Today, it grows tomatoes in the desert, operates two nuclear reactors, and is affluent enough to participate in a comprehensive redevelopment plan in latin america. Returning from his visit to south america, israeli president Zalman Shazar is given a warm welcome at the white house. For the president of the United States, the month of august begins on an international note with an expression of friendship that will strengthen the ties between america and her friend on the mediterranean. Before the month is over, the president s interests will largely be domestic ones, as the American People show concern about an everexpanding economy. However, for the moment, the Public Interest was focused on a young man from waukegan, illinois. On the 6th of august, pat nugent would become the president s soninlaw in one of the most publicized weddings of the century. In the chronicles of white house history, it was the first time a president attended a professional football game. Today was a perfect one for a wedding. Through the electronic eyes of the camera, millions of americans witnessed the wedding of lucy baines johnson. The shrine of the Immaculate Conception provided the setting for the mass. For lucy, now ms. Patrick nugent, the whirlwind Summer International spotlight is over. She will quietly head back to school and assume a new role as a campus housewife while pat finishes his education. And the father of the bride will also slip quietly back into his role as president of the United States. They agreed in february during the honolulu conference to meet as often as possible to discuss developments in vietnam. On 13 august, the first opportunity arose. General westmoreland was attending formal conferences in honolulu. The president asked the general to meet him at the ranch over the weekend to discuss the overall situation in detail. The meeting was unheralded and the visit was not announced until the morning after the general arrived. Since the chief executive put the river on the map, there is very little that surprises the residents of the texas hill country. At the present, the most publicized soldier of the decade, attending a Simple Church service with the president , is something the hill people take in daily stride. Immediately following the church services, the reporters were invited to the ranch for a press conference. During formal talk throughout the Early Morning hours, the general found the president exhaustive in his quest for details on the war. They explored three dozen circuits pertaining to the fighting in Southeast Asia. Before the president introduced general westmoreland to the press, he let one of the perennial favorites have the floor. For most of the press conference, the president turned the podium over to his guest. In addition to commenting upon troop levels and the war in general, he indicated high prospects of a successful election in vietnam in september. The viet cong, he cautioned, will do all in their powers to disrupt the democratic process but the Vietnamese Armed forces, he promised, will provide security for the voters. Free elections and a self determined government was one of the basic requirements essential for security in Southeast Asia and a point determined a month earlier in the president s speech. Captain bill carpenter, recommended for the medal of honor and hero of vietnam, accompanied general westmoreland during the weekend Briefing Session with the president. Carpenters record added to the record of over 290,000 other fighting men in vietnam confirmed the president s conviction that the United States had a superb force in vietnam. President johnson general westmoreland, i want you to take back with you my personal message to all of our men in vietnam. And that message is this, you are our best. You make every american proud. When the president is home, the ranch often becomes a major crossroad, a stopping point for Prime Ministers, generals and sometimes just interesting people who want to see the chief executive. The austin aquanauts were among the last and for an hour or two, the scenery around the ranch somehow was not the same. The president assured his family and friends that the austin aquanauts were not part of his administrations beautification program. However, after elections, who knows. Lyndon johnson came to washington 35 years ago, grateful for the opportunity to serve as an Administrative Assistant to a texas congressman. It was a time when few opportunities were afforded young people to gain practical experience in the workings of government. On august 18, the president saw proof the picture had changed. 14,000 Young Americans serving as interns in a variety of Government Agencies would soon leave washington, taking home with them new insights and a new appreciation for both the problems and the potential of their federal machine. Some of that federal machinery began turning as students bore witness to the president s remarks on the draft. A president ial Advisory Commission had begun its work on a program that would call for a fairer system for selecting the nations youth for service in the armed forces. In addition, the commission would examine certain nonmilitary alternatives to the draft such as the peace corps, the teacher corps. Next year, the president would seek a program to help all those who wanted to train for public service. The chief executive was determined that his term in office would mean a greater role for young people. At the same time, he cautioned, it would mean a greater responsibility, as well. Overhauling the draft and creating new opportunities for the young were only samples of the johnson administrations programs for a greater society. On the following day, the 19th of august, he swung north in an exhaustive threeday effort to define these programs to the constituency of five new england states. Never before in the history of the nation had a president and his Congress Worked together so well to serve the domestic needs of the people. For the people of buffalo, their needs lay in the polluted waters of lake erie. Lake erie is only one body of water across the land that is in trouble but the cleanup will start here with the installation of a new filtering system made possible by the Water Quality act of 1965. President johnson like so many of our problems, the pollution of lake erie is a result of our abundance. It has been caused by the the great industrial growth of buffalo, and a dozen other cities and this is what we see in america today, a powerful to clean up the problems we have created. So much of the contradictions of American Life are caused by just this, the eager and arresting spirit by which we made this country of ours. The president ial party touched down in syracuse, an issue that has plagued every country in the world. When the enthusiasm subsided, the president s words, he cautioned those who would line their pockets. The demonstrations would go a long way toward taking on the road to ellenville, the president this bill was the most sweeping proposal ever made by any president to meet the needs of its citizens. At ellenville, new york, the president concluded his first day on the road with a dedication of a new community hospital. With the hospital serving as a key note, he spoke of the war on disease, and modern medical care for everyone regardless of age and reviewed for a moment the success of medicare. The president emphasized that good medical care is the right of every american citizen. Under the medicare program, there is no backdoor for second class patients. There is only one waiting room. To the daughters, to those who predicted chaos, the president extended an invitation to fill out their medicare cards and share in the success of the program. Until now, the president spoke about what his administration was seeking to do and had done for people but the benefits for a Great Society are not oneway. Personal responsibility is forever bound to personal rights. At the university of rhode island, the president accepted an Honorary Degree and with civil responsibility as a keynote, spoke frank words on the subject. President johnson destroys far more than the police car or pawn shop. It destroys the basis for civil peace and basis for civil progress. The poor suffered twice at the writers hands, first when his destructive fury scars neighborhoods and second when the atmosphere of accommodation and consent is changed to one of hostility and resentment. The president had once remarked that every Office Holder should get out and find himself whatever the power is. However, the president s path has suffered from two days of his hands suffering from two days of pressing the flesh needed no reminder. In manchester for the second time and to the nation for the 38th time, the president spoke of vietnam, restraint, and outlining the United States objectives in Southeast Asia. Minutes later, he was off again. This time to burlington, vermont. The tour was nonpolitical and the president , whenever the opportunity arose, shared with local democrats and republicans. [applause] george aiken of vermont who helped make the trip possible was one republican selected. The president joined in the scene in recognition of the senior senators 74th birthday. The subject was natural conservation, preserving the land, the lakes, the shore. For the first time, the president announced, the country is saving more land each year than it loses to the bulldozer. It was Late Afternoon when air force one touched down at lewiston, maine. The president , nearing the end of two solid days of speech making, lubricated the machinery in preparation for his final delivery. The place, the john f. Kennedy memorial park. The president s remarks were geared to space age problems but the setting was reminiscent of an earlier day. The president did not mention the specific alternatives to wage price control but they were clearly in focus just the same. He counseled self discipline, fiscal restraint. He spoke of many conferences he held at the white house with labor and management urging responsible bargaining, urging decisions that would not trigger inflation. Though many had responded, there were some who had not. If there was no voluntary self discipline by management and labor, the government would be compelled by sheer necessity to act in order to protect all the people. The president called it a day. He had sold his domestic programs face to face to the citizens of five states and at the same time reminded them of their responsibility, economic as well as civil. It was the First Time Since taking the office of president that Lyndon Johnson spent the night on the open sea. His state room for the occasion was aboard the u. S. S. North hampton. The cruiser was a sea borne command post and had communication equipment ready to serve the chief executive in any national emergency. On sunday, 21 august, the president departed from North Hampton to campobelio island for discussions with Prime Minister pearson from canada. National anthem plays] the president supplied his own brand of effective personal diplomacy as they informally discussed the World Problems that affected both their nations. Later in the day, at the international park, the president and the Prime Minister joined forces in the planting of a document box in the corner of a new visitors center. The f. D. R. Home may have invoked nostalgic memories, for roosevelt left an endearing reminder more than anyone else for the limits, powers and obligations of the presidency. The obligations, he felt, both to his own people and to the world, were clearly evident six days later in idaho, the site of the Atomic Energy commissions breeder reactor, the first reactor to produce electricity from Nuclear Energy. Here the president spoke of enlarging the prospects for cooperation between the soviet union and the United States. President johnson both of us possess unimaginable power. Our responsibility to the world is heavier than that ever borne by any two nations at any other time in history. Our purpose, he concluded, is no longer to avoid nuclear war. It must be a determination to use Nuclear Energy as a powerful force for peace. It was the day before his 58th birthday and Lyndon Johnson exhibited the same Tireless Energy that he brought to washington 35 years earlier. Preceding his performance, he swung through the west, selling his program. There were unexpected rewards awaiting him. At the university of denver, an Honorary Degree. In oklahoma, the cherokee indian but best of all at a colorado airport, a special tribute from anita bryant. The month of august was almost over. At the ranch with family and friends, he took the occasion of his birthday to take a few moments. [applause] he was now Lyndon Baines johnson, rancher, home in the same hills that had cradled him 58 years ago when he first appeared upon the texas scene. It was a time to count blessings. The country was at a point he had envisioned all his life. It had problems but they were problems of prosperity. If anything concerned him, it was the lack of understanding between people, between nations. You would find very little difference in peoples objectives if you could look deep into their hearts and discover what they truly want. You are watching American History tv. 48 hours of programming every weekend on cspan 3. Follow us on twitter for information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news. Next, on American History tv, a conversation with history professor susan sleepersmith about 17th century native american and european interactions in the Belmont Stakes region. The Great Lakes Region. She discusses migration patterns, intermarriage and misconceptions about the fur trade. Cspans American History tv interviewed professor sleepersmith at the annual meeting of the organization of american historians in providence, rhode island. This is nearly 15 minutes. Host when did europeans first migrate to the Great Lakes Region . Professor sleepersmith this come in 1640s, 1660s and at the same time indians are moving out of the ohio river valley in an attempt to access trade goods where european traders are coming in. Thats generally green bay. Which europeans are we talking about . Professor sleepersmith primarily the french. The british will come later in the 18th century. Host this is about more than exploration. This is about business . Professor sleepersmith yes, its kind of a complex but interesting way to think about