Richard M. Nixon: 1960 Republican National
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Convention Acceptance Address
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Mr. Chairman, Delegates to this Convention,
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my fellow Americans:
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I have made many speeches in my life,
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and never have I found it
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more difficult to find the words adequate to
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express what I feel, as I find them tonight.
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To stand here before this great Convention,
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to hear your expression of affection
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for me, for Pat, for our daughters, for my mother,
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for all of us who are representing our Party,
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is, of course, the greatest moment of my life.
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And I want you...
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And I just want you to know
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that my only prayer as I stand here
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is that in months ahead
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I may be in some way worthy
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of the affection and the trust which you have
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presented to me on this occasion
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in everything that I say,
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everything that I do, everything that
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I think in this campaign and afterwards.
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And may I say also that...
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may I say also that
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I have been wanting to come to this convention,
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but because of the protocol that makes it
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necessary for a candidate not to attend the
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convention until the nominations are over
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I've had to look at it on television;
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but I want all of
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you to know that I have never been so proud of
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my Party as I have been in these last three days,
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and as I have compared this convention,
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the conduct of our delegates and our speakers,
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with what went on in my native State of California
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just two weeks ago.
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And I congratulate Chairman Halleck
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and Chairman Morton and all of those
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who have helped to make this convention one
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that will stand in the annals of our Party forever
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as one of the finest we have ever held.
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Have you ever stopped to think of the memories
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you will take away from this convention?
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The things that run through my mind are these:
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That first day with the magnificent speeches;
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Mr. Hoover with his great lesson
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for the American people;
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Walter Judd
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with one of the most outstanding
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keynote addresses in either Party in history;
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and last night our beloved,
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fighting President
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making the greatest speech that I have ever
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heard him make
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before this convention;
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your platform and its magnificent presentation
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by Chuck Percy, the Chairman.
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For these and for so many other things,
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I want to congratulate you tonight and to thank you
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from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of
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Americans, not just Republicans, Americans
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everywhere, for making us proud of our country
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and of our two-party system,
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for what you have done.
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And tonight, too, I particularly want to thank
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this convention for nominating as my running
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mate a world statesman of the first rank,
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my friend and colleague,
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Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts.
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In refreshing contrast to what happened
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in Los Angeles, you nominated a man
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who shares my views on the great issues and
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who will work with me and not against me in
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carrying out our magnificent platform.
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And may I say that during this week we
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Republicans, who feel our convictions strongly
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about our Party and about our country,
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have had our differences, but as the speech by
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Senator Goldwater indicated yesterday,
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and the eloquent
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and gracious remarks of my
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friend, Nelson Rockefeller,
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indicated tonight,
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we Republicans know that the differences
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that divide us are infinitesimal compared to
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the gulf between us and what the Democrats
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would put upon us from what they did at Los
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Angeles at their convention
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two weeks ago.
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It was only eight years ago that I stood in this
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very place after you had nominated as our
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candidate for the President one of the great
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men of our century. And I say to you tonight that
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for generations to come, Americans, regardless
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of party, will gratefully remember Dwight
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Eisenhower as the man who brought peace to
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America as the man...as the man under whose
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leadership America enjoyed the greatest
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progress and prosperity in history. But above all,
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they will remember him as the man who restored
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honesty, integrity, and dignity to the conduct of
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government in the highest office of this land.
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And my fellow Americans, I know now that you
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will understand what I next say, because the next
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President of the United States will have his
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great example to follow, because the next
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President will have new and challenging
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problems in the world of utmost gravity.
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This truly is a time for greatness in America's
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leadership. I am sure you will understand
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why I do not say tonight that I alone am the man
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who can furnish that leadership. That question is
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not for me, but for you to decide.
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And I only ask tonight... I only ask that the
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thousands in this hall and the millions listening
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to me on television, I only ask that you make
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that decision in the most thoughtful way that
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you possibly can, because what you decide
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this November will not only affect your lives and
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your future, it will affect the future of millions
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throughout the world. And I urge you, study the
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records of the candidates, listen to my speeches
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and that of my opponent, and that of Mr. Lodge
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and that of his opponent. And then, after you
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have studied our records and listened to our
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speeches, decide... decide on the basis of what
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we say and what we believe which is best
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qualified to lead America and the free world in
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this critical period. And to help you make this
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decision I would like to discuss tonight some of
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the great problems which will confront the next
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President of the United States and the policies
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I believe that should be adopted to meet them.
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One hundred years ago, in this city, Abraham
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Lincoln was nominated for President of the
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United States. The problems which will confront
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our next President will be even greater than
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those that confronted him. The question then was
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freedom for the slaves and survival of the nation.
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The question now is freedom for all mankind and
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the survival of civilization, and the choice you
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make you, each of you listening to me makes
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this November can affect the answer to that
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question. What should your choice be and what
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is it? Well, let's first examine what our opponents
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offered in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
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They claimed theirs was a new program, but you
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know what it was? It was simply the same old
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proposition that a political party should be all
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things to all men, and nothing more than that.
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And they promised... they promised everything
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to everybody, with one exception: they didn't
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promise to pay the bill. And I say tonight that
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with their convention, their platform, and their
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ticket, they composed a symphony of political
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cynicism which is out of harmony with our times
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today. Now, we come to the key question: What
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should our answer be? And some might say,
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"Why do as they do... out-promise them, because
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that's the only way to win."
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And I want to tell you my answer.
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I happen to believe that their program would be
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disastrous for America; it would wreck our
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economy; it would dash our people's high hopes
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for a better life; and I serve notice here and now
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that whatever the political consequences,
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we are not going to try to out-promise our
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opponents in this campaign.
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We are not going to make promises we cannot
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and should not keep, and we are not going to try
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to buy the people's votes with their own money.
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And to those who say that this position will
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mean political defeat, my answer is this:
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We have more faith than that in the good sense
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of the American people, provided the people
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know the facts and that's where we come in.
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And I pledge to you tonight that we will bring the
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facts home to the American people,
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and we will do it with a campaign
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such as this country has never seen before.
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I have been asked by the newsmen sitting on
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my right and my left all week long: "When is this
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campaign going to begin, Mr. Vice President?
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On the day after Labor Day or one of the other
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traditional starting dates?" And this is my answer:
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This campaign begins tonight... here and now
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and it goes on and this campaign will continue
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from now until November 8th without any letup.
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And I've also been asked by my friends in the
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press on either side here - they say, "Mr. Vice
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President, where are you going to concentrate?
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What states are you going to visit?" And this is
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my answer: In this campaign we are going to
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take no states for granted, and we aren't going
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to concede any states to the opposition.
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And I announce to you tonight, and I pledge to
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you, that I, personally, will carry this campaign
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into every one of the 50 states of this nation
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between now and November the 8th.
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And in this campaign I make a prediction.
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I say that just as in 1952 and in 1956 millions of
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Democrats will join us not because they are
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deserting their Party, but because their Party
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deserted them at Los Angeles two weeks ago.
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Now, I have suggested to you what our friends
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of the opposition offered to the American
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people. What do we offer? First, we are proud
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to offer the bait: the best eight-year record of
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any Administration in the history of this country.
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But my fellow Americans, that isn't all and that
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isn't enough, because we happen to believe
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that a record is not something to stand on, but
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something to build on.
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And building on the great record of this
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Administration, we shall build a better America;
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we shall build an America in which we shall see
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the realization of the dreams, the dreams of
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millions of people, not only in America, but
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throughout the world for a fuller, freer, richer life
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than men have ever known in the history of
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mankind. Let me tell you something of the goals
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of this better America toward which we will
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strive. In this America our older citizens shall not
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only have adequate protection against the
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hazards of ill health, but a greater opportunity to
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lead a useful and productive life by participating
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to the extent they are able in the nation's exciting
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work, rather than sitting on the sidelines.
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And in this better America, young Americans
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shall not only have the best basic education in
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America, but every boy and girl of ability,
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regardless of his financial circumstances,
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shall have the opportunity to develop
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his intellectual capabilities to the full.
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Our wage earners... Our wage earners, shall
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enjoy increasingly higher wages in honest
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dollars, with better protection against the hazards
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of unemployment and old age. And, for those
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millions of Americans who are still denied
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equality of rights and opportunity, I say there shall
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be the greatest progress in human rights since
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the days of Lincoln a hundred years ago.
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And America¡¯s farmers ? America¡¯s farmers
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to whose hard work and almost incredible
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efficiency we owe the fact that we are
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the best fed, best clothed people in the world.
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I say America¡¯s farmers must and will receive
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what they do not have today - and what they
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deserve - a fair share of America¡¯s
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ever-increasing prosperity.
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And to accomplish these things, we will develop
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to the full the untapped natural resources (our
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water, our minerals, our power) with which we are
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so fortunate to be blessed in this rich land of ours.
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And we shall provide for our scientists the
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support they need for the research that will open
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exciting new highways into the future, new
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highways in which we shall have progress which
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we cannot even dream of today. And above all, in
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this decade of the sixties, this decade of decision
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and progress, we will witness the continued
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revitalization of America¡¯s moral and spiritual
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strength, with a renewed faith in the eternal ideals
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of freedom and justice under God which our are
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priceless heritage as a people.
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And now I¡¯m sure that many of you in this
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fall and many of you on television might well ask,
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¡°But, Mr. Nixon, don¡¯t our opponents favor just
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such goals as these? ¡° And my answer is; ¡°yes,
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of course.¡° All Americans, regardless of Party,
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want a better life for our people. What¡¯s the
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difference, then? And I¡¯ll tell you what it is.
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The difference is in the way we propose to reach
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these goals, and the record shows that our way
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works and theirs doesn¡¯t, and we¡¯re going to
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prove it in this campaign.
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We produce on the promises that they make.
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We succeed where they fail. You know why?
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Because we put, as governor Rockefeller said in
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his remarks, we put our primary reliance not
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upon government, but upon people for progress
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in America. That is what we will succeed. And
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we must never forget that the strength of America
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is not in its government, but in it¡¯s people; and we
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say tonight that there is no limit to the goals
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America can reach, provided we stay true to the
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great American traditions. A government has a
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role, and a very important one, but the role of
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government is not to take responsibility from
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people, but to put responsibility on them. It is not
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to dictate to people, but to encourage and
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stimulate the creative productivity of 180 million
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free Americans. That¡¯s the way to progress in
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America.
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In other words, we have faith in the
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people and, because our programs for progress
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are based on that faith, we shall succeed where
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our opponents will fail in building the better
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America that I¡¯ve described. But if these goals
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are to be reached, the next President of the
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United States must have the wisdom to choose
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between the things government should and
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should not do. He must have the courage to
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stand against the pressures of the few for the
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good of the many, and he must have the vision to
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press forward on all fronts for the better life our
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people want. Now, I¡¯ve spoken to you of the
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responsibilities of our next President at home.
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Those which he will face abroad will be infinitely
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greater. But before I look to the future let me say
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a word about the past. At Los Angeles two
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weeks ago, we heard the United States...
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our government... blamed for Mr. Khrushchev¡¯s
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sabotage of the Paris conference. We heard the
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United States blamed for the actions of
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Communist-led mobs in Caracas and Tokyo.
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We heard that American education and
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American scientists are inferior. We¡¯re heard
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that America, militarily and economically, is a
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second-rate country. We heard that America[n]
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prestige is at an all-time low. This is my answer:
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I say that at a time the Communists are running
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us down abroad, it¡¯s time to speak up for
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America at home.
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And my friends, let us recognize America has its
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weaknesses, and constructive criticism of those
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weaknesses is essential - essential so that we
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can correct our weaknesses in the best traditions
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of our democratic process. But let us also
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recognize this: while it is dangerous to see
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nothing wrong in America, it is just as wrong to
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refuse to recognize what is right about America.
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And tonight I say to you no criticism ? No
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criticism ? should be allowed to obscure the truth,
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either at home or abroad, that today America is
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the strongest nation, militarily, economically, and
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ideologically, in the world; and we have the will
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and the stamina and the resources to maintain
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that strength in the years ahead.
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And now, if we may turn to the future, we must
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recognize that the foreign policy problems of
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the sixties will be different and they will be be
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vastly more difficult than those of the fifties
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through which we have just passed.
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We are in a race tonight, my fellow Americans,
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in a race for survival, in which our lives, our
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fortunes, our liberties are at stake. We are
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ahead now, but the only way to stay ahead in a
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race is to move ahead; and the next President
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will make decisions which will determine whether
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we win or whether we lose this race. What must
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he do? These things, I believe: he must resolve,
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first and above all, that the United States must
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never settle for second best in anything.
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Let¡¯s look at the specifics. Militarily, the security
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of the United States must be put before all
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other considerations. Why? Not only because
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this is necessary to deter aggression, but
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because we must make sure that we are in
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never in a position at the conference table
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where Mr. Khrushchev or his successor is able
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to coerce an American President because of
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his strength and our weakness. Diplomatically,
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let's look at what the problem is. Diplomatically,
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our next President must be firm, firm on principle.
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But he must never be belligerent. He must never
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engage in a war of words which might heat up
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the international climate to the igniting point of
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nuclear catastrophe. But, while he must never
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answer insults in kind, he must leave no doubt
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at any time that, whether it is in Berlin or in Cuba
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or anywhere else in the world,
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America will not tolerate being pushed around
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by anybody any place.
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Because we have already paid a terrible price in
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lives and resources to learn that appeasement
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leads not to peace, but to war, it will, indeed,
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take great leadership to steer us through these
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years, avoiding the extreme of belligerency on
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the one hand and appeasement on the other.
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Now, Mr. Kennedy has suggested that
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what the world needs is young leadership;
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and, understandably, this has great appeal
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because it is true... true, that youth does bring
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boldness and imagination and drive to
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leadership, and we need all those things.
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But I think most people will agree with me tonight
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when I say that President de Gaulle, Prime
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Minister Macmillan and Chancellor Adenauer
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are not young men, but we are indeed fortunate
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with - that we have their wisdom and their
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experience and their encourage [sic] on our side
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in the struggle for freedom today in the world.
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And, and, I might suggest, that as we consider
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the relative merits of youth and age, it¡¯s only fair
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to point out that it was not Mr. de Gaulle or
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Mr. Macmillan or Mr. Adenauer, but Mr. Kennedy
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who made the rash and impulsive suggestion
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that President Eisenhower could have
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apologized or sent regrets to Mr. Khrushchev
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for the U-2 flights-which the President had
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ordered to save our country from surprise
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attacks. But formidable as will be the diplomatic
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and military problems confronting the next
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President, far more difficult and critical will be
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the decisions he must make to meet and defeat
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the enemies of freedom in an entirely different
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kind of struggle.
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And now I want to speak to you of another kind
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of aggression, aggression without war,
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where the aggressor comes not as a conqueror
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but as a champion of peace, of freedom,
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offering progress and plenty, and hope to the
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unfortunate of the earth. And I say tonight that the
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major problem, the biggest problem, confronting
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the next President of the United States will be to
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inform the people of the character of this kind of
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aggression, to arouse the people to the mortal
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danger it presents and to inspire the people to
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meet that danger.
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And he must develop a brand new strategy
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which will win the battle for freedom for all men,
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and win it without a war. That is the great task of
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the next President of the United States.
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And this will be a difficult task, difficult because
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at times our next President must tell the people
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not what they want to hear, but what they need to
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hear. Why, for example, it may be just as
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essential to the national interest to build a dam
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in India as in California. It will be difficult, too,
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because, you know, we Americans
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have always been able to see and understand
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the danger presented by missiles
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and airplanes and bombs; but we've found it
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hard to recognize the even more deadly danger
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of the propaganda that warps the mind,
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the economic offensive that softens a nation,
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the subversion that destroys the will of a people
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to resist tyranny.
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And, yet, may I say tonight that the fact that this
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threat is, as I believe it to be, the greatest danger
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we have ever confronted, this is no reason for
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lack of confidence in the outcome.
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You know why? Because there is one great
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theme that runs through our history as a nation:
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Americans are always at their best
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when the challenge is greatest.
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And I say tonight that we Americans shall rise to
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our greatest heights in this decade of the sixties
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as we mount the offensive to meet those
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forces which threaten peace and the rights
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of free men everywhere; but there are some
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things we can do and things we must do,
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and I would like to list them for you tonight.
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First, we must take the necessary steps which
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will assure that the American economy grows
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at a maximum rate so that we can maintain our
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present massive lead over the Communist bloc.
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How do we do this?
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There isn't any magic formula by which
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government in a free nation can bring this about.
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The way to assure maximum growth in America
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is not by expanding the functions of government,
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but by increasing the opportunities
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for investment and creative enterprise
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for millions of individual Americans.
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And at a...And at a time when the Communists
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have found it necessary to turn to
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decentralization of their economy and to turn to
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the use of individual incentives to increase
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productivity - at a time, in other words, when
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they are turning our way-I say we must and we
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will not make the mistake of turning their way.
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There is another step that we must take
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- a second one: Our government activities must
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be reorganized, reorganized to take the initiative
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from the Communists and to develop and carry
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out a world-wide strategy an offensive for peace
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and freedom. The complex of agencies
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which have grown up through the years for
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exchange of persons, for technical assistance,
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for information, for loans and for grants
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- all these must be welded together into one
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powerful economic and ideological striking force
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under the direct supervision and leadership
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of the President of the United States,
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because what we must do, you see, is to wage
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the battles for peace and freedom
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with the same unified direction and dedication
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with which we wage battles in war.
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And if these activities are to succeed, we must
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develop a better training program for the men
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and women who will represent our country
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at home and abroad. And what we need are
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men with broad knowledge of the intricacies
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and techniques of the strategy of Communists,
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with a keen knowledge of the great principles
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for which free people stand;
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and, above all, men, who with zeal
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and dedication which the Communists cannot
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match, will outthink and outwork and outlast
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the enemies of freedom wherever they meet
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them any place in the world.
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This is the kind of men we must train.
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And we must recognize something else.
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Government can't do this job alone.
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The most effective proponents of freedom are
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not governments, but free people;
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and this means that every American
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- every one of you listening tonight
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- who works or travels abroad must represent
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his country at its best in everything that he does.
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And the United States - the United States, big as
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it is, strong as it is - we can't do this job alone.
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The best brains, the fullest resources of other
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free nations, which have as great a stake in
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freedom as we have, must be mobilized to
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participate with us in this task to the extent they
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are able. But you know what is most important
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of all? Above all, we must recognize that the
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greatest economic strength that we can imagine,
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the finest of government organizations
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- all this will fail if we are not united and inspired
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by a great idea, an idea which will be a battle
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cry for a grand offensive to win the minds and
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the hearts and the souls of men.
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Do we have such an idea?
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The Communists proclaim over and over again
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that their aim is the victory of communism
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throughout the world. It is not enough for us to
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reply that our aim is to contain communism,
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to defend the free world against communism,
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to hold the line against communism. The only
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answer to a strategy of victory for the Communist
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world is a strategy of victory for the free world.
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But let the victory we seek be not victory over
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any other nation or any other people. Let it be the
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victory of freedom over tyranny, of plenty over
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hunger, of health over disease, in every country
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of the world. When Mr. Khrushchev says our
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"grandchildren will live under communism",
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let us say his grandchildren will live in freedom.
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When Mr. Khrushchev says, "The Monroe
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Doctrine is dead in the Americans", we say,
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the doctrine of freedom applies everywhere
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in the world. And I say tonight, let us welcome
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- let us welcome - Mr. Khrushchev's challenge
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to peaceful competition of our systems,
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but let us reply, "Let us compete in the
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Communist world as well as in the free world,
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" because the Communist dictators must not be
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allowed a privileged sanctuary from which to
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launch their guerilla attacks on
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the citadels of freedom.
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And we say, further, extend this
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competition, extend it to include not only food
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and factories as he has suggested, but extend
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it to include the great spiritual and moral values
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which characterize our civilization.
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And further, let us welcome, my friends, let us
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welcome-the challenge, not be disconcerted by
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it, not fail to meet it - the challenge presented
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by the revolution of peaceful peoples'
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aspirations in South America, in Asia, in Africa.
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We can't fail in this nation. We can't fail to assist
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them in finding a way to progress with freedom
|
so that they will [not] be faced with the terrible
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alternative of turning to communism with its
|
promise of progress at the cost of freedom.
|
Let us make it clear to them that our aim in
|
helping them is not merely to stop communism,
|
but that in the great American tradition
|
of concern for those less fortunate than we are,
|
that we welcome the opportunity to work with
|
people everywhere in helping them to achieve
|
their aspirations for a life of human dignity.
|
And this means that our primary aim must be
|
not to help governments, but to help people,
|
to help people attain the life they deserve.
|
|
In essence, what I am saying tonight
|
- that our answer to the threat of the Communist
|
revolution is renewed devotion to the great
|
ideals of the American Revolution,
|
ideals that caught the imagination of the world
|
a hundred and eighty years ago and that still live
|
in the minds and hearts of people everywhere.
|
I could tell you tonight that all you need to do
|
to bring all these things about that I have
|
described is to elect the right man as President
|
of this country and leave these tasks to him.
|
But, my fellow Americans, America demands
|
more than that of me and of you.
|
When I visited the Soviet Union, in every factory
|
there was a huge sign which read:
|
"Work for the victory of communism."
|
And what America needs today is not just
|
a President, not just a few leaders, but millions
|
of Americans working for the victory of freedom.
|
|
America-each American must make a personal
|
and total commitment to the cause of freedom
|
and all it stands for. It means wage earners and
|
employers making an extra effort to increase
|
the productivity of our factories.
|
It means our students in school striving for
|
excellence rather than adjusting to mediocrity.
|
|
It means supporting and encouraging our
|
scientists to explore the unknown, not just for
|
what we can get, but for what we can learn;
|
and it means, on the part of each American,
|
assuming personal responsibility to make
|
this country which we love a proud example
|
of freedom for all the world.
|
Each of us, for example, doing our part in ending
|
the prejudice which, one hundred years after
|
Lincoln, to our shame, still embarrasses us
|
abroad and saps our strength at home.
|
Each of us participating in this and other political
|
campaigns not just by going to the polls and
|
voting, but working for the candidate of your
|
choice. And it means, my fellow Americans, it
|
means sacrifice, but not the grim sacrifice
|
of desperation, but the rewarding sacrifice
|
of choice which lifts us out of the humdrum life
|
in which we live and gives us the supreme
|
satisfaction which comes from working together
|
in a cause greater than ourselves, greater than
|
our nation, as great as the whole world, itself.
|
|
What I propose tonight is not new. It is as old as
|
America, and as young as America,
|
because America will never grow old.
|
|
You will remember - listen - Thomas Jefferson
|
said: We act "not for ourselves alone, but for
|
the whole human race." Lincoln said: ¡°In giving
|
freedom to the slaves we assure freedom to
|
the free. We shall nobly serve or meanly lose
|
the last best hope of earth.¡±
|
And Teddy Roosevelt said: "Our first duty as
|
citizens of the nation is owed to the United
|
States, but if we are true to our principles we
|
must also think of serving the interests
|
of mankind at large." And Woodrow Wilson said:
|
¡°A patriotic American is never so proud of
|
the flag under which he lives as when it comes
|
to mean to others, as well as to himself,
|
a symbol of hope and liberty.¡±
|
And we say... we say today that a young America
|
shall fulfill her destiny by helping to build a new
|
world in which men can live together in peace
|
and justice and freedom with each other.
|
|
But there is a difference today, an exciting
|
difference; and the difference is because of
|
the dramatic breakthroughs in scientists [sic]
|
- for the first time in human history we have
|
the resources, the resources to wage a winning
|
war against poverty, misery, and disease
|
wherever it exists in the world.
|
And upon next President of the United States
|
will rest the responsibility to inspire and to lead
|
the forces of freedom toward this goal.
|
|
I am sure now that you understand why I said
|
at the beginning that it would be difficult
|
for any man to say to that he was qualified
|
to provide this kind of leadership.
|
I can only say tonight to you that I believe in
|
the American Dream because I have seen
|
it come true in my own life.
|
|
I know something... I know something of the
|
threat which confronts us, and I know something
|
of the effort which will be needed to meet it.
|
I have seen hate for America not only in the
|
Kremlin, but in the eyes of communists in our
|
own country and on the ugly face of a mob
|
in Caracas [Venezuela].
|
I have heard doubts about America expressed
|
not just by Communists, but by sincere
|
students and labor leaders in other countries
|
searching for the way to a better life
|
and wondering if we had lost the way.
|
And I have seen love for America in countries
|
throughout the world, in a crowd in Jakarta
|
[Indonesia], in Bogota [Columbia], in the heart
|
of Siberia, in Warsaw - 250,000 people
|
on the streets on a Sunday afternoon singing,
|
crying, with tears running down their cheeks
|
and shouting, ¡°Niech Zyje!¡± "Niech Zyje!"
|
"Long live the United States."
|
|
And I know... And my fellow Americans, I know
|
tonight that we must resist the hate;
|
we must remove the doubts, but above all,
|
we must be worthy of the love and the trust of
|
millions on this earth for whom America is the
|
hope of the world. A hundred years ago,
|
Abraham Lincoln was asked, during the dark
|
days of the tragic war between the States,
|
whether he thought God was on his side.
|
His answer was, ¡°My concern is not whether
|
God is on our side, but whether we are on
|
God¡¯s side.¡±
|
|
And my fellow Americans, may that ever be our
|
prayer for our country, and in that spirit, with faith
|
in America, with faith in her ideals and in her
|
people, I accept your nomination for
|
President of the United States.
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
...
|
|
-----------------
|
1960 Republican National Convention Acceptance Address
|
| Richard M. Nixon |
