Remarks of the President on Viet Nam, 1965 April 7

President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers a live television address to the nation before an audience of congressmen, faculty and students in Shriver Hall at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 7, 1965. President Johnson reiterates American policy in Southeast Asia, saying that the war is part of a wider war against communist aggression. He states that our goal is independence for South Vietnam and that the U.S. must keep its commitment to fight for this goal. He also discusses the need for economic development in Southeast Asia, announcing that he will ask Congress for money to invest in schools and medical care as well as the ability to use U.S. farm surpluses to feed the South Vietnamese people.