1959 State of the Union Address

38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W / 38.88972°N 77.00889°W / 38.88972; -77.00889TypeState of the Union AddressParticipantsDwight D. Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
Sam RayburnPrevious1958 State of the Union AddressNext1960 State of the Union Address

The 1959 State of the Union Address was given by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, on Friday, January 9, 1959, to the 86th United States Congress in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives.^[3] It was Eisenhower's seventh State of the Union Address. Presiding over this joint session was House speaker Sam Rayburn, accompanied by Vice President Richard Nixon, in his capacity as the president of the Senate. The speech was broadcast by radio and television.^[2]

Eisenhower opened this speech with a question:

As we meet today, in the 170th year of the Republic, our Nation must continue to provide—as all other free governments have had to do throughout time—a satisfactory answer to a question as old as history. It is: Can Government based upon liberty and the God-given rights of man, permanently endure when ceaselessly challenged by a dictatorship, hostile to our mode of life, and controlling an economic and military power of great and growing strength?^[3]

Eisenhower continued on to address many subjects, such as the economy in light of the Recession of 1958, saying, "A year ago the nation was experiencing a decline in employment and output. Today that recession is fading into history, and this without gigantic, hastily-improvised public works projects or untimely tax reductions."^[3] Eisenhower also addressed the need for a balanced federal budget and future tax cuts. He called for legislation to strengthen civil rights laws and to correct abuses of labor unions.^[2] He advocated for more spending for national defense while increasing efficiency and reducing waste.^[2] He also called for increased spending with regard to health programs, science and education, water resources, highways and rebuilding cities.^[2]

Eisenhower closed his speech by opposing Marxism and calling on the United States to remember its founding ideals:

Finally—let us remind ourselves that Marxist scripture is not new; it is not the gospel of the future. Its basic objective is dictatorship, old as history. What is new is the shining prospect that man can build a world where all can live in dignity. We seek victory—not over any nation or people—but over the ancient enemies of us all; victory over ignorance, poverty, disease, and human degradation wherever they may be found. We march in the noblest of causes—human freedom. If we make ourselves worthy of America's ideals, if we do not forget that our nation was founded on the premise that all men are creatures of God's making, the world will come to know that it is free men who carry forward the true promise of human progress and dignity.^[3]

References

Military
careerPresidency
(timeline)

Foreign policy

Eisenhower Doctrine Korean War 1953; Korean Armistice Agreement 1953 Iranian coup d'état "Chance for Peace" speech (1953) Cold War Domino theory Khrushchev, Eisenhower and De-Stalinization New Look policy 1955 Geneva Summit 1960 U-2 incident Atomic Energy Act of 1954 Atoms for Peace Restricted Data Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 Food for Peace Suez Crisis (1956) DARPA (1958) EURATOM Cooperation Act of 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act 1958; NASA Operation 40 (1960)

Domestic policy

Executive Order 10479 (1953) Outer Continental Shelf Act (1953) Refugee Relief Act (1953) Submerged Lands Act (1953) U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953) Agricultural Act of 1954 National Wool Act of 1954 Special Milk Program Excise Tax Reduction Act of 1954 Internal Revenue Code of 1954 Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 Small Watershed Program Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 Agricultural Act of 1956 Soil Bank Act Soil Bank Program Federal Voting Assistance Program (1955) Bank Holding Company Act (1956) Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Interstate Highway System Highway Trust Fund Fish and Wildlife Act (1956) People to People Student Ambassador Program (1956) President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (1956) Civil Rights Act of 1957 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957 Little Rock Nine intervention (1957) Price–Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act (1957) Alaska Statehood Act (1958) Humane Slaughter Act (1958) National Defense Education Act 1958; Federal Perkins Loan Student loans in the United States Hawaii Admission Act (1959) Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 Civil Rights Act of 1960 Sikes Act (1960)

BooksElectionsLegacyPopular
cultureFamilyRelated