Rosenfeld Susan. Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents

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the labor movement, and encouraging the use of union-made

goods.

________________________

_______________________

(excerpt)

Preamble

The establishment of this Federation through the merger

of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of

Industrial Organizations is an expression of the hopes and

aspirations of the working people of America.

We seek the fulfillment of these hopes and aspirations

through democratic processes within the framework of our

constitutional government and consistent with our institu-

tions and traditions.

At the collective bargaining table, in the community,

in the exercise of the rights and responsibilities of citizen-

ship, we shall responsibly serve the interests of all the

American people.

We pledge ourselves to the more effective organization

of working men and women; to the securing to them of full

recognition and enjoyment of the rights to which they are

justly entitled; to the achievement of ever higher standards

of living and working conditions; to the attainment of secu-

rity for all the people; to the enjoyment of the leisure which

their skills make possible; and to the strengthening and

extension of our way of life and the fundamental freedoms

which are the basis of our democratic society.

We shall combat resolutely the forces which seek to

undermine the democratic institutions of our nation and to

enslave the human soul. We shall strive always to win full

respect for the dignity of the human individual whom our

unions serve.

With Divine guidance, grateful for the fine traditions

of our past, confident of meeting the challenge of the

future, we proclaim this constitution.

Article I

Name

This federation shall be known as the American Federa-

tion of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. It

is established pursuant to and as a result of a merger agree-

ment between the American Federation of Labor and the

Congress of Industrial Organizations. It shall consist of

such affiliates as shall conform to its constitution and the

rules and regulations adopted thereunder.

Article II

Objects and Principles

The objects and principles of this Federation are:

1. To aid workers in securing improved wages, hours

and working conditions with due regard for the autonomy,

integrity and jurisdiction of affiliated unions.

2. To aid and assist affiliated unions in extending the

benefits of mutual assistance and collective bargaining to

workers and to promote the organization of the unorga-

nized into unions of their own choosing for their mutual

aid, protection and advancement, giving recognition to the

principle that both craft and industrial unions are appro-

priate, equal and necessary as methods of union organiza-

tion.

3. To affiliate national and international unions with

this Federation and to establish such unions; to form orga-

nizing committees and directly affiliated local unions and

to secure their affiliation to appropriate national and inter-

national unions affiliated with or chartered by the Federa-

tion; to establish, assist and promote state and local central

bodies composed of local unions of all affiliated organiza-

tions and directly affiliated local unions; to establish and

assist trade departments composed of affiliated national

and international unions and organizing committees.

4. To encourage all workers without regard to race,

creed, color, national origin or ancestry to share equally in

the full benefits of union organization.

5. To secure legislation which will safeguard and pro-

mote the principle of free collective bargaining, the rights

of workers, farmers and consumers, and the security and

welfare of all the people and to oppose legislation inimical

to these objectives.

6. To protect and strengthen our democratic institu-

tions, to secure full recognition and enjoyment of the

rights and liberties to which we are justly entitled, and to

preserve and perpetuate the cherished traditions of our

democracy.

7. To give constructive aid in promoting the cause of

peace and freedom in the world and to aid, assist and coop-

erate with free and democratic labor movements through-

out the world.

8. To preserve and maintain the integrity of each affil-

iated union in the organization to the end that each affili-

ate shall respect the established bargaining relationships of

every other affiliate and that each affiliate shall refrain

from raiding the established bargaining relationship of any

other affiliate and, at the same time, to encourage the

elimination of conflicting and duplicating organizations

and jurisdictions through the process of voluntary agree-

ment or voluntary merger in consultation with the appro-

priate officials of the Federation, to preserve, subject to

the foregoing, the organizing jurisdiction of each affiliate.

9. To aid and encourage the sale and use of union

made goods and union services through the use of the

union label and other symbols; to promote the labor press

and other means of furthering the education of the labor

movement.

10. To protect the labor movement from any and all

corrupt influences and from the undermining efforts of

1472 ERA 9: Postwar United States

communist agencies and all others who are opposed to the

basic principles of our democracy and free and democratic

unionism.

11. To safeguard the democratic character of the labor

movement and to protect the autonomy of each affiliated

national and international union.

12. While preserving the independence of the labor

movement from political control, to encourage workers to

ponsibilities of citizenship, and to perform their rightful

part in the political life of the local, state and national

communities.

Source:

The Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther

Library, Wayne State University.

Landrum-Griffin Act, 1959

Federal legislation enacted September 14, 1959, and spon-

sored by U.S. congressmen Phillip M. Landrum of Georgia and

Robert P. Griffin of Michigan.

Previously, the Labor Management Relations Act, better

known as the Taft-Hartley Act after its sponsors, Senator Robert

A. Taft of Ohio and Representative Fred A. Hartley of New Jer-

sey and passed by Congress on June 23, 1947, severely

restricted organized labor in labor-management disputes.

Passed over President Harry S. Truman’s veto, the act amended

the 1935 National Labor Relations Act and restructured the

National Labor Relations Board. It prohibited closed shops,

secondary boycotts, featherbedding (contracting for a speci-

fied number of paid workers whether or not all have actual

jobs to perform), excessive dues, and union contributions to

political campaigns. It also permitted employers to sue unions

over broken contracts and damage done during strikes,

required unions to file financial statements, mandated a 60-

day “cooling off” period before strikes, authorized an 80-day

injunction against strikes that affect public health or safety,

and required union leaders to affirm that they were not mem-

bers of the Communist Party. Finally, it established the Federal

Mediation and Conciliation Service, which was independent

of the Department of Labor. As a result of its passage by a

Republican congress and Truman’s veto, labor moved squarely

behind the president, helping him win the presidency in his

own right in 1948.

The Landrum-Griffin Act was intended to reduce corrup-

tion in American labor unions and to ensure that union elec-

tions followed democratic procedures. The act required that

unions file public financial statements with the U.S. secretary

of labor and restricted picketing and strikes to achieve union

recognition where a rival union was already established. A bill

of rights for union members guaranteed freedom of speech

and periodic secret elections. The measure, passed after Sen-

ate investigations uncovered improper and illegal practices in

some unions, strengthened provisions of the 1947 Taft-Hartley

Act and was opposed by organized labor. In 1962 amend-

ments to the act imposed the bonding of managers of all union

pension and welfare funds, with severe penalties for embez-

zlers of such funds.

________________________

_______________________

AN ACT To provide for the reporting and disclosure of

certain financial transactions and administrative practices

of labor organizations and employers, to prevent abuses in

the administration of trusteeships by labor organizations,

to provide standards with respect to the election of officers

of labor organizations, and for other purposes. Be it

enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Short Title Section 1. This Act may be cited as the “Labor-

Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959”. Dec-

laration of Findings, Purposes, and Policy Sec. 2. (a) The

Congress finds that, in the public interest, it continues to

be the responsibility of the Federal Government to protect

employees’ rights to organize, choose their own represen-

tatives, bargain collectively, and otherwise engage in con-

certed activities for their mutual aid or protection; that the

relations between employers and labor organizations and

the millions of workers they represent have a substantial

impact on the commerce of the Nation; and that in order

to accomplish to objective of a free flow of commerce it is

essential that labor organizations, employers, and their

officials adhere to the highest standards of responsibility

and ethical conduct in administering the affairs of their

organizations, particularly as they affect labor-manage-

ment relations.

(b) The Congress further finds, from recent investi-

gations in the labor and management fields, that there

have been a number of instances of breach of trust, cor-

ruption, disregard of the rights of individual employees,

and other failures to observe high standards of responsi-

bility and ethical conduct which require further and sup-

plementary legislation that will afford necessary

protection of the rights and interests of employees and

the public generally as they relate to the activities of labor

organizations, employers, labor relations consultants, and

their officers and representatives. (c) The Congress,

therefore, further finds and declares that the enactment

of this Act is necessary to eliminate or prevent improper

practices on the part of labor organizations, employers,

labor relations consultants, and their officers and repre-

sentatives which distort and defeat the policies of the

Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, as amended,

and the Railway Labor Act, as amended, and have the

tendency or necessary effect of burdening or obstructing

Economic Boom and Social Transformation 1473

commerce by (1) impairing the efficiency, safety, or oper-

ation of the instrumentalities of commerce; (2) occurring

in the current of commerce; (3) materially affecting,

restraining, or controlling the flow of raw materials or

manufactured or processed goods into or from the chan-

nels of commerce, or the prices of such materials or

goods in commerce; or (4) causing diminution of employ-

ment and wages in such volume as substantially to impair

or disrupt the market for goods flowing into or from the

channels of commerce. Definitions Sec. 3. For the pur-

poses of titles I, II, III, IV, V (except section 505), and VI

of this Act—

* * *

business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dis-

pute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow

of commerce. . . .

(d) “Person” includes one or more individuals, labor

organizations, partnerships, associations, corporations,

legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock com-

panies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees,

trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.

* * *

(g) “Labor dispute” includes any controversy concern-

ing terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or con-

cerning the association or representation of persons in

negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to

arrange terms or conditions of employment, regardless of

whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of

employer and employee.

(h) “Trusteeship” means any receivership, trusteeship,

or other method of supervision or control whereby a labor

organization suspends the autonomy otherwise available to

a subordinate body under its constitution or bylaws.

(i) “Labor organization” means a labor organization

engaged in an industry affecting commerce and includes

any organization of any kind, any agency, or employee rep-

resentation committee, group, association, or plan so

engaged in which employees participate and which exists

for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with

employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,

rates of pay, hours, or other terms or conditions of employ-

ment, and any conference, general committee, joint or

system board, or joint council so engaged which is subor-

dinate to a national or international labor organization,

other than a State or local central body.

(j) A labor organization shall be deemed to be engaged

in an industry affecting commerce if it—

(1) is the certified representative of employees under

the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, as

amended, or the Railway Labor Act, as amended; or

(2) although not certified, is a national or international

labor organization or a local labor organization recognized

or acting as the representative of employees of an

employer or employers engaged in an industry affecting

commerce; or

* * *

(k) “Secret ballot” means the expression by ballot, vot-

ing machine, or otherwise, but in no event by proxy, of a

choice with respect to any election or vote taken upon any

matter, which is cast in such a manner that the person

expressing such choice cannot be identified with the

choice expressed.

* * *

(q) “Officer, agent, shop steward, or other representa-

tive”, when used with respect to a labor organization,

includes elected officials and key administrative personnel,

whether elected or appointed (such as business agents,

heads or departments or major units, and organizers who

exercise substantial independent authority), but does not

include salaried nonsupervisory professional staff, steno-

graphic, and service personnel.

* * *

TITLE I—BILL OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS Bill of Rights Sec. 101. (a)

(1) Equal Rights.—Every member of a labor organization

shall have equal rights and privileges within such organiza-

tion to nominate candidates, to vote in elections or refer-

endums of the labor organization, to attend membership

meetings, and to participate in the deliberations and voting

upon the business of such meetings, subject to reasonable

rules and regulations in such organization’s constitution

and bylaws.

(2) Freedom of Speech and Assembly.—Every mem-

ber of any labor organization shall have the right to meet

and assemble freely with other members; and to express

any views, arguments, or opinions; and to express at meet-

ings of the labor organization his views, upon candidates in

an election of the labor organization or upon any business

properly before the meeting, subject to the organization’s

established and reasonable rules pertaining to the conduct

of meetings: Provided, That nothing herein shall be con-

strued to impair the right of a labor organization to adopt

and enforce reasonable rules as to the responsibility of

every member toward the organization as an institution

and to his refraining from conduct that would interfere

with its performance of its legal or contractual obligations.

* * *

(4) Protection of the Right To Sue.—No labor organi-

zation shall limit the right of any member thereof to insti-

1474 ERA 9: Postwar United States

tute an action in any court, or in a proceeding before any

administrative agency, irrespective of whether or not the

labor organization or its officers are named as defendants

or respondents in such action or proceeding, or the right of

any member of a labor organization to appear as a witness

in any judicial, administrative, or legislative proceeding, or

to petition any legislature or to communicate with any leg-

islator:. . .

(5) Safeguards Against Improper Disciplinary

Action.—No member of any labor organization may be

fined, suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined

except for nonpayment of dues by such organization or by

any officer thereof unless such member has been (A)

served with written specific charges; (B) given a reason-

able time to prepare his defense; (C) afforded a full and

fair hearing.

(b) Any provision of the constitution and bylaws of any

labor organization which is inconsistent with the provisions

of this section shall be of no force or effect. Civil Enforce-

ment Sec. 102. Any person whose rights secured by the

provisions of this title have been infringed by any violation

of this title may bring a civil action in a district court of the

United States for such relief (including injunctions) as may

be appropriate. Any such action against a labor organiza-

tion shall be brought in the district court of the United

States for the district where the alleged violation occurred,

or where the principal office of such labor organization is

located. Retention of Existing Rights Sec. 103. Nothing

contained in this title shall limit the rights and remedies of

any member of a labor organization under any State or

Federal law or before any court or other tribunal, or under

the constitution and bylaws of any labor organization.

Information as to Act

* * *

TITLE II—REPORTING BY LABOR ORGANIZA-

TIONS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF LABOR

ORGANIZATIONS, AND EMPLOYERS Report of

Labor Organizations Sec. 201. (a) Every labor organization

shall adopt a constitution and bylaws and shall file a copy

thereof with the Secretary, together with a report, signed

by its president and secretary or corresponding principal

officers. . . . Retention of Records Sec. 206. Every person

required to file any report under this title shall maintain

records on the matters required to be reported which will

provide in sufficient detail the necessary basic information

and data from which the documents filed with the Secre-

tary may be verified, explained or clarified, and checked

for accuracy and completeness, and shall include vouchers,

worksheets, receipts, and applicable resolutions, and shall

keep such records available for examination for a period of

not less than five years after the filing of the documents

based on the information which they contain.

* * *

Criminal Provisions Sec. 209. (a) Any person who will-

fully violates this title shall be fined not more than

$10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or

both. Civil Enforcement . . .TITLE III—TRUSTEE-

SHIPS Reports

* * *

Enforcement Sec. 304. (a) Upon the written complaint of

any member or subordinate body of a labor organization

alleging that such organization has violated the provisions

of this title . . .the Secretary shall investigate the complaint

and if the Secretary finds probable cause to believe that

such violation has occurred and has not been remedied he

shall, without disclosing the identity of the complainant,

bring a civil action in any district court of the United States

having jurisdiction of the labor organization for such relief

(including injunctions) as may be appropriate. Any mem-

ber or subordinate body of a labor organization affected by

any violation of this title (except section 301) may bring a

civil action in any district court of the United States having

jurisdiction of the labor organization for such relief

(including injunctions) as may be appropriate. TITLE

IV—ELECTIONS Terms of Office; Election Procedures

Sec. 401. (a) Every national or international labor organi-

zation, except a federation of national or international

labor organizations, shall elect its officers not less often

than once every five years either by secret ballot among

the members in good standing or at a convention of dele-

gates chosen by secret ballot.

(b) Every local labor organization shall elect its offi-

cers not less often than once every three years by secret

ballot among the members in good standing.

except a federation of national or international labor orga-

nizations, and every local labor organization, and its offi-

cers, shall be under a duty, enforceable at the suit of any

bona fide candidate for office in such labor organization in

the district court of the United States in which such labor

organization maintains its principal office, to comply with

all reasonable requests of any candidate to distribute by

mail or otherwise at the candidate’s expense campaign lit-

erature in aid of such person’s candidacy to all members in

good standing of such labor organization and to refrain

from discrimination in favor of or against any candidate

with respect to the use of lists of members, and whenever

such labor organizations or its officers authorize the distri-

bution by mail or otherwise to members of campaign liter-

ature on behalf of any candidate or of the labor

organization itself with reference to such election, similar

distribution at the request of any other bona fide candidate

shall be made by such labor organization and its officers,

Economic Boom and Social Transformation 1475

with equal treatment as to the expense of such distribu-

tion. Every bona fide candidate shall have the right, once

within 30 days prior to an election of a labor organization

in which he is a candidate, to inspect a list containing the

names and last known addresses of all members of the

labor organization who are subject to a collective bargain-

ing agreement requiring membership therein as a condi-

tion of employment, which list shall be maintained and

kept at the principal office of such labor organization by a

designated official thereof. Adequate safeguards to insure

a fair election shall be provided, including the right of any

candidate to have an observer at the polls and at the count-

ing of the ballots.

* * *

(e) In any election required by this section which is to

be held by secret ballot a reasonable opportunity shall be

given for the nomination of candidates and every member

in good standing shall be eligible to be a candidate and to

hold office. . .and shall have the right to vote for or other-

wise support the candidate or candidates of his choice,

without being subject to penalty, discipline, or improper

interference or reprisal of any kind by such organization or

any member thereof. Not less than fifteen days prior to the

election notice thereof shall be mailed to each member at

his last known home address. Each member in good stand-

ing shall be entitled to one vote.

* * *

(g) No moneys received by any labor organization by

way of dues, assessment, or similar levy, and no moneys of

an employer shall be contributed or applied to promote

the candidacy of any person in an election subject to the

provisions of this title. Such moneys of a labor organization

may be utilized for notices, factual statements of issues not

involving candidates, and other expenses necessary for the

holding of an election.

* * *

TITLE V—SAFEGUARDS FOR LABOR ORGANIZA-

TIONS Fiduciary Responsibility of Officers of Labor

Organizations Sec. 501. (a) The officers, agents, shop stew-

ards, and other representatives of a labor organization

occupy positions of trust in relation to such organization

and its members as a group. It is, therefore, the duty of

each such person, taking into account the special problems

and functions of a labor organization, to hold its money

and property solely for the benefit of the organization and

its members and to manage, invest, and expend the same

in accordance with its constitution and bylaws and any res-

olutions of the governing bodies adopted thereunder. . . .

* * *

Extortionate Picketing Sec. 602. (a) It shall be unlawful to

carry on picketing on or about the premises of any

employer for the purpose of, or as part of any conspiracy

or in furtherance of any plan or purpose for, the personal

profit or enrichment of any individual (except a bona fide

increase in wages or other employee benefits) by taking or

obtaining any money or other thing of value from such

employer against his will or with his consent.

(b) Any person who willfully violates this section shall

be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more

than twenty years, or both. Retention of Rights under Other

Federal and State Laws Sec. 603. (a) Except as explicitly

provided to the contrary, nothing in this Act shall reduce or

limit the responsibilities of any labor organization or any

officer, agent, shop steward, or other representative of a

labor organization, or of any trust in which a labor organiza-

tion is interested, under any other Federal law or under the

laws of any State, and, except as explicitly provided to the

contrary, nothing in this Act shall take away any right or bar

any remedy to which members of a labor organization are

entitled under such other Federal law or law of any State.

* * *

Deprivation of Rights under Act by Violence Sec. 610. It

shall be unlawful for any person through the use of force

or violence, or threat of the use of force or violence, to

restrain, coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to restrain,

coerce, or intimidate any member of a labor organization

for the purpose of interfering with or preventing the exer-

cise of any right to which he is entitled under the provi-

sions of this Act. Any person who willfully violates this

section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned

for not more than one year, or both.

* * *

Effective Date of Amendments Sec. 707. The amend-

ments made by this title shall take effect sixty days after

the date of the enactment of this Act and no provision of

this title shall be deemed to make an unfair labor practice,

any act which is performed prior to such effective date

which did not constitute an unfair labor practice prior

thereto. Approved September 14, 1959.

Source:

Statutes at Large, Vol. 73, pp. 86–257.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Military

Industrial Complex” Speech, 1961

Address to the American public delivered by U.S. president

Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 17, 1961, as he prepared

1476 ERA 9: Postwar United States

to leave office. Eisenhower pointed out the dangers not only

of the ruthless, hostile communist ideology but also of the

military establishment and arms industry built to combat

communism’s global ambitions. He warned against “the

acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or

unsought, by the military-industrial complex,” whose enor-

mous power, if not properly meshed with peaceful methods

and goals, could threaten American liberties and the demo-

cratic process. He also warned that centralized research

could inhibit intellectual curiosity and that public policy

could become “the captive of the scientific-technological

elite.” He urged the nation not to plunder tomorrow’s

resources for today’s comforts and argued that disarmament

must be a continuing imperative.

After leaving office, Eisenhower remained an influential

voice within the Republican Party and beyond. His warning

about the influence of the military-industrial complex proved

prescient. It grew stronger in the Kennedy administration, and

Eisenhower’s phrase describing the marriage of government

and private industry dedicated to defense entered the Ameri-

can vocabulary.

________________________

_______________________

My fellow Americans:

Three days from now, after half a century in the ser-

vice of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of

office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the author-

ity of the Presidency is vested in my successor.

This evening I come to you with a message of leave-

taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with

you, my countrymen.

Like every other citizen, I wish the new President,

and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the

coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity

for all.

Our people expect their President and the Congress

to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the

wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the

Nation.

My own relations with the Congress, which began on

a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of

the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged

to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war

period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during

these past eight years.

In this final relationship, the Congress and the Admin-

istration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to

serve the national good rather than mere partisanship, and

so have assured that the business of the Nation should go

forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress

ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have

been able to do so much together.

II.

We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that

has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three

of these involved our own country. Despite these holo-

causts America is today the strongest, the most influential

and most productive nation in the world. Understandably

proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America’s

leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our

unmatched material progress, riches and military strength,

but on how we use our power in the interests of world

peace and human betterment.

III.

Throughout America’s adventure in free government, our

basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster

progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty,

dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To

strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious

people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of

comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon

us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.

Progress toward these noble goals is persistently

threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It

commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings.

We face a hostile ideology—global in scope, atheistic in

character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method.

Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite

duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so

much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but

rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily,

surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged

and complex struggle—with liberty the stake. Only thus

shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our

charted course toward permanent peace and human bet-

terment.

Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them,

whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a

recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and

costly action could become the miraculous solution to all

current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of

our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure

every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and

applied research—these and many other possibilities, each

possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only

way to the road we wish to travel.

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a

broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and

among national programs—balance between the private

and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped

for advantage—balance between the clearly necessary and

the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential

requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the

Economic Boom and Social Transformation 1477

nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the

moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judg-

ment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds

imbalance and frustration.

The record of many decades stands as proof that our

people and their government have, in the main, under-

stood these truths and have responded to them well, in the

face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or

degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.

IV.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military estab-

lishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant

action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to

risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to

that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or

indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United

States had no armaments industry. American makers of

plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords

as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency impro-

visation of national defense; we have been compelled to

create a permanent armaments industry of vast propor-

tions. Added to this, three and a half million men and

women are directly engaged in the defense establishment.

We annually spend on military security more than the net

income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establish-

ment and a large arms industry is new in the American

experience. The total influence—economic, political, even

spiritual—is felt in every city, every State house, every

office of the Federal government. We recognize the

imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail

to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources

and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of

our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against

the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought

or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The

potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists

and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination

endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should

take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable

citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge

industrial and military machinery of defense with our

peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty

may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping

changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the

technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also

becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily

increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of,

the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has

been over-shadowed by task forces of scientists in labora-

tories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free uni-

versity, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and

scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the

conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs

involved, a government contract becomes virtually a sub-

stitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard

there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by

Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of

money is ever present—and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in

respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal

and opposite danger that public policy could itself become

the captive of a scientific- technological elite.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and

to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the

principles of our democratic system—ever aiming toward

the supreme goals of our free society.

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the ele-

ment of time. As we peer into society’s future, we—you

and I, and our government—must avoid the impulse to

live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and con-

venience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot

mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without

risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage.

We want democracy to survive for all generations to come,

not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

VI.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written Amer-

ica knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller,

must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and

hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust

and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The

weakest must come to the conference table with the same

confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral,

economic, and military strength. That table, though

scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned

for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a

continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to

compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and

decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and appar-

1478 ERA 9: Postwar United States

ent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in

this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one

who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of

war—as one who knows that another war could utterly

destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and

painfully built over thousands of years—I wish I could say

tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.

Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady

progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so

much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never

cease to do what little I can to help the world advance

along that road.

VII.

So—in this my last good night to you as your President—I

thank you for the many opportunities you have given me

for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that ser-

vice you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I

know you will find ways to improve performance in the

future.

You and I—my fellow citizens—need to be strong in

our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of

peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion

to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in

pursuit of the Nation’s great goals.

To all the peoples of the world, I once more give

expression to America’s prayerful and continuing aspira-

tion:

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations,

may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now

denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that

all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual

blessings; that those who have freedom will understand,

also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive

to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges

of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disap-

pear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all

peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by

the binding force of mutual respect and love.

Source:

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight

D. Eisenhower, 1960–1961, Washington, D.C.: Government

Printing Office, 1961, pp. 1,035–1,040.

John F. Kennedy,

Moon Landing Speech, 1961

Address given by President John F. Kennedy to a special joint

session of Congress on May 25, 1961, in which he appealed

for a new program that would put a man on the Moon before

1970. Kennedy called the speech his “second State of the

Union message of 1961.” In it, he called for some $1.8 billion

in new federal appropriations for space, military, civil defense,

and other programs. He delivered the speech on the eve of a

trip to Vienna to meet Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Shortly before, on April 12, Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin be-

came the first human being in space.

The Soviets had launched the world’s first artificial satel-

lite,

Sputnik 1

, on October 4, 1957, whereas America’s first

attempts to launch satellites, Project Vanguard, starting De-

cember 6, 1957, resulted in very public failures until the U.S.

Army sent

Explorer 1

into space, January 31, 1958.

Sputnik

also spurred Americans to boost scientific education in order

to “beat the Russians.” As a result, Congress passed the

National Defense Education Act signed into law by President

Eisenhower on September 2, 1958. The act established federal

loans for college and graduate students and forgave 50 percent

of the interest for those who worked as elementary or sec-

ondary school teachers for at least five years after graduation.

It also set up fellowships for graduate students who were train-

ing to become college and university instructors. The legisla-

tion provided for buying modern equipment for science,

mathematics, and foreign languages and established a number

of foreign-language institutes.

The most historically significant result of Kennedy’s pro-

posal was his attempt to recover American scientific prestige

with an accelerated program to develop new booster rockets,

satellites, and unmanned spaceflights aimed at putting a man

on the Moon by 1970. Kennedy’s dream was realized when

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon for the

first time July 20, 1969. After alighting, Armstrong spoke the

words “One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”

Although space exploration continued, the last moon walk

occurred in December 1972.

In other areas, Kennedy requested more than $500 million

in foreign economic and military aid, $160 million to allow the

U.S. Army and U.S. Marines to increase their combat strength,

a new civil defense program, and a new program to train Amer-

ican workers affected by automation in the workplace.

________________________

_______________________

(excerpt)

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, my co-partners in Gov-

ernment, gentlemen—and ladies:

The Constitution imposes upon me the obligation to

“from time to time give to the Congress information of the

State of the Union.” While this has traditionally been inter-

preted as an annual affair, this tradition has been broken in

extraordinary times.

These are extraordinary times. And we face an

extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our

Economic Boom and Social Transformation 1479

convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of

leader in freedom’s cause.

No role in history could be more difficult or more

important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction

for ourselves—that is our only commitment to others. No

friend, no neutral and no adversary should think otherwise.

We are not against any man—or any nation—or any sys-

tem—except as it is hostile to freedom. Nor am I here to

present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or

aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom

doctrine.

* * *

IX. Space

Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on

around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dra-

matic achievements in space which occurred in recent

weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik

in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men

everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination

of which road they should take. Since early in my term,

our efforts in space have been under review. With the

advice of the Vice President, who is Chairman of the

National Space Council, we have examined where we are

strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and

where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides—

time for a great new American enterprise—time for this

nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement,

which in many ways may hold the key to our future on

earth.

I believe we possess all the resources and talents nec-

essary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never

made the national decisions or marshaled the national

resources required for such leadership. We have never

specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or

managed our resources and our time so as to insure their

fulfillment.

Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets

with their large rocket engines, which gives them many

months of lead-time, and recognizing the likelihood that

they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still

more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required

to make new efforts on our own. For while we cannot

guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee

that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We

take an additional risk by making it in full view of the

world, but as shown by the feat of astronaut Shepard, this

very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But

this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our

eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the

efforts of others. We go into space because whatever

mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.

I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the

increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to

provide the funds which are needed to meet the following

national goals:

First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to

achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a

man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.

No single space project in this period will be more impres-

sive to mankind, or more important for the long-range

exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expen-

sive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the develop-

ment of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to

develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much

larger than any now being developed, until certain which

is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine

development and for unmanned explorations—explo-

rations which are particularly important for one purpose

which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the

man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real

sense, it will not be one man going to the moon—if we

make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire

nation. For all of us must work to put him there.

Secondly, an additional 23 million dollars, together

with 7 million dollars already available, will accelerate

development of the Rover nuclear rocket. This gives

promise of some day providing a means for even more

exciting and ambitious exploration of space, perhaps be-

yond the moon, perhaps to the very end of the solar system

itself.

Third, an additional 50 million dollars will make the

most of our present leadership, by accelerating the use of

space satellites for world-wide communications.

Fourth, an additional 75 million dollars—of which 53

million dollars is for the Weather Bureau—will help give

us at the earliest possible time a satellite system for world-

wide weather observation.

Let it be clear—and this is a judgment which the

Members of the Congress must finally make—let if be

clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to

accept a firm commitment to a new course of action—a

course which will last for many years and carry very heavy

costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal ‘62—an estimated seven

to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. If

we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face

of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at

all.

Now this is a choice which this country must make,

and I am confident that under the leadership of the Space

Committees of the Congress, and the Appropriating Com-

mittees, that you will consider the matter carefully.

It is a most important decision that we make as a

nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years

1480 ERA 9: Postwar United States

and have seen the significance of space and the adventures

in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the

ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space.

I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every

citizen of this country as well as the Members of the

Congress should consider the matter carefully in making

their judgment, to which we have given attention over

many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and

there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United

States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless

we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to

make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today

and this year.

This decision demands a major national commitment

of scientific and technical manpower, materiel and facili-

ties, and the possibility of their diversion from other impor-

tant activities where they are already thinly spread. It

means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline

which have not always characterized our research and de-

velopment efforts. It means we cannot afford undue work

stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful

interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel.

New objectives and new money cannot solve these

problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further—

unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman,

every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his per-

sonal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the

full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.

X. Conclusion

In conclusion, let me emphasize one point. It is not a plea-

sure for any President of the United States, as I am sure it

was not a pleasure for my predecessors, to come before the

Congress and ask for new appropriations which place bur-

dens on our people. I came to this conclusion with some

reluctance. But in my judgment, this is a most serious time

in the life of our country and in the life of freedom around

the globe, and it is the obligation, I believe, of the Presi-

dent of the United States to at least make his recommen-

dations to the Members of the Congress, so that they can

reach their own conclusions with that judgment before

them. You must decide yourselves, as I have decided, and

I am confident that whether you finally decide in the way

that I have decided or not, that your judgment—as my

judgment—is reached on what is in the best interest of our

country.

In conclusion, let me emphasize one point: that we are

determined, as a nation in 1961 that freedom shall survive

and succeed—and whatever the peril and set-backs, we

have some very large advantages.

The first is the simple fact that we are on the side of

liberty—and since the beginning of history, and particu-

larly since the end of the Second World War, liberty has

been winning out all over the globe.

A second great asset is that we are not alone. We have

friends and allies all over the world who share our devotion

to freedom. May I cite as a symbol of traditional and effec-

tive friendship the great ally I am about to visit—France. I

look forward to my visit to France, and to my discussion

with a great Captain of the Western World, President de

Gaulle, as a meeting of particular significance, permitting

the kind of close and ranging consultation that will

strengthen both our countries and serve the common pur-

poses of world-wide peace and liberty. Such serious con-

versations do not require a pale unanimity—they are

rather the instruments of trust and understanding over a

long road.

A third asset is our desire for peace. It is sincere, and

I believe the world knows it. We are proving it in our

patience at the test-ban table, and we are proving it in the

UN where our efforts have been directed to maintaining

that organization’s usefulness as a protector of the inde-

pendence of small nations. In these and other instances,

the response of our opponents has not been encouraging.

Yet it is important to know that our patience at the

bargaining table is nearly inexhaustible, though our

credulity is limited—that our hopes for peace are unfail-

ing, while our determination to protect our security is res-

olute. For these reasons I have long thought it wise to

meet with the Soviet Premier for a personal exchange of

views. A meeting in Vienna turned out to be convenient for

us both; and the Austrian government has kindly made us

welcome. No formal agenda is planned and no negotia-

tions will be undertaken; but we will make clear America’s

enduring concern is for both peace and freedom—that we

are anxious to live in harmony with the Russian people—

that we seek no conquests, no satellites, no riches—that we

seek only the day when “nation shall not lift up sword

against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Finally, our greatest asset in this struggle is the Amer-

ican people—their willingness to pay the price for these

programs—to understand and accept a long struggle—to

share their resources with other less fortunate people—to

meet the tax levels and close the tax loopholes I have

requested—to exercise self-restraint instead of pushing up

wages or prices, or over-producing certain crops, or

spreading military secrets, or urging unessential expendi-

tures or improper monopolies or harmful work stop-

pages—to serve in the Peace Corps or the Armed Services

or the Federal Civil Service or the Congress—to strive for

excellence in their schools, in their cities and in their phys-

ical fitness and that of their children—to take part in Civil

Defense—to pay higher postal rates, and higher payroll

taxes and higher teachers’ salaries, in order to strengthen

Economic Boom and Social Transformation 1481