Presidential Papers, Doc#14 Diary, 2 February 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Document #14; February 2, 1953
Diary
Series: EM, Diaries
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way
Part I: Charting a New Course; January 1953 to April 1953
Chapter 1: Developing a spirit of teamwork

 

Today I give my first "State of the Union" talk before a Joint Session of the Congress.1 I feel it a mistake for a new Administration to be talking so soon after inauguration; basic principles, expanded in an inaugural talk are one thing--but to begin talking concretely about a great array of specific problems is quite another. Time for study, exploration, and analysis is necessary.2 But--the Republicans have been so long out of power they want--and probably need--a pronouncement from their President, as a starting point. This I shall try to give.

I hope--and pray--that it does not contain blunders that we will later regret.3

1 On the drafting of the speech, which the President gave at the Capitol beginning at half past noon, see no. 16. The address called for a balanced budget, to be followed by tax reductions, the issuance of longer-term Treasury bonds, and an end to government controls on wages, prices, most strategic materials, and rents (except where housing shortages remained serious). Eisenhower noted, as he had before, the connection between military strength and economic resources. "To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another."

Other aspects of the Eisenhower program included a new federal-employee loyalty program and an effort to find ways of ensuring economic stability for farmers with less "governmental interference." The President called for amendments to the Taft-Hartley Act, extension of the Social Security system, and Hawaiian statehood. He pledged to use presidential power to end segregation in the District of Columbia, the federal government, and armed forces but also said that the solution to racial injustice lay largely "in the power of fact, fully publicized, of persuasion, honestly pressed, and of conscience, justly aroused."

In foreign-policy matters the President recounted the need for bipartisanship and the use of "all peaceful methods and devices--except breaking faith with our friends." He disavowed arrangements that permitted the "enslavement of any people"; he planned to request a congressional resolution repudiating "secret understandings of the past with foreign Governments which permit this kind of enslavement" (see no. 49). Eisenhower made it plain that increased and freer world trade would be a prime concern of his administration. In Korea he expected the buildup of South Korean forces, with U.S. assistance, to continue. Eisenhower restated his intention to pay close attention to the U.S. foreign information program (see no. 8): "There is but one sure way to avoid global war--and that is to win the Cold War" (Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1953, pp. 12-34; see also New York Times, Feb. 3, 1953).

2 The President included this observation in the opening portion of his address.

3 Eisenhower's references to American influence in world affairs strong enough to "deter aggression and eventually secure peace," an administration of integrity and efficiency, and "encouragement of those incentives that inspire creative initiative in our economy, so that its productivity may fortify freedom everywhere," must surely have appealed to Republican party regulars (see also following document). After finishing the speech, Eisenhower left the House of Representatives arm in arm with "Mr. Republican," Senator Robert A. Taft, who had visited the White House on Saturday, January 31 (see no. 2; and also Ambrose, Eisenhower, vol. II, The President, pp. 45-49).

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Diary, 2 February 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 14. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/14.cfm

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