Past Daily

Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams – Peace and Prosperity sounded good, but the reality was different.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: American Forum – 1956 Election – Jan. 29, 1956

As the 1956 Presidential election season got underway, the slogan used by the incumbent Republicans most argued was “Peace and Prosperity”. In this debate, part of the American Forum radio series from January 29, 1956, the Governors got into it, with Michigan Governor G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams (D-Mich) and Indiana Governor George Craig (R-Indiana) arguing from the get-go on the validity of President Eisenhower’s claim that the previous four years were peaceful and prosperous. Williams arguing that the country was anything but prosperous, that 12 1/2 million American families living at, or below the poverty level was a clear indication things weren’t quite working to plan.

Craig shot back that, since it was an Eisenhower Administration that ended the Korean War, there hadn’t been a single U.S. service person killed on any battlefield in the world and that all the ills the country was dealing with were the sole fault of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.

Lively debate for this half-hour, breaking into a squabble here and there. But it was informative and comparatively refreshing by todays standards. Just sayin’.

Here is that American Forum Broadcast, as heard over NBC Radio on January 29, 1956.

~ by gordonskene on September 18, 2012.

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Tags: 1956, current-events, Democrats, Eisenhower, george craig, Peace, Politics, Presidential election, presidential election season, Presidential elections, prosperity, Republicans