Republican National Committee Highlights the Eisenhower Administration’s Civil Rights Record (1955)

Date: August 9, 1955

Created By: L. Richard Guylay

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, Elections and Politics, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 614, OF 142-A Negro Matters – Colored Question (3); NAID #12191288

This August 9, 1955 Republican National Committee press release presents a progress report on the civil rights record of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. Released by Val J. Washington, the RNC’s Director of Minorities, the report argues that Eisenhower had pursued civil rights through “action instead of words” and that the Republican Party had fulfilled the specific promises it made to Black Americans during the 1952 presidential campaign. The release also points to the appointment of E. Frederic Morrow to the White House staff as evidence of the administration’s efforts to fulfill those commitments.

The press release highlights several accomplishments attributed to the administration, including the ending of segregation in Washington, D.C., efforts to eliminate discrimination and Jim Crow practices within federal agencies, the appointment of Black Americans to important federal positions, and the strengthening of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Section. It also cites enforcement of federal civil rights laws and nondiscrimination provisions in the Taft-Hartley Act as evidence of progress.

Included with the release is an August 1 letter from Eisenhower praising Washington’s report. Eisenhower states that his administration had advanced toward the goal of equal citizenship but acknowledges that “much must still be done.” He emphasizes equal dignity regardless of race and argues that lasting progress ultimately depended upon the American people’s commitment to fairness, faith, and human dignity.

The document provides a useful example of how Eisenhower and the Republican Party publicly presented the administration’s civil rights record during the early years of the Civil Rights Movement, while also revealing the political importance Republicans placed on demonstrating progress to Black voters.