Harry S. Truman photo

Letter to the Chairman, Democratic National Committee, on the Midwest Conference and the Western States Conference of the Democratic Party.

May 21, 1951

Dear Bill:

I want to extend my warm greetings to all of the good Democrats who have gathered from 24 states for the meetings of the Midwest Conference and the Western States Conference.

The Democratic Party today has the responsibility of helping to guide this great nation through one of the most dangerous crises of history.

In order to do this, the leaders of our Party must understand the tremendous problems our country faces, and the things we have to do to keep our nation safe and strong. And then the leaders of our Party must get these facts to the people. They must work with the members of the Government and with other public spirited citizens to get the facts of our present international situation and our foreign policy and our defense policy to the people.

In spite of the confusers, in spite of the men of little faith, our country is meeting this crisis firmly and strongly. Our country has never been engaged in a more important struggle than the present conflict in Korea. It has never been embarked on a better or more important effort than our present policy of uniting the free nations and strengthening them to put a stop to the forces of aggression and the danger of another world war.

Our aim is peace--a just and lasting peace. That is what I have been working for ever since I became President.

Our policies are designed to bring about peace. The Soviet rulers can, of course, plunge the world into war, in spite of all we are trying to do. But our policy of unifying and strengthening the free world offers the best hope of avoiding war. No other policy offers as much. If we try to find security by going it alone in the world, or by withdrawing and isolating ourselves from the rest of the world, we would be headed for disaster. We might very well bring about the world conflict we are trying to prevent.

This is not a political matter. It is a matter of life and death for our country and our way of life.

I want the officials of this Administration to tell the delegates at this conference exactly what is going on in Washington, and what our citizens must do to bring our country through this crisis successfully. And I know that these Washington officials want to have the views of the delegates. All of us in the Government need the thinking and judgment of those outside.

I am asking, personally, for a full report on all the discussions.

I wish that I could discuss these things at the Denver meeting but it is impossible for me to leave Washington at this time. However, please tell the folks from the West and Midwest that I hope to get a chance to see some of them in person before too long. When I get the chance I'll have plenty to tell them.

Very sincerely yours,

HARRY S. TRUMAN

[The Honorable William Boyle, Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado.]

Note: The Western States Conference and the Midwest Conference met in Denver, Colo. on May 23 and 24, and the Democratic National Committee met there on May 25.

Harry S Truman, Letter to the Chairman, Democratic National Committee, on the Midwest Conference and the Western States Conference of the Democratic Party. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/231100

Filed Under

Categories

Simple Search of Our Archives