand because protesters by definition do not leave a lot of records. if you are behind the barricades of a protest or cause, you are not reporting your movements and thoughts the way government officials might be at the time that you are opposed to in the protest. i would say the issues are different. in 1968, it was the vietnam war and

t it took 10 years to write the first book. >> why was lyndon johnson lonely? >> he had been kicked out of the world. saying he had withdrawn but it was because he had withdrawn is kind of sad because he knew he had done extraordinary things. medicare medicaid eight education immigrationra voting rights desegregating the south. e-2 the city's extraordinary that the vietnam war cut it into him he needed feel like ev remember to somehow. if there's a desire somehow for all of us to remember they chose me somehow because ii was there and maybe because i was young and maybe because i was going to be an historian or and are a thought i might be to tell the story through so they became the foundation of the first book and luckily the book did well so that about me to become a writer. i would have been a teacher and not a writer by profession. >> listening to tell these origin stories and thinking one person here robbie is known for his fiction and doris for her nonfiction. yours seems to be vocational but you're compelled to do it right awayay and doris you took a wi

stunning entry into the race to challenge lyndon johnson. the first occurred to challenge johnson almost winning the new hampshire primary against lbj and then shortly after that, the entry of senator kennedy, the second major challenger from within johnson's own party. so that's a difference. six there are a lot of similarities with 68 that that would be a difference for today terms of, you know, one that sort of the senator level, a prominent challenger, you know, other than dean phillips and some lesser candidates have really come forward to challenge johnson. and and so the primary is kennedy's 100 day campaign you have then the twin assassinations of that year which i just started to allude to. and now talk about it more fully. martin luther king assassinated on the balcony outside of his hotel room in memphis at the lorraine hotel, is now a national park service. it's a great to visit, if you like. so civil citing his it's a historic site king is assassinated in april and it stuns the nation that this figure who could for moderation and

the final say in the delegate selection was in the hands of the party bosses and lyndon johnson. - someonedon't worry about hubert. i've got his pecker in my pocket." - earlier this year, top u.s. leaders vowed that the marine outpost at khe sahn would be defended at all cost. but today, the u.s. command in vietnam announced that the marines are pulling out of khe sahn. - that's the last bunker on this base. now that the american troops have blown it up, there's nothing to protect them from enemy artillery. so now it's time for the final departure from khe sahn. - "why did we fight so hard to keep it if we were going to give it up like this?" was the question some asked themselves. others were relieved, because they privately believed khe sahn was of marginal strategic importance anyway. - khe sahn revealed the futility of the war. what was the goal? there was no clear goal, if the end result is abandonment. - khe sahn symbolizes the frustration of this kind of war. a few must remember their comrades, who are among the 2,500 khe sahn casualties. - i think khe sahn stands as a symbol of the

the take away of lyndon johnson getting the nomination in 1964 for the democrats was a moving tribute film, meticulously made, 22 minutes long, honoring john f. kennedy. and i think when we start each convention -- we don't have video of roosevelt's speeches, so we cannot compare. but in election lore, really since the 1960's, there are people that have mastered the convention speech. number one is bill clinton in 1992. that is what put clinton up so high. he had bounce out of the convention due to the power of his speech. and of course barack obama was a speaker in 2004, for john kerry. it is a way to get noticed, the way aoc got noticed here in chicago in 2024. she gets maligned by the right. but people got to see her charisma. thus far in this particular convention, one theme is the triumph of chicago people. the major modern convention of 1932 was fdr in chicago. presidents would not come to conventions. now, people are horsetrading about you. he famously created the term no deal in these conventions. they are a major part of our politics. 1984 has been lost in the shuffle a littl

you had eugene mccarthy, a senator from minnesota's stunning entry into the race to challenge lyndon johnson, the first to challenge johnson, almost winning the new hampshire primary and shortly after that the entryof senator robert kennedy, second major challenger from within johnson's own party so there are a lot of similarities and 68 . that would be a difference for today. sort of a senator level a prominent challenger other than dean phillips to come forward and challenge johnson. and so the primary is kennedy's hundred day campaign and then you have the twin assassinations which i started to allude to and now i'll talk about itmore fully. martin luther king assassinated on the balcony outside his hotel room of the lorraine hotel which is now our national parks service civil rights site . king is assassinated nin april and it stuns the nation. it's this figure who could be from moderation and not violence and you talked about king being not chosen as a pastor of a church because you wasn't a black panther . he did become a little more interested in direct action but he'd always been kin

lyndon johnson, lady bird johnson. may god bless the whole family.adies and gentlemen, may god protect our troops. thank you for listening. ♪ [♪ "glory" by john legend plays ♪] >> ♪ now the war is not

it helped that lyndon johnson was vice president at the time. it definitely helped, although i would say albert thomas, who was chair of the appropriations committee, had a larger role than lyndon johnson did at the time, because, of course, he held the purse strings. and he was also an alumni from rice university. and so that had a huge impact. rice university ended up giving the federal government about a thousand acres of land to build the space center. so that had a huge influence as well, very much. now, you've mentioned oral histories a couple of times. what makes an effective oral history? i think preparation. we do a lot of prep before we do an oral history interview. we do not show up and say, hey, you worked at nasa. that's pretty cool. what did you do? so we do a lot of research into what an individual was involved in the years that they worked at nasa, trying to figure out what offices they worked for, what projects they were working on, what was happening at that point to get a better sense of the type of questions that we want to a

they weren't blamed on lyndon johnson. they weren't blamed on jack kennedy or the eastern establishment on clifford or george marshall or mcnamara they were blamed on richard nixon. so that was one big burden he carried. the second headwind he had was that you people have to remember that the congress was in the hands of democts during the entire time richard nixon was in office. the house and the senate was in the hands of the democrats. and so any time he had to get any supreme court appointment, judgeship legislation through any executive appointments, any legislation he to do it through an adversarial congress. so that that the fact that he managed to get anything through in the five and a half years it was through congress that was a very partizan congress. and thirdly, the third, edwin, was that he was faced with was an antagonistic and negative press dominated by three networks. major newspapers. the washington post, the new york times and newsweek newsweekly were unfriendly throughout the. so i just wanted to do th

i was following lyndon johnson around in his library and i felt guilty because i developed an admirationfor eugene mccarthy who in essence had forced johnson not of office. think if i told lbj that i wouldn't have been allowed to follow along on any of his library tours like you i think i was interested that oliver wendell holmes said you need to share in the compassion of your time and i think a lot of us di that. again people like you are people i write my bookstore and i thank you very much for being interested in. >> dorian st. louis, good afternoon to you. >> are you still there? perry we. please goo ahead. >> are you still there? >> welcome back to calls in just a second as soon as we get them straightened out. we will come back to those calls in just a second. one of the things we always do with our authors here at booktv on "in depth" as wetv asked them what they are read is here is what jeff quinn told us he washe currently reading and s written in a world war ii trilogy an army at dawn where atkinson said in that seat as well to talk in depth about l hs work and why have you pi

it's about tearing down lyndon johnson and john f. kennedy two democrat presidents. yeah. he he becomes afraid that this this chenault affair is going to become public so he orders a break-in of brookings to try to retrieve these papers, which he thinks exist, which don't really exist the plan that they come up with is that they are going to buy a fire engine staff it with the same. cuban emigraves who are later caught breaking into the watergate a year later dressed as firefighters. they're going to fire bomb brookings then have this fake fire engine respond these burglars run up burglarize the safe get these papers out and flee in the chaos of the fire at brookings. yeah and gordon liddy. explains the plan fell apart not because it's actually like an incredibly criminal and awful thing for the president of the united states to try to order by the way completely crazy as well, but completely crazy in addition to being criminal but because the white house turns out to be too cheap buy the fire engine. that and it because some of it's really sinister. there's a there's a th

but then i was lyndon johnson. you said he was lonely because he. he'd been kicked out. really? i mean, he had he had withdrawn, but it was really because he had to withdraw. yeah. and it was so sad because he knew that he had extraordinary he had done extraordinary things. i mean medicare, medicaid, aid to education immigration reform, voting rights, pbs desegregating the south. i aid to the cities. extraordinary but the vietnam war had cut it all into and he just needed to feel like he'd be remembered somehow. i think it's that of all of us to somehow be remembered. and and he chose me somehow because i was there and maybe because i was young. and maybe because i was going to be an historian or. he thought i might be to tell the stories, too. and so they they became the foundation of the first book. and luckily the book did well. so that me to become a writer because i would, i would have been a teacher and maybe a professor, even, but not a writer by profession. it was listening to you tell these these origin stories. i'm well, one person here, robbie, is, is known for his fi

because it's been ten years to write the first book. >> why was lyndon johnson lonely? said he was lonely. >> because he been kickedbe out. he had withdrawn but usually because he hadye to withdraw. he was so sad because he knew he had done extra labor, he had that extra ordinary things in medicare, , medicaid, and education,es immigration reform, voting rights, pbs, desegregating the south. aid to the cities. going up at of the vietnam warnt have cut all in two and had to feel i can remember some of. it's the desire of all of us to some of the remember. he chose me, somehow because i was there and maybe because i was young, and maybe because i i was going to be an historian. he thought it might be, to tell the stories and so they became the foundation of the first book. unlikely book didlu well. so that allowed me to become a writer because i would've been a teacher n and maybe a professor even but not a rider by profession. well, one person he, robbie, is, is known for his fiction and doris for her nonfiction. your seems to be vocational that you compelled to do it ri