American History: The Election of 1960
06 October 2011
STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
(MUSIC)
DWIGHT EISENHOWER: "Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the presidency is vested in my successor. This evening, I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen."
Dwight Eisenhower was elected president in nineteen fifty-two. The following year, the Korean War ended with an armistice, a ceasefire agreement.
A draft of President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas
During his presidency, Eisenhower began a tradition of meetings between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union. He met with Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev. These meetings may have helped reduce the threat of a nuclear war between the two countries during the Cold War.
By nineteen sixty, Eisenhower had served two terms. The Constitution was changed to prevent presidents from being elected more than twice, after Franklin Roosevelt won four times.
DWIGHT EISENHOWER: "We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts, America is today the strongest, the most influential, and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's leadership and prestige depend not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment. ...
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25