Muni; Miscellaneous; Dwight D. Eisenhower addressing the Republican National Convention
- Collection
- Muni
- Series
- Miscellaneous
- Contributing Organization
- WNYC (New York, New York)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/80-90dv4r1w
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- Description
- Description
- Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses the Republican National Convention. He insists that for the good of America Republicans must be reinstalled into a large number of political positions, including the presidency.
- Description
- Republican National Convention Speech July 14, 1964 Retrieved 11/1/2011 from http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/pages.php?pid=769 I am here this evening, first of all, as a citizen of the Untied States, with primary allegiance to my country; but second, I am here, with great pride, as a Republican. I am dedicated to the purposes of this party; I am jealous of its good name; I am grateful to those among us who represent us all by their discharge of political responsibility. Because of these feelings, I hold this simple conviction: For the good of America, Republicans must be restored in great numbers to controlling positions at all governmental levels, including the highest - the Presidency of the United States. My purpose this evening is very personal - to give you the reasons for my deep dedication to Republicanism - as I understand Republicanism. To do so, I shall cite a few incidents in our party's history, and then take a glance at its opportunities for service today and in the future. This means that, only for a moment, I must ask you to bank the fires of fiercely competitive intra-party politics and contemplate with me the whole of this great party of ours - the reasons for its birth, its record of valuable service, and the bright promise of its future. Please understand that just as soon as I finish, you are at liberty to resume the fray! Our party, let us never forget, was born out of protest against the supreme indignity to mankind - slavery - the story of which is found on the darkest pages of America's history, both North and South. It persisted as a social cancer even in this land of liberty, until Abraham Lincoln eliminated it a century ago, supported by our party, which he led. This Republican Party, then, was conceived to battle injustice. It was born committed against degradation of people. So it is more than mere coincidence that we Republicans have, as an article of political belief, faith in the individual. Nor is it coincidence that our party, so born, has never ceased to champion the rights and privileges of every citizen, regardless of race or station. It is not our claim, therefore - and may it never be - that we or any others have the right or duty to control the individual in the legitimate conduct of his daily life. Rather, we have ever sought to create an atmosphere of liberty and to sustain its substance. Consistent with this effort, we have maintained that in all those things that the citizen can better do for himself than can his government, the government ought not to interfere. From the time that Lincoln signed the Land Grant Act in 1862 to recent weeks when Republicans in Congress, to their great credit, voted far more overwhelmingly than did our opponents to pass the Civil Rights Bill, our party's programs have reflected concern for the individual citizen, whoever he may be - wherever he may be - whatever he may be. Though often cast in the role of the opposition in recent years, and compelled to battle a never ending stream of unwise proposals, the party's stature has been earned through its dedication to positive purposes. For a half century after Lincoln's inauguration our country lived under almost continuous Republican leadership. And it prospered mightily. Transcontinental systems of railways, roads and waterways - great manufacturing plants, schools and bustling communities - sprang forth as if by magic; all the product of a free people, vigorously and freely competing among themselves. Protected by laws against an unwarranted concentration of industrial or financial power, our citizenry proudly and happily pushed forward to new levels of achievement and prosperity. The next half century, beginning shortly before World War I and marked later by the Great Depression, World War II and the Korean Conflict, ushered in a season of troubles. In the last thirty-two years, our political opponents have controlled the executive branch of the Federal Government for twenty-four, and the Congress for twenty-eight. During this period our money was recklessly devalues, with great hardship visited upon much of our citizenry. The expansion of federal influence was made permanent policy, even though its miserable lack of success in the economic arena persisted until the violent demands of war obscured the unhappy failure. The centralizing process even went so far as to include an attempt, by summary executive power, to seize the steel industry. Some of these acts and laws were necessary - others not - but the sinister trend toward paternalism, which now again grows apace, was interrupted only by the eight-year determination of a Republican administration in the 1950's. That administration stood for integrity in government. It stood for fiscal responsibility, including disciplined management of public spending. It supported our private competitive enterprise system. It insisted that all public responsibilities be carried out, wherever possible, by local and state governments; by the federal government only when necessary. Our party stood also for a sound foreign policy, within which every critical development would be carefully judged and consistent action forthrightly taken. Recognizing that in this troubled and threatened world, security forces unmatched in efficiency and strength are necessary to sustain the peace, our party provided them. At the same time it insisted upon avoiding the peaks and valleys in military activity that spell, always, waste and extravagance. It was an administration which set its face directly for the people and their well-being and directly against any increase in the concentration of power in Washington. We rejected those steps which, over the long run, would make the citizen a ward of government; instead our Republican position was that the ambitions, incentives and aspirations of free men are the mainspring of progress. In these years the party achieved, I submit, a record of strength for America abroad - a record of responsible, common sense government at home. But the raucous cry of demagoguery has never ceased. Beginning in the 1930's and continuing to today, our countrymen have been subjected to a sustained barrage of political misrepresentation. Let me offer a few examples. First, for thirty years opposing political leaders have claimed that ours is the party of privilege. This is utter nonsense. Our concern for every citizen, whatever his status, shines forth from every tenet of Republican doctrine. The truth is, it is Republicans who think of, and really try to serve, the "littlest" of all citizens - the children of America, and even the grandchildren of today's unborn babe. By our insistence upon paying now for what we demand from government today, instead of charging our bills to posterity, we are seeing to it that those who follow us will not one day be working out their lives, paying off gigantic debts run up through our own selfishness and profligacy. This concern for the future is in keeping with Republican conviction and American tradition. America is here, not just for a day or a century! In the Constitution we read, as the purpose of our inspired founders, "To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity." Any political party that counsels us to ignore the needs of tomorrow, so that, on deficit spending, we may live today in comfort and ease, is false to Americas true meaning and to her destiny. Our policy of sound conduct of fiscal affairs is simply proof of our concern for all Americans, both now and in the future. When Republicans stand for a sound dollar - meaning one that will buy tomorrow roughly as much as today - demagogues cry out that we care less for people than money. Yet, who can be hurt more by spiraling costs than the wage earner? The worker will, one day, have to live on his hard earned pension, insurance policy, or savings account. He has no defense against the silent, but most insatiable, thief of all - inflation. It is for the sake of that worker - white collar, blue collar or no collar - that we fight to prevent erosion of our currency. Again, when public opinion polls indicate
- Broadcast Date
- 1964-07-14
- Date
- 1964-07-14
- Genres
- Event Coverage
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:38:16
- Credits
-
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Speaker: Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WNYC-FM
Identifier: 71913.1 (WNYC Media Archive Label)
Format: audio/vnd.wave
Generation: Dub
Duration: 00:38:16
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WNYC-FM
Identifier: 71913.2 (WNYC Media Archive Label)
Format: Data CD
Generation: Dub
Duration: 00:38:16
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Muni; Miscellaneous; Dwight D. Eisenhower addressing the Republican National Convention,” 1964-07-14, WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 24, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-90dv4r1w.
- MLA: “Muni; Miscellaneous; Dwight D. Eisenhower addressing the Republican National Convention.” 1964-07-14. WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 24, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-90dv4r1w>.
- APA: Muni; Miscellaneous; Dwight D. Eisenhower addressing the Republican National Convention. Boston, MA: WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-90dv4r1w