Video: 'President Lyndon B. Johnson's Address to Congress, November 27, 1963. MP505'

(Thanksgiving eve, Wednesday, November 27, 1963, 12:30 p.m. EST) — Five days after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot in Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson, his successor, delivered his “Let Us Continue” speech before a joint session of Congress, calling Kennedy the “greatest leader of our time,” and said that “American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication.”

Johnson called for the earliest possible passage of the civil rights law, and demanded that Congress pass tax reform that would bring tax relief. In contrast with Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration address, Johnson said “Today, in this moment of new resolve, I would say to all my fellow Americans, let us continue.”

He closed the speech with a stanza from “America the Beautiful.”

The speech was interrupted 34 times by applause from the audience. It was widely appreciated, and the New York Herald Tribune described his address as “fine words, fitting words, at times inspiring words”.

Soon after his address, Johnson succeeded in getting the tax reform bill and the Civil Rights Act passed by Congress.