Harry S. Truman photo

Statement by the President on the Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth.

January 06, 1950

IN THE State of the Union Message to Congress, I called attention to the supreme need of our time to use our great powers of mastery over the physical world to develop the moral and legal framework within which mankind can live together in peace and harmony. The peoples of the earth look to us as never before for good will, strength, and wise leadership. If we are not to fail them and ourselves, our children must be prepared.

It is in the hope that in the next half century we may write a new chapter of history, different from the first half, with its wars and injustices on an unparalleled scale, that I have proposed the Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth to be held in December 1950.

I was delighted to learn from the representatives of the national committee for this Conference, who called on me today, that already great numbers of citizens see the significance of this effort, and are working together to make this Midcentury Conference a powerful force for improving the environment in which our children grow up, for increasing our understanding of children's needs, and for multiplying their opportunities for happiness and useful service. I have been impressed by the opportunity provided in this Conference to combine widespread public participation with expert help, in a common effort to advance the well-being of our next generation. I have urged the committee to press forward with every resource to accomplish this objective and have assured the committee of my complete support.

Note: The Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth was held on December 3-7, 1950, in Washington, D.C. For the President's address before the Conference on December 5, see Item 299. See also 1949 volume, this series, Items 198, 204.

As recorded in the White House appointment book, the following representatives of the National Committee for the Conference called on the President on January 6, 1950, at 1145 a.m.: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chauncey McCormack, president of the Chicago Art Institute, Mrs. David Levy, and Katharine F. Lenroot, Chief of the Children's Bureau, Federal Security Agency.

Harry S Truman, Statement by the President on the Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230724

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