Home Research Museum Events Education Gift Store Kids Page Donations
 
Public Papers of President Harry S. Truman
President Harry S. Truman. Source: Truman Library. President Harry S. Truman. Source: Truman Library.   The Public Papers of Harry S. Truman contain most of President Truman's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are usually not included. The documents within the Public Papers are arranged in chronological order. President Truman delivered the remarks or addresses from Washington, D. C., unless otherwise indicated. The White House in Washington issued statements, messages, and letters unless noted otherwise. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1966)

The Public Papers contain items such as the Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima (August 6, 1945), the Special Message to the Congress on Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947), the White House Statement Announcing Recognition of the Government of Israel (January 31, 1949), the Statement and Order by the President on Relieving General MacArthur of His Commands (April 11, 1951), and The President's Farewell Address to the American People (January 15, 1953).

View by Month and Year
Search the Public Papers
Enter keyword:
AND OR NOT
Limit by Year
From:
To    :
Limit results per page
Instructions
You can search the Public Papers in two ways:

1. Search by Keyword and Year
You can search by keyword and choose the range of years within your search by filling out the boxes under Search the Public Papers.

2. View by Month and/or Year
Select the month and/or year you would like information about and press View Public Papers. Then choose a Public Paper and the page will load for you.

Provided courtesy of The American Presidency Project.  John Woolley and Gerhard Peters. University of California, Santa Barbara.
 
293.  Radio and Television Report to the American People on International Arms Reduction
November 7, 1951

[Broadcast from the White House at 10:30 p.m.]

My fellow Americans, and free peoples all around the world:

The General Assembly of the United Nations is now meeting in Paris. This great town meeting of the world has
assembled for its annual session. What is done there will be of vital importance to us in the United States and to all the people of
the earth.

A few hours ago the United States, Great Britain, and France announced that they would present to the General Assembly a joint
proposal of great significance. This is a proposal for lessening the burden of armaments which now bears so heavily upon the
world. It is a commonsense way of getting started toward the regulation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all
implements of war, including atomic weapons. We hope the General Assembly will consider this proposal as an urgent and
important matter.

Tonight, I want to tell you something about this proposal, and why we are making it.

Let's begin by talking about the nature of the disarmament problem.

All of us know how difficult the world situation is today. Fighting is going on in Korea, and the threat of Communist aggression
hangs over many other parts of the world. To meet this situation the United States is now rapidly building up its armed forces. So
are other free countries.

We are doing this because we must. The Soviet Union and its satellites have very large military forces ready for action. The
Soviet Union has a growing stock of atomic bombs. The aggression in Korea has shown that Communist imperialism will resort to
open warfare to gain its ends.

In these circumstances, we must have strong military defenses and we are building them.

General Eisenhower has just given me an encouraging report of the progress that is being made under his command in Europe.
Serious difficulties still remain, and they will require vigorous effort from us and from our allies. But the free nations of Europe are
creating effective defenses. As a result of General Eisenhower's visit, arrangements are being made to speed up the training and
equipment of the combined defense forces in Europe.

We shall continue to build strong defenses in Europe and in other parts of the world-just as long as that is necessary.

Our own armed forces and those of our allies are essential to the protection of freedom. They are an essential part of our efforts
to prevent another world war. As they increase in size and effectiveness, they make it plain to an aggressor that he can have no
hope of quick and easy conquest. As the Kremlin comes to see that its aggressive policies cannot pay off, it may abandon them
and join in reasonable settlements of world problems.

This buildup of the defenses of the free world is one way to security and peace. As things now stand, it is the only way open to us.

But there is another way to security and peace--a way which we would much prefer to t ...
[Display the complete paper]
 
 

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum is one of thirteen Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

500 W. US Hwy. 24. Independence MO 64050
truman.library@nara.gov;
Phone: 816-268-8200 or 1-800-833-1225;
Fax: 816-268-8295.