Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Chicago

Mr. Chairman, my Fellow Republicans:

May I first thank you on behalf of Mrs. Eisenhower and myself for the warmth of your welcome. For us both this is our first entry into a political convention and it is a heartwarming one. Thank you very much.

And before I proceed with the thoughts that I should like to address briefly to you, may I have the temerity to congratulate this convention on the selection of their nominee for Vice-President. A man who has shown statesmanlike qualities in many ways, but as a special talent an ability to ferret out any kind of subversive influence wherever it may be found and the strength and persistence to get rid of it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, you have summoned me on behalf of millions of your fellow Americans to lead a great crusade—for Freedom in America and Freedom in the world. I know something of the solemn responsibility of leading a crusade. I have led one. I take up this task, therefore, in a spirit of deep obligation. Mindful of its burdens and of its decisive importance. I accept your summons. I will lead this crusade.

Our aims—the aims of this Republican crusade—are clear: to sweep from office an administration which has fastened on every one of us the wastefulness, the arrogance and corruption in high places, the heavy bur-dens and anxieties which are the bitter fruit of a party too long in power.

Much more than this, it is our aim to give to our country a program of progressive policies drawn from our finest Republican traditions; to unite us wherever we have been divided; to strengthen freedom wherever among any group is has been weakened; to build a sure foundation for sound prosperity for all here at home and for a just and sure peace throughout our world.

To achieve these aims we must have total victory; we must have more Republicans in our state and local offices; more Republican governments in our states; a Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Senate; and, of course, a Republican in the White House.

Today is the first day of this great battle. The road that leads to Nov. 4 is a fighting road. In that fight I will keep nothing in reserve.

Before this I stood on the eve of battle. Before every attack it has always been my practice to seek out our men in their camps and on the roads and talk with them face to face about their concerns and discuss with them the great mission to which we were all committed.

In this battle to which all of us are now committed it will be my practice to meet and talk with Americans face to face in every section, every corner, every nook and cranny of this land.

I know that such a momentous campaign cannot be won by a few or by divided or by uncertain forces. So to all those from the precinct level up who have worked long hours at difficult tasks in support of our party—and for our party's candidates—I extend an earnest call to join up; join up for longer hours and harder work and even greater devotion to this cause. I call on you to bring into this effort your neighbors next door and across the street. This is not a job for any one of us or for just a few of us.

Since this morning I have had helpful and heartwarming talks with Senator Taft, Governor Warren and Governor Stassen. I wanted them to know, as I want you to know, that in the hard fight ahead we will work intimately together to promote the principles and aims of our party. I was strengthened and heartened by their instant agreement to support this cause to the utmost. Their cooperation means that the Republican party will unitedly move forward in a sweeping victory.

We are now at a moment in history when, under God, this nation of ours has become the mightiest temporal power and the mightiest spiritual force on earth. The destiny of mankind—the making of a world that will be fit for our children to live in—hangs in the balance on what we say and what we accomplish in these months ahead.

We must use our power wisely for the good of all our people. If we do this, we will open a road into the future on which today's Americans, young and old, and the generations that come after them, can go forward—go forward to a life in which there will be far greater abundance of material, cultural, and spiritual rewards than our forefathers or we ever dreamed of.

We will so undergird our freedom that today's aggressors and those who tomorrow may rise up to threaten us, will not merely be deterred but stopped in their tracks. Then we will at last be on the road to real peace.

The American people look to us to direct our nation's might to these purposes.

As we launch this crusade we call to go forward with us the youth of America. This cause needs their enthusiasm, their devotion, and the lift their vision of the future will provide. We call to go forward with us the women of America; our workers, farmers, businessmen. As we go to the country, Americans in every walk of life can have confidence that our single-minded purpose is to serve their interest, guard and extend their rights and strengthen the America that we so love.

The noble service to which we Republicans summon all Americans is not only for one campaign or for one election. Our summons is to a lifetime enrollment. And our party shall always remain committed to a more secure, a brighter and an even better future for all our people.

We go out from here with unbounded trust in the American people. We go out from here to merit their unbounded trust in us.

Wherever I am, I will end each day of this coming campaign thinking of millions of American homes, large and small; of fathers and mothers' working and sacrificing to make sure that their children are well cared for, free from fear; full of good hope for the future, proud citizens of a country that will stand among the nations as the leader of a peaceful and prosperous world.

Ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends that have heaped upon me such honors, it is more than a nomination I accept today. It is a dedication —a dedication to the shining promise of tomorrow. As together we face that tomorrow, I beseech the prayers of all our people and the blessing and guidance of Almighty God.