December 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, December 12th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/12/2019
Harry S. Truman speech signed as President, with pointed anti-communist rhetoric related to the ongoing Korean War, and the motives of the Soviet Union. Dated 7 June 1952, Truman delivered the speech at the Reunion of the 35th Division in Springfield, Missouri, reflecting on the past two years of the War, in part, ''...When I talked to you on June 10, 1950, I told you how the Soviet Union was threatening the peace of the world...You will remember that the Soviet Union had set off its first atomic explosion in the fall of 1949. Shortly after that, I directed the top officials of our Government to make a new study of the foreign policies and the military potential of the Soviet Union, taking into account the fact that the Soviet Union now had the secret of the atomic bomb. I directed our officials to try to find out whether the Soviet Union was headed for war, and what we should do to deter and prevent such a conflict...It seemed clear, as a result of this study, that the United States and all other free nations were faced with a great and growing danger. It seemed clear that we could meet the danger only by mobilizing our strength -- and the strength of our allies -- to check and deter aggression. This meant a great military effort in time of peace. It meant doubling or tripling our budget, increasing taxes heavily, and imposing various kinds of economic controls. It meant a great change in our normal peacetime way of doing things. These were the problems that were being laid on my desk at the time I spoke to you in St. Louis in 1950. Just three weeks later, the communists invaded the Republic of Korea. That made the danger clear to everyone. The invasion of Korea demonstrated to all free nations that they had to have much stronger defenses to prevent communist conquest. As a result, the free nations have been moving forward since the middle of 1950 to build bigger defenses. Our own country has taken the lead, because we are the strongest of the free nations. We have made a lot of progress in these two years. We have reached a number of the goals we set for ourselves back in 1950. We still have a long way to go in many respects, but if we stick to our course we can create the kind of strong, free world that we need to guarantee security and peace. We can win peace. And we are going to do it...''
Truman then makes a detailed argument for maintaining the level of taxes to fund military expenditures. He continues, ''...So far, we have been able to avert world war. Because of that fact, people are beginning to relax. Living in the middle of a world crisis for two years is beginning to make some of us indifferent to danger. Some people are forgetting about national security and thinking how nice it would be to economize and have lower taxes...But the cold fact is that we are still in great danger...The Kremlin is not going to take a vacation just because we are having a Presidential election in this country. Far from it. The Kremlin is going to make the most of this year to try to frighten the West...'' Signed ''Harry Truman'' on the last page of the 5pp. speech, typed on five separate sheets. Folds, light toning and staple at upper left, otherwise near fine condition with an exceptionally bold signature by Truman. Accompanied by a White House letter signed by Truman's Secretary.
Harry Truman Speech Signed as President From 1952 -- ''...The Kremlin is not going to take a vacation just because we are having a Presidential election in this country. Far from it...''
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