U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was one of twenty-two active U.S. Senators to deliver a lecture in the series ( including also his brother Ted Kennedy in 1984 ) . Kennedy 's speech on March 18 , 1968 , " Conflict in Vietnam and at Home " , is notable for being the first speech Kennedy delivered after announcing his much-anticipated candidacy for the U.S. presidency two days earlier . The campaign speech was attended by a crowd of 14,500 people , and Kennedy used the opportunity to share anti-war views on the Vietnam War . Evan Thomas wrote in his biography of Kennedy that " the setting was ideal for a raucous campaign kickoff . " Kennedy was assassinated less than three months later , on June 6 , 1968 , after winning the California Democratic primary
assassinated
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Landon Lecture Series