LBJ orders 4,700 Army paratroopers to riot-torn Detroit 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 24 1967)


Video: 'Address to the Nation Regarding Civil Disorder, 7/24/67. MP593.'

(Monday, July 24, 1967, 11:58 p.m. EDT) — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered 4,700 troops into the Detroit area today to help quell two days of rioting in the predominantly African-American inner city, saying “We will not tolerate lawlessness.”

Before the rioting was over, 43 people were killed, 1,189 were injured and 7,231 had been arrested; 2,509 buildings were burned with an estimated loss of $36 million in insured property “and undoubtedly millions more were lost by those without insurance, not to mention wages, income and government costs.”


Video: 'The President: July 1967. MP886.' (July 24, 1967, at 13:42)


Video: 'PRESIDENTS LBJ Part 2' (July 24 1967, at 1:06:13)


Video: 'Eyes On The Prize - (Part 10) The Promised Land 1967–1968' (Detroit riots at 13:21)