Lyndon B. Johnson
The 36th president of the United of States (1963-1969)

John Hopkins University Speech

Johnson made this speech on April 7, 1965, as his Vietnam policy faced increasing criticism at home and abroad. In this speech he reaffirmed why the United States was fighting in Vietnam (“for the defense of freedom”) and made clear that the United States had no hegemonic ambitions in Asia (“no nation need ever fear that we desire their land, or to impose our will, or to dictate their institutions”).