The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers

My Day

NEW YORK.-- Sen. John Kennedy is getting together an interesting group of advisers on foreign affairs, and he seems to have inspired former Gov. Averell Harriman with confidence that the Kennedy-Johnson ticket will carry New York State in November and that Vice-President Richard Nixon will run behind the Republican ticket, whereas President Eisenhower ran way ahead of the state's Republicans.

I am always impressed with the courage of people to make predictions along any line, particularly along the political line, and I shall watch with interest to see how accurate these predictions are. I am making none myself. I did notice, however, that Mr. Harriman said he would work for the Democratic ticket, and I certainly will do the same.

I believe we need a change of administration. The record shows that when we have been in real trouble and need new and imaginative thinking, the Democratic party is better able to furnish new ideas and implement them.

I do not mean that the policies of the Democrats will always be correct, but it is always better to try something new when you are up against a situation where quite evidently the policies of the past have not been successful.

It is essential to have the leadership of a young and energetic President if we are going to have a program of any validity, so let us look forward to a change in November and hope that youth and wisdom will be combined.

* * * * * *

At St. Louis last Saturday I joined Congressman A.S.J. Carnahan for an evening of campaigning. We had a press conference and a dinner, and I spent the night in a delightful trailer camp, enjoyed the scenery of the Ozarks and had breakfast with an energetic group Sunday morning. I took a noon plane back to New York.

I hope that my short visit was of some assistance to the Congressman, for he has helped the American Association for the United Nations,1 traveling on trips planned and financed by the AAUN with his Republican colleague, both of whom served a session in the U.N. Their joint speaking trips were educational in nature and spread knowledge of the U.N. in a way that could not have been done as effectively by anyone else.

Monday was a great day for me because my daughter and her husband, Dr. and Mrs. James Halsted, arrived from Iran. They worked in the Shiraz hospital there for two years and now have returned to take up work at the University of Kentucky next fall.

Some of their children greeted them at the ship pier, and I am sure all of them will try to see them in the next few days. With the two large collies they had with them on the boat, they will go quickly to Hyde Park and then on to Syracuse, where they will spend a short time in preparation for the assignment in Kentucky.

TMs, AERP, NHyF

     1. The American Association for the United Nations (AAUN), an organization founded in 1943 by members of the almost defunct League of Nations Association, mobilized support for the United Nations among all Americans, from the educated elite to the disenfranchised poor, through public lecture series, school programs and institutes, publications for adults and children written in a variety of languages, and by writing editorials and letters to the editor of local, state and national newspapers. The organization focused on rallying support for the principle of collective security, advancing human rights, expanding educational opportunities, and extending UN membership to all nations. Eleanor Roosevelt, who played a key role in founding the AAUN, worked so closely with the organization from 1947 to 1962 giving radio and television interviews, delivering public lectures, and raising funds, as well as writing books, columns, and articles for the AAUN, that many senior staff considered her an unsalaried full-time volunteer. In 1964, the AAUN merged with the U.S. Committee for the United Nations to form the United Nations Association. [Joseph P. Lash, Eleanor: The Years Alone (New York: W. W. Norton, 1972), pp. 168, 220-21; Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (New York: Da Capo Press, 1992), pp. 290-420 passim.]

Index to this Document: American Association for the United Nations (AAUN): A. J. S. Carnahan's work for; Carnahan, A. J. S.: AAUN work of; ER's support for; Democratic Party: ER on; Eisenhower, Dwight D.: New York State support of; popularity of; Halsted, Anna Roosevelt; Halsted, James A. and Anna: Iranian medical work of; Shiraz Hospital and; University of Kentucky and; Harriman, W. Averell: JFK and; Kennedy, John F.: appoints advisors; Averell Harriman and; ER's support for; My Day; New York: support for Eisenhower; Nixon, Richard; Roosevelt, Eleanor: A. J. S. Carnahan campaign and; on Democratic Party; on James A. and Anna Halsted; JFK, campaigns for; JFK, popular support for; Shiraz Hospital: James A. and Anna Halsted and; United Nations (UN); University of Kentucky: James A. and Anna Halsted

Published by the Model Editions Partnership

Recommended citation: Eleanor Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and the Election of 1960: A Project of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, John Sears, Christopher Alhambra, Mary Jo Binker, Christopher Brick, John S. Emrich, Eugenia Gusev, Kristen E. Gwinn, and Bryan D. Peery (Columbia, S.C.: Model Editions Partnership, 2003). Electronic version based on unpublished letters. .

For more information, visit The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers home page at https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/.

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