<--PREV Doc #1978  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1980 Document #1979; September 7, 1956 To Pauline Thornton Series: EM, WHCF, President's Personal File 20-AA The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVII - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part X: Cracks in the Alliance; May 1956 to September 1956 Chapter 21: "Grave difficulties in the Suez crisis"   Dear Mrs. Thornton: Thank you for your letter and for your good wishes on my renomination.1 I was touched by the story of your young daughter. I am glad that she understands I like her--as indeed I like all children and all loyal, law abiding Americans.2 In the years ahead, I am convinced that this nation will continue to make great strides toward the realization of our goal, equal respect and opportunity for all Americans. Certainly I shall never cease, regardless of the position I may hold, to work for the coming of the day when every American can hold up his head in pride and dignity--regardless of race or religion.3 With best wishes, Sincerely 1 Mrs. Thornton, from Pacoima, California, had written on August 24 (same file as document). A draft of this letter showing Eisenhower's extensive handwritten emendations is in AWF/Drafts. 2 The five-year-old child had seen Eisenhower on television, and exclaimed, "`He likes me.'" 3 The Thorntons feared that their child would suffer from racial prejudice. "We are confident," Mrs. Thornton wrote, "that you will not rest until you have restored at least a portion of the human dignity to which our children are entitled, no matter how dark or fair their skin." Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Pauline Thornton, 7 September 1956. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 1979. 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/1979.cfm <--PREV Doc #1978  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #1980

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