From Lyndon B. Johnson
Author: Johnson, Lyndon B.
Date: November 28, 1960
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views
Details
Vice President-elect Lyndon B. Johnson thanks King for his support.1 Just prior to the election, King, who refrained from endorsing either ticket, had expressed his disappointment in the nomination of the Senate Democratic majority leader from Texas because of his position on civil rights.2
Rev. Martin Luther King
407 Auburn Ave.
Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Dr. King:
Now that the election is over and our Democratic Party has won, I want to let you know how much I particularly appreciate having had your support.
The election was close and hard-fought. I am proud it was a clean and high-level campaign, and our country emerges from it without scars or embitterments that would keep us from working together in the crucial years lying ahead.
I want you to know that you may look to me for cooperation in those years, and I know that I can expect the same from you.
With best wishes, always,
Sincerely,
[signed]
Lyndon B. Johnson
1. The Kings were later invited to Kennedy and Johnson’s inauguration festivities (Edward H. Foley, Invitation to the inauguration of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, 20 January 1961, and Stanley Woodward and Lindy Boggs, Invitation to the inaugural ball of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, 20 January 1961).
2. See King, Interview by Zenas Sears on “For Your Information,” 6 November 1960, p. 552 in this volume.
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954-1968, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University, Boston, Mass.