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Middleton, Harry

Harry Middleton

Biography

Harry J. Middleton (1921-2017)  was a native of Iowa, a graduate of Louisiana State University, and a veteran of World War II and Korea.  Before joining the White House staff, Middleton worked as a freelance writer and as a reporter or the Associated Press in New York.

He served as a staff assistant and speechwriter to President Johnson in the White House (1967-1969).  When Johnson returned to Texas, Middleton joined him and served as special assistant to Johnson during the preparation of his memoirs, The Vantage Point.

Middleton directed the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential library from 1970 until 2002.  He twice participated in the University's Lyndon Baines Johnson Distinguished Lecture Series: he joined George Christian in conversation in November 2000, and moderated the lecture featuring Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson in 2009. 

 

LBJ100 Oral History Project

Harry Middleton begins by talking about the circumstances in 1967 that led to him working for President Johnson as a speechwriter.  He recalls the newsworthy events of those years, and how Johnson's decision to not run for re-election impacted the staff. 

When he was asked to follow LBJ to Texas to work on his memoirs, Middleton became an "unofficial liaison" between the President's office and the National Archives during the planning stages of the LBJ Library and Museum.  Middleton talks about the process of writing Johnson's memoirs with Robert Hardesty, and and the circumstances surrounding how he became the director of Johnson's presidential library.  He also discusses Johnson's three goals for the library and details how he worked to meet those goals.  

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PDF Transcript, February 14, 2008 (not yet available online)
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HTML Transcript, February 14, 2008

Full audio is available for this interview.  Request via Ask an Archivist.