Friday, April 27, 2012
May 29, 1917- Birthdate of John Fitzgerald Kennedy-
"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word, ‘crisis’. One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger- but recognize the opportunity."-
35th President, 1961-1963, Died by assassination November 22, 1963- from his remarks at the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana, Sunday, April 12, 1959. As he speaks, Senator Kennedy has not yet announced his candidacy for President, although the Oval Office would be his ultimate goal. How he came to speak at this forum is multi-layered story in and of itself. Also, his interpretation of the translation of the word, crisis, itself, has been raised for discussion. In 1957, Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Profiles in Courage". While Kennedy is credited for the idea and concept of the book, there is controversy about how much of the writing was actually done by him. It was also believed Kennedy's father lobbied the Columbia University judges to award him the honor.
In any event, Kennedy did donate his prize money to the United Negro College Fund. It would seem this would be the likely reason he was invited to speak to the organization, now renowned for its iconic slogan, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Kennedy uses the word crisis in his opening paragraph; not only in context of racial discrimination but in the context of "world of crisis." He states, "The graduates of all American colleges today will play a pre-eminent role in shaping the course of that world. They cannot escape the responsibilities of leadership...and I want to make sure that these future leaders - facing the most critical, complex world and most urgent peril history has ever known - are prepared to deal with these problems." Here he lists the pressing issues of the time: The economic, social, and military threat of Russian communism and the looming "space race." In addition, China was undergoing a transformation into a communist, industrialized power. Along with those large nations, he mentions growing strife on the continents of Africa and South America. Kennedy states, "...the danger lies in the possibility that we will become increasingly estranged from our allies and friends and the uncommitted people of the world...our armaments must be ideas and the battle must be for men's minds."
At this point he puts forth his iconic quote (although most likely repeated from past associates and writings) stating that "with crisis comes opportunity." As an aside, current scholars contend the more accurate translation would imply that a crisis is, not an opportunity but, in fact, a danger point of which one should be wary and demands a decision, creating a turning point. (http://workplacepsychology.net/2014/08/10/in-chinese-crisis-does-not-mean-danger-and-opportunity/)
Kennedy then moves from his general position of seeing education as crucial to the overall advancement of American leadership and ideals to the world, to the specific position that the improvement of and advancement of Negro education in America is also crucial. In doing so, he seems to align himself with the idea that there would be in fact a struggle, not a mere opportunity. "So let us raise both our sights and our standards. One era in the history of our Negro colleges is coming to an end. But another is just beginning. It will require more, not less, effort - greater, not smaller, expenditures - increased, not decreased, recognition from the American people...The demand for teachers, doctors, lawyers and businessmen will continue to grow. But there will be new and unprecedent[ed] demands upon your colleges for community leaders skilled in the arts of persuasion and conciliation...capable of handling the explosive problems of a transitional age.
In our nation's quest for new talent, new ideas, new brainpower, new manpower, no college can escape its responsibility - and no qualified young man or woman can be denied. Irrational barriers and ancient prejudices fall quickly when the question of survival itself is at stake." In concluding, he moves back from the specific issue of the United Negro College Fund to the general challenge of the nation. "This, after all, is the real issue of our times. The hard, tough question for the next decade - for this or any other group of Americans - is whether any free society - with its freedom of choice - its breadth of opportunity - its range of alternatives - can meet the single minded advance of the Communist system. Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will?" (http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Indianapolis-IN_19590412.aspx)
Not knowing how great the struggles would be in the not so distant future, Kennedy puts forth the idea that if individuals are prepared for leadership, they will be accepted by society in the interests of that society. In many instances, Kennedy's vision and desire has come to fruition as we now have leaders from all races in our government, military, and in the educational system. However, in retrospect, Kennedy's use of the word, crisis, is more prophetic than he could have known, as we in the United States still contend with explosive problems and struggle with the crisis of racial equality and justice to this day.
May 28
May 28
The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, 1923-1929
Quote from Coolidge's speech on July 27, 1920, accepting the Vice-Presidential nomination to serve with Warren Harding.
At that time the United States was recovering from its participation in World War I and a primary concern was caring for the veterans of that war.
"Whenever in the future this nation undertakes to assess its strength and resources, the largest item
will be the roll of those who served her in every patriotic capacity in the world war. There are those
who bore the civil tasks of that great undertaking, often at heavy sacrifices, always with the
disinterested desire to serve their country. There are those who wore the uniform. The presence of
the living, the example of the dead, will ever be a standing guaranty of the stability of our republic.
From their rugged virtue springs a never-ending obligation to hold unimpaired the principles
established by their victory. Honor is theirs forevermore.
Duty compels that those promises, so freely made, that out of their sacrifices they should have a
larger life, be speedily redeemed. Care of dependents, relief from distress, restoration from infirmity,
provision for education, honorable preferment in the public service, a helping hand everywhere, are
theirs not as a favor but by right. They have conquered the claim to suitable recognition in all things.
The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten."
Another concern was reverting back to a peacetime economy and returning "the voice" and responsibility back to the people with less arbitrary governing as was perceived to be necessary during a war.
"Unless the government and property of the nation are in the hands of the people, and there to stay as
their permanent abiding place, self-government ends and the hope of America goes down in ruins."
With fundamental rights come responsibility-
"...it is the first duty of the public and press to expose false doctrines and answer seditious arguments.
American institutions can stand discussion and criticism, only if those who know bear for them the
testimony of the truth."
May 27
Justice is the end of Government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.
James Madison, 4th President, 1809-1817- from The Federalist Papers, #51, February 8,1788. OK, kids, put on your thinking caps. This Madison guy is a deep thinker. The Federalist Papers were written to attempt to persuade the new citizens of the United States to agree to the newly written Constitution which would provide for a stronger central government in place of the weak central government provided for in the Articles of Confederation. The Revolutionary War had been fought in opposition to too much authority in the government. There was (and is) a fine line between individual and states rights and the common good of the nation. "...But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place...In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself. Second. It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens... Whilst all authority in it will be derived from and dependent on the society, the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority...Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger...In the extended republic of the United States, a coalition of a majority of the whole society could seldom take place on any other principles than those of justice and the general good; whilst there being thus less danger to a minor from the will of a major party, there must be less pretext, also, to provide for the security of the former, by introducing into the government a will independent of the society itself.http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_51.html
May 26
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797, from a letter written to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, January 15, 1783. Apparently, Bushrod was on his way to Philadelphia to study law and his father was concerned about Bushrod's youth and protecting his limited financial resources, as well as developing good friendships and maintaining his focus and reputation. George had been asked to write to Bushrod to give a guiding hand. (Who would be better to give advice than "The Father of our Country"?)..."Dear Bushrod: You will be surprised perhaps at receiving a letter from me; but if the end is answered for which it is written, I shall not think my time miss-spent.
Your Father, who seems to entertain a very favorable opinion of your prudence, and I hope you merit it: in one or two of his letters to me, speaks of the difficulty he is under to make you remittances...when I take a view of the inexperience of Youth, the temptations in, and vices of Cities...as a friend, I give you the following advice.
Let the object, which carried you to Philadelphia, be always before your Eyes; remember, that it is not the mere study of the Law, but to become eminent in the Profession of it (and)let the second be your ambition. and that dissipation is incompatible with both.
That the Company in which you will improve most, will be least expensive to you...of the young and juvenile kind let me advise you to be choice. It is easy to make acquaintances, but very difficult to shake them off, however irksome and unprofitable they are found after we have once committed ourselves to them; the indiscretions, and scrapes which very often they involuntarily lead one into, proves equally distressing and disgraceful.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
Do not conceive that fine Clothes make fine Men, any more than fine feathers make fine Birds.
The last thing I shall mention, is first of importance. and that is, to avoid Gaming...It has been the ruin of many worthy familys; the loss of many a man's honor.
...It will add not a little to my happiness, to find those, to whom I am so nearly connected, pursuing the right walk of life; it will be the sure road to my favor, and to those honors, and places of profit, which their Country can bestow, as merit rarely goes unrewarded.
May 23
The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.
Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President, 1869-1877
The corollary statement might be from General Sherman: "Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other."
May 21
The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing…is growing into fashion. Let the men and officers reflect that we cannot hope for the blessings of heaven on our army if we insult it by our impiety and folly.
George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797
May 14-
And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country…My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President 1961-1963, From his Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, Washington, D.C. "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come." (attributed to Victor Hugo) Not all great thoughts have to be original to be valid. Timing is also of great importance. It is believed that Kennedy's great quote is a reflection back to his high school days at Choate, (now called Choate Rosemary Hall) a private boarding school in Connecticut. Kennedy was quite a rapscallion and rebellious ring leader in his time at school. He was often at odds with the administration and its headmaster, George St. John. However, it does appear that some of the headmaster's words did sink in. As part of the curriculum, the students would gather for evening chapel services at which the headmaster would give inspirational and motivational talks. A recurring theme of Mr. St. John's sermons was inspired by his own mentor, LeBaron Russell Riggs, dean of Harvard University. In an essay, Briggs writes, "In and out of college the man with ideals helps, so far as in him lies, his college and his country. It is hard for a boy to understand that in life, he helps make or mar the name of his college. As has often been said, the youth who loves his alma mater will always ask not 'What can she do for me?' but 'What can I do for her?'" (Matthews, Chris; "Jack Kennedy:Elusive Hero, Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 2011, p. 23). Now as a grown man and newly elected leader of the free world, Kennedy rephrases the thought and it becomes a flashpoint and iconic idea and phrase as the world moved into the struggle against Russian communism in the "Cold War" and the "New Frontier" of the 1960's. He calls on all Americans to renew themselves and continue to work for and uphold the American ideals of freedom and human rights: "We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change...Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans...In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
May 13
Much can be done by law toward putting women on a footing of complete and entire equal rights with man…women should have free access to every field of labor which they care to enter, and when their work is as valuable as that of a man, it should be paid as highly.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901-1909
May 9
The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it treats its women. If it is educating its girls, if women have equal rights, that country is going to move forward. But if women are oppressed and abused and illiterate, then they are going to fall behind.
Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009-
May 2
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
April 28, 1758- Birthdate of James Monroe
In this great nation there is but one order, that of the people, whose power…is transferred from them…to bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for the purposes of free, enlightened, and efficient government.
5th President, 1817-1825, Died July 4, 1831
April 26
If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President, 1953-1961- From a speech to the Galveston Lunch groups December 8, 1949, as President of Columbia University.- Eisenhower speaks here to civic leaders as a post World War II hero and potential candidate for President of the United States. He was honored in Galveston as a great American and a great Texan. Eisenhower was born in Texas, but grew up in Abilene, Kansas, where his Presidential Library is located. Although, he was leader of the multinational war effort, in which mass production of weapons and equipment propelled the United States to great influence and prosperity, Eisenhower often warned of too much governmental authority and control..."If all that Americans want out of life is security, the easiest means to gain this end, is to commit some offense and go to prison. You will never have to worry, you will get enough to eat, you will have a pretty fair bed, and you will get along alright. But fundamentally if an American desires to preserve his freedom, his dignity and equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any centralized government."
Eisenhower is not speaking about "bowing" to foreign governments, but to our own. He further states, "Vote in every election from school board or precinct chairman upward. In doing your duty as we understand it, with the determination to preserve your freedoms, the American people will never lose it".
After the luncheon, he greeted the District champion Galveston Ball High School football team and then visited the new American Legion Hall and greeted the veterans there and subsequently went quail hunting at the end of his trip.
April 25
Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling, never fails of employment.
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President, 1801-1809-from a Letter to nephew, Peter Carr, June 22, 1792.This quote is not a general platitude to Peter Carr, but rather appears to be professional correspondence and encouragement from one lawyer to another. Carr had written to Jefferson asking for his interpretation of English "Waste Laws" regarding land use and "development" in the former colonies. In England, cutting down forests deteriorated the land (hence they were more than happy to get lumber from "the colonies"). Jefferson stated that depending on the reasoning, in some cases cutting down forest in Virginia could be an improvement of the land as farm and pasture land were developed. He states improvements "in the same line" may be permitted but improvements "in a different line"(ie, new buildings)might tend to deterioration. "The English Chancellors have gone on from one thing to another without any comprehensive or systematic view of the whole field of equity...". He ends his letter with the quote, "Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling never fails of employment in it. The foundation you will have laid in legal reading will enable you to take a higher ground than most of your competitors...Go on then with courage, and you will be sure of success";; for which be assured no one wishes more ardently, nor has more sincere sentiments of friendship towards you Dear Sir, than your affectionate friend. Th Jefferson.
April 19
We didn’t become the most prosperous country in the world just by rewarding greed and recklessness…by letting the special interests run wild or by gambling and chasing paper profits on Wall Street. We built this country by making things, producing things we could sell.
Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009-
April 18
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned…It has not been a path for the faint hearted or those who prefer leisure over work…it has been the risk takers, the doers, the makers of things-often obscure in their labor-who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009-
April 17
The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous…No poor man was ever made richer or happier by it…Not what a man has, but what he is, settles his class. We can not right matters by taking from one what he has honestly acquired to bestow upon another what he has not earned.
Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President, 1889-1893
April 14
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my county. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow and the Money Power of the Country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865
April 10
The collection of taxes which do not beyond a reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare is only a species of legalized larceny. The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a chance to be successful.
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, 1921-1929
April 7
I do not prize the word, “cheap”. It is not a badge of honor. It is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country.
William McKinley, 25th President, 1897-1901- From his speech, "Protection and Revenue", at Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, October 5, 1889.-McKinley, a member of congress at the time, was campaigning for the Republican party and its policies of tariffs and taxation a month before the Presidential election of Benjamin Harrison. He states, "There has always been in the United States a political party that favored a strict construction of the Constitution, that stood in opposition to internal improvements and to a protective tariff, that believed in class and caste and obstruction; and there has always been, on the other hand, a party that stood for the largest liberty, for the full development of the country,...and for the maintenance of a protective tariff and the widest opportunities for American aspiration...If Madison and Hamilton, Clay and Webster stood for a system of taxation that would bear most lightly upon the people, and least retard our industrial development, so the Republican party stands today for precisely the same system...To give intelligent judgment upon this question it is necessary that we should rightly understand what constitutes a revenue tariff, and exactly what is meant by a protective tariff. Now, a revenue tariff, as the very term implies, is a tariff for revenue only, a tariff which has no purpose, except putting money into the Treasury for public purposes. A protective tariff, while raising revenue, it has consideration for the occupations of our own people. It has concern for our agricultural and mechanical development...Every time you bring a competing product into the United States it takes the place of a like quantity of the American product...(and) while you are securing an overflowing Treasury you are bankrupting our own industries, destroying our own investment, and depriving American working men of the labor which belongs to them. - They (proponents of revenue tariff) say "everything would be so cheap" if only we had free trade. Well, everything would be cheap and everybody would be cheap. I do not prize the word cheap. It is not a word of hope; it is not a word of comfort; it is not a word of cheer; it is not a word of inspiration! It is the badge of poverty; it is the signal of distress...when things were the cheapest, men were the poorest...Why cheap merchandise means cheap men, and cheap men mean a cheap country; and that is not the kind of country our fathers founded, and it is not the kind their sons mean to maintain. We want labor to be well paid; we want everything we make and produce to pay a fair compensation to the producer. That is what makes good times.-From "Speeches and Addresses of William McKinley", Copyright D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1893, pages 368-380.
April 6
If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it’s the best possible substitute for it.
James A. Garfield, 20th President, 1881- From "College Education", An Address delivered before the Literary Societies of the Eclectic Institute at Hiram Ohio, June 14, 1867- Garfield, a former educator, was at this time a member of the House of Representatives from Ohio after serving as a General in the Civil War. The nation was re-organizing and Garfield had been asked to speak about education in the changing nation. Garfield states, "The nation, having passed through the childhood of it its history, and being about to enter upon a new life, based on a fuller recognition of the rights of manhood, has discovered that liberty can be safe, only when the suffrage is illuminated by education...You, young gentlemen, are now confronted with the question, "What must I do to fit myself most completely,...for being 'all that doth become a man,' living in the full light of the Christian civilization of America?"...In general, it may be said that the purpose of all study is two-fold: to discipline our faculties, and to acquire knowledge for the duties of life...In brief, the student should study himself, his relations to society, to nature, and to art-and through all these, should study the relations of himself, society, and nature and art, to God, the Author of them all. In the next place, I inquire, what kinds of knowledge are necessary for carrying on and improving the useful arts and industries of civilized life? This generation is beginning to understand that education should not forever be divorced from industry; that the highest results can be reached only when science guides the hand of labor...I beseech you to remember that the genius of success is still the genius of labor. If hard work is not another name for talent, it is the best possible substitute for it. In the long run, the chief difference in men will be found the the amount of work they do... and finally, Young Gentlemen, learn to cultivate a wise self-reliance, based on not what you hope, but on what you perform.
April 5
Government destitute of energy will ever produce anarchy.
James Madison, 4th President, 1809-1817- Speech in the Virginia Convention on June 5, 1788- As the new nation emerged after the Revolutionary War, there was a general debate concerning whether or not the Articles of Confederation, which loosely bound the states, was sufficient for the future of the nation. The Federalists favored a stronger Federal government, as proposed by the new Constitution, favored and engineered in a large part by Madison. "Opposing them were Patrick Henry, George Mason, William Grayson, James Monroe, John Taylor of Carolina, and other "Anti-Federalists", who believed that the Constitution created a central government that was too powerful. Henry, the leader of this faction, opposed allowing the new central government to directly tax citizens of the various states, and he feared that the newly created office of President of the United States would become far too powerful."From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Madison, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton were among the proponents of the stronger, more centralized Federal government, with powers of taxation. Madison states, in part, "...Mr. Chairman, in considering this great subject I trust we shall find that part which gives the general government the power of laying and collecting taxes, indispensable and essential to the existence of any efficient, or well organized system of government...If we review the experience we have had, or contemplate the history of nations, here we find ample reasons to prove its expediency...If a government depends on other governments for its revenues: if it must depend on the voluntary contributions of its members, its existence must be precarious...(it)is a solecism in theory, and a mere nullity in practice. Drawn from review of ancient and modern confederacies, is that instead of promoting the public happiness, or securing public tranquility, they have, in every instance, been productive of anarchy and confusion.. and a prey to their own dissensions and foreign invasions...Without energy-without stability-the empire is a nerveless body. If the general government is to depend on the voluntary contribution of the states for its support, dismemberment of the union may be the consequence. In case of eminent danger, the states more immediately exposed to it, would only exert themselves...those remote from it would not interest themselves in that which they did not immediately perceive. The general government ought to be more empowered to defend the whole union..." From "The Writings of James Madison,Edited by Gaillard Hunt,Vol. 5, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1904, pps 138-141".
On June 25, the convention ratified the constitution by a vote of 89 to 79. New York ratified the constitution a month later and the "new" government began operating officially on March 4, 1789 with George Washington taking the oath of office as the first President on April 30, 1789.
April 4
Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945-1953- From his address in San Francisco at the Closing Session of the United Nations Conference. June 26, 1945- the conference had convened from April 25 to June 26, 1945. V-E Day(Victory in Europe)had just been declared on May 8,1945,not quite a year after the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944. War in the Pacific was still going on as the United Nations conference came to a close. V-J Day was not to occur until the end of the summer on August 15 and recognized finally on September 2 in the United States when Japan officially signed documents ending World War II. Truman addressed the closing session, "Mr. Chairman and Delegates to the United Nations Conference on International Organization:
I deeply regret that the press of circumstances when this Conference opened made it impossible for me to be here to greet you in person. I have asked for the privilege of coming today, to express on behalf of the people of the United States our thanks for what you have done here, and to wish you Godspeed on your journeys home...
We are grateful to you for coming. We hope you have enjoyed your stay, and that you will come again.
You assembled in San Francisco nine weeks ago with the high hope and confidence of peace-loving people the world over.
Their confidence in you has been justified.
Their hope for your success has been fulfilled...
The Charter of the United Nations which you have just signed is a solid structure upon which we can build a better world. History will honor you for it. Between the victory in Europe and the final victory in Japan, in this most destructive of all wars, you have won a victory against war itself...What you have accomplished in San Francisco shows how well these lessons of military and economic cooperation have been learned. You have created a great instrument for peace and security and human progress in the world...
The world must now use it!
If we fail to use it, we shall betray all those who have died in order that we might meet here in freedom and safety to create it.
If we seek to use it selfishly--for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations--we shall be equally guilty of that betrayal.
The successful use of this instrument will require the united will and firm determination of the free peoples who have created it. The job will tax the moral strength and fibre of us all.
We all have to recognize-no matter how great our strength--that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please. No one nation, no regional group, can or should expect, any special privilege which harms any other nation. If any nation would keep security for itself, it must be ready and willing to share security with all. That is the price which each nation will have to pay for world peace. Unless we are all willing to pay that price, no organization for world peace can accomplish its purpose.
And what a reasonable price that is...
A just and lasting peace cannot be attained by diplomatic agreement alone, or by military cooperation alone. Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and by social injustice. The Charter recognizes this fact for it has provided for economic and social cooperation as well. It has provided for this cooperation as part of the very heart of the entire compact.
April 2
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signify in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President, 1953-1961-"Chance for Peace" speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on April 16, 1953.- Although Eisenhower, formerly Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe in World War II, spoke against increased military spending, the Cold War deepened during his administration and political pressures for increased military spending mounted. By the time he left office in 1961, he felt it necessary to warn of the military-industrial complex. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In his speech Eisenhower reasons, "...In this spring of 1953 the free world weighs one question above all others: the chances for a just peace for all peoples. To weigh this chance is to summon instantly to mind another recent moment of great decision. It came with that yet more hopeful spring of 1945, bright with the promise of victory and of freedom. The hopes of all just men in that moment too was a just and lasting peace.
The 8 years that have passed have seen that hope waver, grow dim, and almost die. And the shadow of fear again has darkly lengthened across the world...The Soviet government held a vastly different vision of the future. In the world of its design, security was to be found, not in mutual trust and mutual aid but in force: huge armies, subversion, rule of neighbor nations. The goal was power superiority at all cost. Security was to be sought by denying it to all others...It instilled in the free nations -- and let none doubt this -- the unshakable conviction that, as long as there persists a threat to freedom, they must, at any cost, remain armed, strong, and ready for the risk of war...The worst to be feared and the best to be expected can be simply stated.
The worst is atomic war.
The best would be this: a life of perpetual fear and tension; a burden of arms draining the wealth and the labor of all peoples; a wasting of strength that defies the American system or the Soviet system or any system to achieve true abundance and happiness for the peoples of this earth.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone.
It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.
The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities.
It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals...
There is, before all peoples, a precarious chance to turn the black tide of events.
If we failed to strive to seize this chance, the judgment of future ages will be harsh and just.
The purpose of the United States, in stating these proposals, is simple. These proposals spring, without ulterior motive or political passion, from our calm conviction that the hunger for peace is in the hearts of all people -- those of Russia and of China no less than of our own country.
They conform to our firm faith that God created man to enjoy, not destroy, the fruits of the earth and of their own toil.
April: "It's the economy, stupid."
April 1
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President, 1801-1809- paraphrase of a statement Jefferson made in a letter to John Taylor May 28, 1816. Jefferson was a prolific letter writer. Most days he would write letters from sunrise to one or two o'clock in the afternoon. (http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/drudging-writing-table) He would write political and philosophical letters to colleagues, he corresponded to fellow scientists on topics such as mathematics, archtecture, agriculture, and friendly letters to family and friends. He exchanged a large volume of letters with John Adams until their deaths, both dying on July 4, 1826. Here he writes to Taylor, often referred to as John Taylor of Caroline, who was a friend and cohort of Jefferson from the early revolutionary times. During the war, Taylor served as a Colonel in the cavalry and later in the the Virginia House of Delegates and the early United States Senate from 1792-1794. He was related to General Zachary Taylor, who was elected President in 1848. Like Jefferson, he opposed a stronger federal government, believing that its power came from the states' consent. Here Jefferson thanks Taylor having sent him a copy of Taylor's book, "Enquiry into the Principles of Our Government". Jefferson responds, in part..."The sixth section on the good moral principles of our government, I found so interesting and replete with sound principles, as to postpone my letter-writing to its thorough perusal and consideration...The system of banking we have both equally and ever reprobated. I contemplate it as a blot left in all our constitutions, which, if not covered, will end in their destruction, which is already hit by the gamblers in corruption, and is sweeping away in its progress the fortunes and morals of our citizens. Funding I consider as limited, rightfully, to a redemption of the debt within the lives of a majority of the generation contracting it; every generation coming equally, by the laws of the Creator of the world, to the free possession of the earth he made for their subsistence, unencumbered by their predecessors, who, like them, were but tenants for life." Jefferson fears the acceptance of the idea that the people exist for the government and its institutions rather than the government existing for its people (as perceived in pre-revolutionary England). As with the government, banks could grow in influence to the detriment of the country and its people. He concludes, "...On this view of the import of the term republic, instead of saying, as has been said, "that it may mean anything or nothing," we may say with truth and meaning, that governments are more or less republican as they have more or less of the element of popular election and control in their composition...And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
I salute you with constant friendship and respect.
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