Self-Definition

Viewed from the distance of a television screen or a headline, President Eisenhower's address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors (see below) was a striking definition of the kind of world the U.S. wants to live in. But in perspective, the speech had an even broader significance in the context of U.S. history. It marked a new, determined attempt by the U.S. to define its own nature and its purposes, in more specific terms than it had used since Lincoln's day.

The self-definition was no byproduct of foreign policy. As Eisenhower made clear in his first campaign speeches, he is determined to work from what he considers the true bases of U.S. life. Reason: Only in the rediscovery of its own traditional purposes and directions can the U.S. again become a dynamic force, qualified and capable of ideological, as well as political and economic, leadership against Communism.

This week Treasury Secretary George Humphrey, in his first major address, carried the definition over to the economic field, giving a fresh urgency (see below) to the ideal of economic freedom. Other Cabinet members, Vice President Nixon, Attorney General Brownell and Postmaster General Summerfield will extend the definition in subsequent speeches.

The almost universal response to Eisenhower's speech at home & abroad proved how long overdue, how pertinent and how vital such a fundamental redefinition is.

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