Central High School, and sign the 1957 Civil Rights Act. He Failed to Moderate the Republican Party. 5.

(David Eisenhower, Going Home to Glory), Ike read the Declaration of Independences reference, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights to mean that the Founders intended religious faith to be a central aspect of free government. Ike had mixed feelings about this outcome. Europes loss of religious faith after WWI allowed dictators to fill the void. He went to Church mainly for appearances sake. I recommend the enactment of legislation authorizing the defrayal of the expenses of this Committee. He campaigned for African-American candidates throughout the decade. But he was hesitant to send soldiers into a Southern state. (David Eisenhower, Going Home to Glory), He was comfortable with prayer in school and disagreed with the Warren Court ruling it unconstitutional in 1963. Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP lawyers said they always looked for Ike-appointed judges for their cases because they knew they would win.

(Johnson, Eisenhower: A Life), He believed people should learn about other cultures. The law initiates new programs of grants to train more skilled social workers and to support research in ways of helping people overcome dependency. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson feared that allowing a Republican president to sign major civil rights legislation would lead African-Americans to return to the GOP, so he used his legislative influence to weaken the bill. He did not pardon the Rosenbergs from the death penalty because it would have interfered with the judicial system. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), The Little Rock Crisis began shortly after Ike signed the Civil Rights Act. My message to the Congress on August 1, 1953, recommended legislation to bring more persons under the protection of the OASI system. The increase in social security contribution rates and the accelerated tax schedule in the bill will further strengthen the financial condition of this system in the years immediately ahead and over the long-term future. Ike did so and talked to a group of officers about this issue. Through all these developments government more and more escapes the control of the people. Historians in the first generation after Ikes presidency believed that he was indifferent to the Civil Rights Movement. I am very happy to sign the Social Security Amendments of 1954.

The development of the Federal Social Security system warrants study.

In the program of old-age assistance, for example, States making low assistance payments receive up to eighty percent Federal funds in defraying the costs of their programs. Ike wanted to move the country closer to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. (Pipes, Ikes Final Battle), Ike did not like that certain elements of the Civil Rights Movement became more radical in the late 1960s. Rights. There is often a pyramiding of taxation, State taxes being superimposed upon Federal taxes in the same field. The average individual benefit for retired workers approximates fifty dollars a month. Had he publicly condemned McCarthy and his investigations, (Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace), Little Rock made Ike reevaluate his view of southerners. (Eisenhower On the Issues), Ike supported the private use of nuclear power to provide energy.

(Eisenhower On the Issues), He created the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, protecting nine million acres of shore in Alaska. He did the same for military academies and bases, including in the South. I recommend, therefore, that the earnings base for the calculation of OASI benefits and payroll taxes be raised to $4200, thus enabling 15,000,000 people to have more of their earnings taken into account by the program. Ike said he was closer to John than anyone besides his wife. Voting rights would give them political influence. They thought he enforced Brown v Board of Education only because of his presidential duties. Additional Benefit Credits Should Be Provided. They could not know that in less than two centuries the immensity of domestic and international affairs would tend to create in us a feeling of individual helplessness and even lead us into an unthinking abandonment of personal and local responsibility to a few men in government, giving to them a frightening power for good or evil; and almost certain to invite error or abuse. Ike, who was used to military precision, did not like the vagueness of this ruling. The Federal Government has assumed an increasing variety of functions, many of which originated or are duplicated in State Government. Ike and Warren later had a falling out. For OASI to fulfill its purpose of helping to combat destitution, these benefits are too low. Moreover, if the additional millions of persons recommended for inclusion under OASI are brought into the program in 1955 without modification of present law, their average earnings will be sharply lowered by including as a period of no earnings the period from 1951 to 1955 when they were not in the program. In return, when these breadwinners retire after reaching the age of 65, or if they die, they or their families become entitled to income related in amount to their previous earnings. But he thought the juvenile delinquency threatened the nation and said, education and self-discipline are what we need. (David Eisenhower, Going Home to Glory).

Extension of the unemployment insurance program to almost 4,000,000 more workers. However, the effect of this change is very limited because the formula used results only in increases in the Federal share. But good intent and high purpose are not enough; all such programs depend for their success upon efficient, responsible administration. If his disability lasts four years or less, my preceding recommendation will alleviate this hardship. In 1923, President Harding proposed a Department of Education and Welfare, which was also to include health functions. I do not here refer to any amendment presently proposed, or under consideration by the several states. He said, Supreme Court and federal judges should only be allowed to serve for twenty years, or until age 72, whichever comes first. (Republicans Supporting Planned Parenthood), Ike referred to God as the Supreme Overlord and to Heaven as the Great Beyond. (David Eisenhower, Going Home to Glory), Religion was important for the family in Abilene. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Ike privately convinced as many priests and religious leaders as possible to preach support for the Civil Rights Movement. He said WWII occurred because the world failed to take Mein Kampf seriously. His response to the Supreme Courts 1954 Brown decision In many instances, a worker may earn little or nothing for several months or several years because of illness or other personal adversity beyond his power of prevention or remedy.

It is clear, therefore, that another revision of this base is needed to maintain a reasonable relationship between a worker's benefits and his earning. This provision is of great importance to many people whose years of unusually low earnings--for reasons of unemployment, illness, or otherwise--would sharply reduce their benefits. 2. (Ambrose, Eisenhower: Soldier and President), An advisor brought up the question of gender equality.

(Brooks, The Road to Character), Ike had little question that God existed. We will, of course, endeavor to administer the disability provisions efficiently and effectively, in cooperation with the States. The report suggests important areas for exploration.

(Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Ike visited a Naval Academy shortly after taking office. State assistance to the aged, the blind, the totally disabled, and dependent children is heavily supported by grants-in-aid administered through the Social Security Administration. We are resolved to extend that opportunity to millions of our citizens who heretofore have been unable to avail themselves of it. By enabling some 10,000,000 more Americans to participate in the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Program, it gives them an opportunity to establish a solid foundation of economic security for themselves and their families. 4. By depriving an OASI beneficiary of his benefit payment for any month in which he earns wages of more than $75, present law imposes an undue restraint on enterprise and initiative. 3. Their foresight was equal to their faith in the people. He Failed to Provide Leadership in Civil Its fair to say Today, the earnings base of $3600 covers the full earnings of only 40% of our regular male workers. I submit herewith for the consideration of the Congress a number of recommendations relating to the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System and the Federal grant-in-aid programs for public assistance. (Convention of States Action), Ike supported Immunity Bath legislation that permitted the Attorney General to grant immunity from prosecution to a witness testifying before a grand jury or a Congressional testimony where such a witness would use the 5th amendment to protect fellow conspirators. went on to desegregate Washington DC, send the Army into Little Rock to desegregate (Released November 16,1959. But Eisenhower believed that to personally confront He blamed the over-promising of the New Frontier and Great Society for the race riots. His main concern was overpopulation and women using illegitimate children to collect welfare. These Acts and the Social Security amendments I have approved today will bolster the health and economic Security of the American people.

A self-employed person also contributes a percentage of his earnings. American Farmer. We now have both such an opportunity and a definite plan. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Ike believed guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote was the most important thing he could do to advance their interests. Moreover, constitutional amendment is not to be lightly undertaken. Retirement systems, by which individuals contribute to their own security according to their own respective abilities, have become an essential part of our economic and social life. But the founding fathers could not foresee that, in the space of three lifetimes, the Republic would extend from the Atlantic three thousand miles out into the Pacific, or overleaping an independent neighbor would reach into the Arctic; or that an economy of small farms and large plantations, whose cities existed mainly as ports of entry and exit, would be transformed into massive concentrations of people forming communities without regard to county or state lines. Suppressing the study of an ideology was not helpful.

Moreover, the nation's economy will derive large benefits from the wisdom and experience of older citizens who remain employed in jobs commensurate with their strength. Probably blindly insane. (Ambrose, Eisenhower: Soldier and President), Senator Knowland met with Ike in 1954 to discuss the Bricker Amendment, which would weaken the presidents ability to conduct foreign policy. King said Ike, could not be committed to anything which involved a structural change in the architecture of American society. He thought the world could be improved by not perfected, and any attempts at perfecting it, like the French or Russian Revolutions, ended in catastrophe. Approval of this recommendation will also retrieve the discriminatory treatment of wage earners under the retirement test. (Johnson, Eisenhower: A Life), He initially thought the US was not responsible for population control abroad. craved: more publicity. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Martin Luther King came to national prominence late in Ikes presidency. It is my hope that the work of the Advisory Council on Public Assistance which is established by this bill will materially assist in the early development of constructive recommendations. The level of benefits should be increased. By 1950 less than half of such workers--44%--had their full earnings covered by the program, so the Congress increased the earnings base to $3600. It was not just thugs who opposed the black students entry; it was professionals like doctors and lawyers. It is a proper function of government to help build a sturdy floor over the pit of personal disaster, and to this objective we are all committed. In my message of February 2, 1953, I stated that I would send to the Congress a reorganization plan defining a new administrative status for Federal activities in health, education, and social security. Such a new formula will also facilitate the inclusion, in the old-age assistance program, of a factor reflecting the expansion of OASI. The purpose of this plan is to improve the administration of the vital health, education, and social security functions now being carried on in the Federal Security Agency by giving them departmental rank.

The present formula for Federal sharing in public assistance programs requires adjustment from another standpoint. The law allows full benefits at age 62 for widows because of their special needs. This recommendation was partially implemented in 1939 by the creation of the Federal Security Agency--by which action the Congress indicated its approval of the grouping of these functions in a single agency. Other rights would follow. Ike described Kings assassination in 1968 as a disaster. (Pipes, Ikes Final Battle), He supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott and sit-ins, describing them as moderate, nonviolent, constitutional, and progressive. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Ike wanted to calm his countrymen and allow their reason and goodwill to resolve racial issues. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, with the counsel and assistance of twelve outstanding consultants, has been carefully studying the difficult technical and administrative aspects of this effort. (David Eisenhower, Going Home to Glory), Ike opposed eliminating the draft and supported universal military training since the end of WWII. He wanted international law to one day replace the use of force in resolving international disputes. It should take into account the financial capacity of the several States to support their public assistance programs by adopting, as a measure of that capacity, their per capita income. He would be unable to coax them into accepting segregation if that happened. Ike was the only member of his team willing to play opposite the black player, allowing the game to resume.

It is, rather, intended as the foundation upon which these other forms of protection can be soundly built. He said anyone who opposed these decisions was a communist. I commend it to the Congress for its consideration. It is, of course, essential that the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program, which is so vital to the economic security of the American people, remain financially sound and self-supporting.

In the past month I have signed into law a number of other Acts directly affecting the human problems of each family in the land.

Ike looked for ways to do this. (Eisenhower, Mandate for Change), Ike was uncomfortable around women. Russell said the Courts justices in 1896 were wise men, while the justices in 1954 were merely politicians. When a white guest used a racial term Ike leapt to his feet and declared, You will not speak that way in my house again! (Susan Eisenhower, Mrs. Ike), He insisted Americans not be divided by regions, race, or creed. And I will never forget. (Pipes, Ikes Final Battle), President Truman asked Ike, who was Army Chief of Staff, to speak to the Armed Service Committee about integrating the military in 1948.

embarked upon the presidency eight years before. (Today in Civil Liberties History), Ike was the first president to ask Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. I believe, and this plan reflects my conviction, that these several fields of Federal activity should continue within the framework of a single department. The Secretary has also recommended the means by which these additional groups can be brought into the system most equitably, with full consideration for the new groups as well as those who have heretofore contributed to the insurance system. I recommend, therefore, that the benefits of a worker who has a substantial work record in covered employment and who becomes totally disabled for an extended period be maintained at the amount he would have received had he become 65 and retired on the date his disability began. This need has long been recognized. He and Delores, his wife, served as Ike and Mamies aides until Mamie died in 1979. (Kreig, Dwight D. Eisenhower: Soldier, President, Statesman), Sergeant John Moaney was an African-American volunteer who joined Ikes staff in 1942. In the interest of these disabled persons, a close liaison between the OASI system and these agencies will be promptly established upon approval of these recommendations by the Congress. And he seemed to be on the verge of The benefit costs will be met for at least the next fifteen to twenty-five years under the step-rate increases in OASI taxes already provided in the law. I am informed by the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare that the net additional cost of the recommendations herein presented would be, on a long-term basis, about one-half of one percent of the annual payrolls subject to OASI taxes.

Further broadening of the coverage is being considered by the Committee on Retirement Policy for Federal Personnel, created by the Congress. He Failed to Denounce Senator Joseph When asked about the topic he replied, Its hard for a mere man to believe that a woman doesnt have equal rights! (Today in Civil Liberties History), He said women needed to be educated so they could become doctors, lawyers, teachers, and scientists, but most importantly, to become good mothers and voters. He sympathized with Southern mothers who did not want schools integrated by did not agree with them. 5

4. Hereafter, all three will be Presidential appointees subject to Senate confirmation. Ike referred to the Manifestos supporters as extremists but appreciated their pledge to only use legal means to make their case. Ike argued, In one case the military power was used to further the ambition of a ruthless dictator; in the other to preserve the institutions of free government. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), Ikes support of the Civil Rights Movement continued growing in the early 1960s, after he left office. People over 65 years of age who can work should be encouraged to do so and should be permitted to take occasional or part-time jobs without losing their benefits. I also pledge increasing emphasis on efforts to help rehabilitate the disabled so that they may return to useful employment. He wanted to give Faubus the chance to back down. He supported Kennedys civil rights initiative and endorsed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In offering, as I here do, certain measures for the expansion and improvement of this system, I am determined to preserve its basic principles.

The Australians acquiesced. And through decades of growth and change their work - after the Bill of Rights - required few amendments. The purpose of the meeting to which you are invited is to discuss with me proposed legislation providing for the creation of the Commission, the manner of its procedure, financial support and other related matters, and the selection of a working staff in order to accomplish the purposes of the study. A new department could not be proposed at that time because the Reorganization Act of 1939 prohibited the creation of additional executive departments. I of 1953 is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2 (a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended. The 1954 Amendments, which extended coverage of the program to millions of additional persons and included higher benefits for all who were then or who would become beneficiaries, have had a major impact in bringing greater security to our people. (Newton, Eisenhower: The White House Years), His centrist approach to civil rights was modeled after Lincoln, his hero, who resisted abolitionists calls for the immediate abolition of slavery that would have caused the Border States to secede and join the Confederacy.

I want to thank you and the other members of the Federal Council on Aging for your informative report on Federal action in assisting the aging. An itemization of these savings in advance of actual experience is not practicable. I submit the following recommendations to further these purposes. No American should be thought of as a minority. The plan at the same time assures that the Office of Education and the Public Health Service retain the professional and substantive responsibilities vested by law in those agencies or in their heads. Building on this base, each individual has a better chance to achieve for himself the assurance of continued income after his earning days are over and for his family after his death. (Nichols, A Matter of Justice), While in high school, his football team played a game where the other team had an African-American player. But he IKE'S Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus wanted segregationists support in the next election and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block the black students from entering the school. Had he failed to act at Little Rock, the Civil Rights Movement would have been set back and the Supreme Court would have been weakened. reenergize and modernize the Republican Party, making it less conservative He supported equality of opportunity, but this was not good enough for those who only accepted equal outcomes. Ike said race was a federal issue and feared Goldwaters nomination in 1964 would lead the GOP to becoming a white supremacist party. I urge the Congress to approve this extension of coverage. He did not realize all the officers were southerners. In 1949, the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government proposed the creation of a department for social security and education. TOP Yet many of these payments must exceed this amount in order to meet the needs of the individual recipient, particularly, where the individual requires medical care. He said atheists were stupid and did not think. He accepted evolution and the theory that the Earth was created in a fiery volcano but because intense heat destroyed life, the first protoplasm must have come from somewhere. That was Gods work. People became more emotional over children. Knowland recalled, If he had to give up the objective of getting a disarmament agreement, the President said, there would be no reason for staying here. The Secretary of that Department has now recommended the specific additional groups which, in the judgment of the Department and its consultants, should be covered under this program. The act also makes desirable changes which will permit Federal support for child welfare services where needed in urban areas and provides for State and local financial participation in the costs of this program on an improved basis. This variation in Federal participation is the result of a Congressional determination that the Federal sharing should be higher for States which, because of low resources, generally make low assistance payments. I recommend, therefore, that benefits now being received by retired workers be increased on the basis of a new formula to be submitted to the appropriate Committees by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In the public assistance programs the bill institutes the desirable principle of varying Federal matching of costs in accordance with the relative fiscal capacity of each State as measured by per capita income. SPECIAL MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESS TRANSMITTING PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM--AUGUST 1, 1953. (Newton, Eisenhower: The White House Years), Ike signed legislation that put Under God in the Pledge of Allegiance and In God We Trust on American currency. He said his immigration policy would, strike an intelligent, unbigoted balance between the immigration welfare of America and the prayerful hopes of the unhappy and oppressed. (Tichenor, Dividing Lines), He took a hardline against illegal immigration, calling illegal Mexican border crossings an act of war. His Justice Department deported 250,000 illegal immigrants in what was termed Operation Wetback. However, they were given the option to legally immigrate to the US. Equity dictates that this defect be remedied. He completed the integration of the Armed Forces that had begun under Truman but threatening to withhold funds. It also establishes a uniform method of appointment for the heads of the three major constituent agencies. Only an inspired and educated citizenry will provide the power to keep American from following the path of earlier civilizations in which the love of country, the dedication of service to society weakened through the love of ease and the worship of affluence. McCarthy. The amendment I have proposed would afford this advantage, without discrimination, to all beneficiaries. Private and group savings, insurance, and pension plans, fostered by a healthy, fully functioning economy, are a primary means of protection against the economic hazards of old age and death. This Administration's strong support of the social security program was demonstrated by the broad expansion and improvements enacted in 1954 at my recommendation. After the Committee has made its report, I shall make appropriate recommendations on that subject to the Congress. It provides for increased Federal funds to encourage better medical care for the needy aged, blind, disabled, and dependent children. A white mob joined Faubus and screamed at the Little Rock Nine. IKE'S

The new law also contains certain major provisions which were recommended by the Administration. The recommendations I have here submitted constitute a coordinated approach to several major aspects of the broad problem of achieving economic security for Americans. to abolish segregation in public schools was less than enthusiastic and he Another phase of this problem relates to taxation. Mamie desegregated the White House Easter Egg Roll. Warren thought it was because of his pro-integration views, but Ike said he only disapproved of Warrens liberal stance on criminal justice issues. and more acceptable to mainstream America. Three Acts helping the States and local communities meet the nation's educational problems. These successive increases have raised the Federal share from about 45 percent in 1946 to an estimated 58.5 percent under this bill. At present, the Surgeon General and the Commissioner of Education are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, while the Commissioner for Social Security is appointed by the Federal Security Administrator. The President's Committee on Administrative Management in 1937 recommended the placing of health, education and social security functions in a Department of Social Welfare. Then he sent in the 101st Airborne Division to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school. Many of Ikes advisors told him to veto the weakened bill for symbolic reasons. Hed served with them in the army and during WWII. He prayed during the war but was not a sophisticated theologian. We must not only preserve this systematic practice, but extend it at every desirable opportunity. They met, and Faubus agreed to cooperate. Every son had to read a Bible passage in the evening. He became baptized, joined the Presbyterian Church, and began his First Inaugural Address with a prayer. The human problems of individual citizens are a proper and important concern of our government. The Social Security program furnishes, on a national scale, the opportunity for our citizens, through that same self-reliance, to build the foundation for their security. peace conference, and all hope of deflating the Cold War ended. Self-employed persons already have the advantage of an exemption on an annual basis, with the right to average their earnings over the full year. To help individuals provide for that security--to reduce both the fear and the incidence of destitution to the minimum--to promote the confidence of every individual in the future--these are proper aims of all levels of government, including the Federal Government. (Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace), Ike referred to himself as one of the most deeply religious man I know. But most biographers believe he was more spiritual than religious. (1956 Republican Platform), He supported lowering the voting age to 18. Ike hoped Nixon could restore a respect for law and patriotism while still pursuing legal equality. He feared a breakdown of monogamy and predicted a storm of illegitimacy could lead to anarchy. In 1924, the Joint Committee on Reorganization recommended a new department similar to that suggested by President Harding. He said Americans had to know what communism actually preached if they were going to defeat it. Instead, Lincoln took four years. Ike responded that he would only send a black unit. Help to provide and improved housing, to prevent and eliminate slums, and to conserve and develop urban communities. Extension of coverage will be a highly important advance in our OASI system, but other improvements are also needed.