Harry S. Truman photo

Remarks in St. Thomas on a Visit to the Virgin Islands

February 22, 1948

Governor Hastie, fellow citizens and friends:

I am indeed happy to be here visiting these beautiful islands. The harbor here at Charlotte Amalie surely must be one of the most beautiful in the world.

I am particularly glad to come here to call upon my friend, Governor Hastie, and see the many fine things he is doing for you and for all of us. He is a very unusual Governor. I wonder how many Governors have drafted an Organic Act, then served as a Federal judge interpreting the act and finally served as Governor administering the act?

We are celebrating a significant historical event today. One hundred years ago, the man who was then Governor issued a declaration which freed the slaves in what was then the Danish West Indies. It was an enlightened document in more ways than one, for it provided for housing and care of the freedmen for an interim period.

We can all learn from this episode in history. Freedom has many forms and it has been won and lost many times. The Emancipation Proclamation in the Virgin Islands was dated 15 years before the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States; but it was 72 years after the Declaration of Independence. The struggle for freedom is unending and documents alone do not conclude it.

Here in the Virgin Islands the continuing effort to expand freedom is going on with the cooperation of the Federal Government and your own Insular Government. We are trying to stabilize and develop the economy and improve living conditions. An increased measure of self-government and better living conditions should go hand in hand.

Now that postwar travel conditions are improving, I hope that more and more continental Americans will discover and come to enjoy the beauty of the Virgin Islands. I know they will enjoy themselves and bring you prosperity and continued happiness.

Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. at Emancipation Park in Charlotte Amalie. In his opening words he referred to William H. Hastie, Governor of the Virgin Islands.

Harry S Truman, Remarks in St. Thomas on a Visit to the Virgin Islands Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/232359

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