On June 23, 1964, President Johnson was receiving news that
three civil rights workers--Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and
Michael Schwerner--were missing in Mississippi. Throughout this
day and the next week, Johnson continued to follow the case
closely, holding over 40 recorded conversations. In this call,
Johnson reached out to Senator James O. Eastland, a staunch
segregationist from the Mississippi Delta. Eastland declared the
episode a publicity stunt, denied the existence of organized
white supremacy groups in that part of Mississippi, and
ridiculed Fannie Lou Hamer. Unknown to Johnson, the three
workers had been murdered by a group of white supremacists that
included local law enforcement officials. A massive manhunt
turned up bodies, but not of the three workers. Only after a tip
from a paid informant were they discovered--over six weeks later
--in an earthen dam southwest of Philadelphia.