[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 41 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E415-E416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WINNERS OF THE PHOENIXVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT'S DAY 
                             ESSAY CONTEST

                                 ______


                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 21, 1996

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to Michelle Lin Byrd, Rosalind Newsholme, John Davison, Jenni Kirkhoff, 
and David Rourke, the winners of the Phoenixville Area Chamber of 
Commerce President's Day Essay Contest. I am submitting for the record 
each of their winning essays. Each of these students has composed a 
remarkable essay applauding a President who had to make a necessary, 
but unpopular decision, such as the decision made by President Lincoln 
to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Other winning entries included 
Truman's decision to fire MacArthur, his decision to drop the atomic 
bomb on Japan, Ford's pardoning of Nixon, and Roosevelt's introduction 
of the New Deal. Each of these controversial decisions was, in 
retrospect, in the best interests of the American people despite being 
initially met with uncertainty and opposition.
  The leaders of our time are met with the same difficult decisions, 
and we must continue to act in the best interest of the American 
people. One of the most important decisions that faces us today 
concerns education. However, the decision to cultivate the education of 
our children should not be met with controversy or skepticism. As a 
former teacher and the father of five, I believe the highest priority 
for our school system is teaching our students about the rich history 
of America. Learning about the history of the United States, including 
the mistakes of our Forefathers and their great triumphs, is the key to 
good citizenship and involvement in Government. George Santayana once 
said that ``those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat 
it.'' By understanding the actions and events of our ancestors, we can 
create a better future.
  I hope that all of the entrants of the Phoenixville Area Chamber of 
Commerce President's Day Contest, not just the students recognized 
here, will gain a new appreciation for the importance of our history. 
Perhaps some insight gained through their research will influence some 
of these students to become involved in their government.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend these students for their achievement and I 
know that my colleagues join me in honoring the success of these 
outstanding students. I would like to thank the Phoenixville Area 
Chamber of Commerce for offering this opportunity to the students of 
Phoenixville, and I would also like to thank The Phoenix for printing 
the winning essays and for promoting the contest.

                            Harry S. Truman

       Harry S. Truman, our thirty-third president, was born on 
     May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He was a member of the 
     democratic party and was in office from 1945 to 1953. Truman 
     worked his way up in politics from judge to senator to vice 
     president and finally to president of the United States. When 
     Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 Truman became president. He 
     had a difficult task of learning to be effective in his 
     office because Roosevelt had made no effort to train him for 
     his future responsibilities. He learned simply by dealing 
     with the problem that faced him.
       Truman tried to carry out the politics that Roosevelt had 
     begun to establish. This included the unconditional surrender 
     of Germany on May 8th and the establishing of the United 
     Nations. Truman then had to make a decision about the World 
     War II. He had to make a decision that might end up being 
     unpopular. Truman decided to use the atomic bomb against 
     Japan. He believed that this would end the war quickly and 
     save lives. He thought that it would put the United States in 
     a position to help revolutionize Japanese life. When people 
     look back at the situation now there seems to have been other 
     ways to end the war, such as negotiated settlements, but 
     these options were not as obvious back then. Truman made the 
     decision he thought that would be the best decision.
       Presidents of the past, the present and the future have and 
     will make choices that will be unpopular but necessary. I 
     believe that of the choices of the past have made the United 
     States the great country that we are privileged to live in 
     today.
                                                                    ____


                         Franklin D. Roosevelt

       Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United 
     States of America. As President, he had to make a lot of 
     decisions. Some of them were popular and some were not. A 
     very unpopular decision at the time was his New Deal. The New 
     Deal was to have unemployment insurance, retirement programs, 
     wage and hour laws, housing for the poor, and jobs for the 
     needy all as the responsibility of the Federal Government. It 
     is important to remember that this was the 1930's when 
     nothing like this existed. However, many people didn't like 
     this decision because it was very new and they didn't trust 
     it. They also thought that the government was trying to 
     interfere with their lives. Employers didn't like the minimum 
     wage and hours because they had less power over their 
     workers. Although the New Deal was unpopular at the time, 
     people started getting used to it and began to accept it. It 
     is now all a very necessary part of the American way of life. 
     I think that in a way this decision was good because it shows 
     how our government is for the people.
                                                                    ____


                             Gerald R. Ford

       Gerald Ford, our 38th president, was the only president 
     elected neither to the presidency nor to the vice presidency. 
     He attempted during his term to restore the nation's 
     confidence in a government tarnished by the Watergate 
     scandal.
       Ford became vice president when Richard Nixon's vice 
     president Spiro T. Agnew resigned. Nine months later, on 
     August 9, 1974, President Nixon resigned as president under 
     threat of impeachment, and Gerald Ford was sworn in as our 
     president.
       One of his first and most debatable acts was to pardon 
     Nixon for all federal crimes he might have committed in 
     office. This made him extremely unpopular. I think this was a 
     necessary decision, because, we couldn't let this drag on and 
     on, like the O.J. Simpson trial. This country had a high 
     inflation rate and the highest unemployment rate since the 
     depression. These were more important problems to solve than 
     Watergate. It was time for the nation to start healing and 
     get on with the important issues facing the American people.
       In his two and a half years as president Gerald Ford 
     lowered the inflation rate from 11.2 to 5.3 percent, he also 
     lowered the unemployment rate. Even after all this he could 
     not win the presidential election in 1976, because, the 
     public only remembered him as the man who pardoned Richard 
     Nixon.
                                                                    ____


                         Truman Fires MacArthur

       In 1951 this headline shook the U.S. and the world. On 
     April 5 Harry Truman was furious at MacArthur and decided he 
     must go. For five days he kept this secret until they could 
     decide on a replacement. They decided on Lieut. General 
     Matthew Ridgway.

[[Page E416]]

       The reporters were summoned at 1:00 a.m. The press got 
     hand-out sheets from the press secretary: ``With deep regret, 
     I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur 
     is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies 
     and directives issued to them in the manner provided by our 
     laws and the Constitution.''
       Why the 1:00 a.m. summons? The White House's lame 
     explanation was timing for the general, since it was then 
     midafternoon in Tokyo. But that wasn't the real reason at 
     all; the news had been timed to make the morning newspapers 
     and catch the Republicans in bed.
       The man he fired was a military hero, idolized by many. 
     MacArthur had done a superb job as Supreme Commander for the 
     Allied Powers in the reconstruction of Japan. Truman himself 
     admired MacArthur's soldiering.
       But MacArthur was strong minded and had set himself firmly 
     against the policy of Truman. Douglas MacArthur would not 
     compromise his views of what was right and necessary. The 
     clash between the two was slow in building, but the end was 
     inevitable.
       The Senate and Congress were divided over Truman's 
     decision. The American public supported MacArthur. When 
     MacArthur returned to the states he was a General of the 
     Army, stripped of his commands and without assignment, yet 
     the U.S. was waiting to sweep him up in a tremendous greeting 
     all the way to Manhattan's tickertaped Broadway. His words 
     had brought public dismissal and reprimand from his Commander 
     in Chief, yet the Congress of the U.S. honored him by asking 
     him to address them. When he did give his speech before 
     Congress he was given a standing ovation.
       In my opinion Truman firing MacArthur was the most 
     unpopular decision ever made by an American president.
                                                                    ____


                            Abraham Lincoln

       In 1861 Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th President of the 
     United States. When he took office, and during the early 
     stages of the Civil War, President Lincoln wanted to preserve 
     the American Union of which slavery was a part. There was 
     great pressure upon him to free the slaves but he refused. He 
     had no wish to interfere with slavery where it already 
     existed. Lincoln declared that he was fighting to save the 
     Union, not to free the slaves. As the Civil War progressed, 
     the Northerners demanded the end to slavery.
       In 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation 
     Proclamation declaring that slaves be free. Lincoln 
     repeatedly urged all states to free their slaves. In 1865 The 
     Emancipation Proclamation cleared the way for Amendment 13 to 
     the constitution ending slavery throughout the United States 
     and declaring all men to be created equal.
       President Lincoln's decision not to end slavery at the 
     beginning of the Civil War appealed to some people but not to 
     others. Lincoln made this choice not for popularity but 
     because he thought it was the right decision for the Union's 
     people. Despite the pressure to end slavery Lincoln made the 
     decision to end slavery when he thought it was best for the 
     Union.
       The choices President Lincoln made helped to cause his 
     assassination. A President makes decisions every day 
     regarding our country. They make the best choices they can 
     although they cannot please everyone. President Lincoln made 
     what he thought was the best decision for the Union. John 
     Wilkes Booth, his assassin, did not agree.

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