<--PREV Doc #388  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #390 Document #389; August 19, 1953 Memorandum for the Record Series: EM, Diaries The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part II: Settling into "the long pull"; May 1953 to August 1953 Chapter 5: "So much to do in the world"   Subject: Party organization in the southern states. Some months ago John Wisdom undertook the formation of a Committee of Southerners with the object of devising ways and means for strengthening the Republican Party in the Southern States.1 There was a great deal of difficulty experienced in the attempt to form and operate such a committee and finally it was suggested that the trouble lay in the fact that the Committee had a certain "official" atmosphere when it should properly be an informal grouping of Republican leaders in that section. There has been possibly some truth in this contention since Mr. Wisdom was actually attempting to function in his capacity as a member of the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee. Now, I understand, that all have agreed that the Committee should be organized quickly but on an informal basis. This morning I called the National Chairman (Len Hall) to tell him of my intense personal interest in the objectives of this Committee. I have little concern as to whether the Committee is formal, informal or anything else--I am simply interested in finding out from intelligent and experienced people what should be our next and succeeding moves in that region.2 Chairman Hall is to see Mr. Wisdom tomorrow and will try to get this whole matter straightened out and the whole project on the rails. 1 For background on John Minor Wisdom's role in the development of this committee see no. 78. 2 Eisenhower gave a good deal of thought to party politics in the Southern states at this time. Congress had just adjourned, and members of the House and Senate had returned to their home states to talk with constituents and to make plans for the midterm congressional elections in 1954. Republicans everywhere were organizing in an attempt to retain their slim control of the House and Senate. Of particular concern to the President was the Supreme Court's decision to reargue five school segregation cases now before it. He knew that the outcome of those arguments could greatly influence Republican voters in the South (see nos. 334 and 341). On this same day the President would dictate a second memorandum for the record, on the subject of segregation in the primary schools (see the following document). A related controversial issue, one that seemed likely to be a factor in the South, was the creation of the President's Committee on Government Contracts (see nos. 382 and 385. See also "For Democrats, It's '52 Again," U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 11, 1953, pp. 35-36, 38; and "Politics: New Shoots in the Old South," Time, Sept. 7, 1953, p. 23). For developments see no. 401. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Memorandum for the Record, 19 August 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 389. 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/389.cfm <--PREV Doc #388  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #390

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