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Nation's Governors Toast 2/3/91 [OA 6855]
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26
21
2
5
FOR A HEALTHY
AMERICA
CHAIRMAN'S AGENDA FOR 1990-91
GOVERNOR BOOTH GARDNER WASHINGTON
NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
FORA PX HEALTHY
AMERICA
FACING THE FACTS
IDENTIFYING THE NEED
We as a nation face one of the most critical domestic crises ever.
Health care in the United States presents a vast contradiction. We
Our health care system is in serious trouble. The signs of stress
possess the most advanced medical technology in the world,
are everywhere. Millions of citizens lack access to basic medical
technology that prevents birth defects, cures illnesses, and saves
care. Businesses face double-digit increases in employee insurance
millions of lives each year. Our unique mix of public and private
premiums. Hospitals and clinics are at risk of closing and leaving
coverage has afforded excellent protection to a large number of
communities without adequate medical resources. Meanwhile,
Americans. Yet Americans have a harder time obtaining basic
governments strain merely to fill the gaps.
medical care than do citizens in most other developed nations, and
Clearly, major restructuring is needed, and cost containment is
the United States has consistently poorer health outcomes than
central to achieving universal access to care. But it's not enough
those countries. For instance, our infant mortality rate is higher
for us simply to juggle funds and shift responsibilities. As a
than that of any other western industrialized nation.
nation, we must take a comprehensive look at our health care
A growing sense of crisis pervades the public debate over the
system and decide what we want it to accomplish.
future direction of health care. Consider the facts: In 1983, the
For example, our current system is designed primarily to respond
United States spent $357 billion, or 10.5 percent of our gross
to medical problems, rather than to prevent them. This results in
national product (GNP), on health care. By 1989 those figures had
higher costs and a diminished quality of life for our citizens, As
climbed to more than $599 billion, or 11.5 percent of our GNP-
Governors, we are charged with protecting the well-being of those
$2,400 for every person in the United States. Unchecked, health
we serve. During the next year, as we develop a framework for a
care costs are projected to rise to $1.5 trillion (15 percent of our
renewed health care system that provides universal, affordable
GNP) by the year 2000.
access to care, I can think of no better way to serve our citizens
Despite these enormous and growing expenditures, more and
than to propose a health care system that can flexibly promote
more Americans have little or no access to health care. About 31
good health- not just cure illness.
million people in the United States are uninsured annually, and
37 million are uninsured in any given month. About 12.2 million
of the uninsured are employed; the total number of uninsured
workers, together with their families, is 22 million. Roughly
10 million of the uninsured have incomes below the federal
poverty level.
The fact is that what we refer to as our health care "system" is
not really a system at all. Rather, it is a shaky patchwork of
financing and delivery mechanisms that fail to provide adequate
access to services, cost controls, or basic quality care for all of our
citizens. In addition, our so-called system focuses much more on
illness than on health. Little is done to promote healthy lifestyles
that would reduce the illnesses, diseases, and injuries that increase
demand for services and add to overall medical costs.
Without comprehensive restructuring, we will never have a true
health care system, let alone one that provides universal access to
basic medical care at affordable prices.
National Per Capita
Average Annual Percent Change
Health Expenditures,
in National Health Expenditures
Selected Calendar Years
and GNP, Selected Calendar Years
$5,500
$5,000
$4,500
National Health Expenditures
GNP
Note: Figures for 1986 are
$4,000
16
preliminary and those for 1987
to 2000 are projected.
Source: Health Care Financing
Administration, Health Care
Financing Review: vol. 8.
$3,500
14
no. 4(summer 1987).
242
$3,000
12
$2,500
10
$2,000
8
$1,500
6
Note: Figures for 1986 are preliminary and those for 1987 to 2000 are projected. Source: Health Care Financing Administration, Health Care Financing Review, vol. 8; no (summer 1987). p. 24.
$1,000
4
$ 500
2
$0
0
1965
1970
1980
1984
1985
1986
1987
1990
1995
2000
70
80
84
85
86
87
90
95
2000
Countries
Canada
Netherlands
W. Germany
France
Australia
Sweden
How People Feel About Health Care
Japan
U.K
Italy
United States
On the whole, the health care system works
pretty well and only minor changes are necessary
56%
47%
41%
41%
34%
32%
29%
27%
12%
10%
to make it work better.
There are some good things in our health care
system, but fundamental changes are needed to make
38%
46%
35%
42%
43%
58%
47%
52%
46%
60%
it work better.
Our health care system has so much wrong with it
5
that we need to completely rebuild it
5%
5%
13%
10%
17%
6%
6%
17%
40%
29%
Per capita health expenditure (U.S. dollars)
$1,483
$1,041
$1,093
$1,105
$939
$1,233
$915
$758
$841
$2,051
Source: Robert J. Blendon, Robert Leitman, Ian Morrison: and Karen Donelan, Satisfaction with Health System in-Ten Nations," Health Affairs, vol. 9, no. 2 (summer 1990): pp/ 185-92
National Governors' Association
444 North Capitol Street
Washington, D.C. 20001-1572
Telephone (202)624-5300
NGA POLICY
Approved by the members of the National Governors' Association
on July 29, 1990.
A Process for Measuring and Reporting on Progress Toward
the National Education Goals
At the historic Education Summit, the President and the nation's Governors, as
elected chief executives, made a commitment to be held accountable for
progress in achieving the national education goals. To fulfill this
commitment, this statement establishes the process for identifying measures of
performance and reporting on progress toward the goals, and reaffirms the
decade-long partnership toward realizing the goals.
In order to provide the direction and support needed to instill public
confidence and the full cooperation of federal and state officials, the
President and Governors agree to establish the National Education Goals Panel
to oversee the development and implementation of a national education progress
reporting system. The process for developing and establishing appropriate
measures and reporting annually on progress will build on the constructive,
bipartisan partnership between the President and the Governors initiated at
the Charlottesville Summit.
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
The National Education Goals Panel will be composed of:
Four senior-level federal executive branch officials appointed by the
President;
Six Governors appointed by the Chairman of the National Governors'
Association in consultation with the Vice-Chairman, with no more than
three of the Governors being from the same party; and
Four congressional leaders (Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the
Speaker of the House or his designee and House Minority Leader)
invited to serve as ex officio non-voting members.
The Chairman of the Panel will be appointed annually by the Chairman of the
National Governors' Association.
The executive branch officials will serve at the pleasure of the President.
Governors will be appointed to the Panel for a two-year term, except that two
of the initial appointments, equally divided between the two parties, shall be
for a three-year term.
The Panel will be responsible for determining the indicators used to measure
the national education goals and for reporting progress toward their
achievement. Its responsibilities shall include:
Selecting interim and final measures and appropriate measurement
tools to be developed as necessary in each goal area;
Determining baselines and benchmarks against which progress may be
evaluated;
Determining the format for an annual report to the nation; and
Reporting on the federal government's action to fulfill those
responsibilities set forth in the federal-state partnership at
Charlottesville, including funding the federal financial role,
providing more flexibility in spending under existing federal
programs, and controlling mandates that limit the states' ability to
fund education, as defined in the Joint Statement issued at the
Charlottesville Summit.
In addition, the Panel will review proposed changes in national and
international measurement systems as appropriate and make recommendations to
the President, the Congress, and the Governors for needed improvements.
The Panel will not be limited by availability of current data and measurements
in its decisions as it designs the format of the report card. It will seek to
identify fair, constructive measures that will boost the performance of
students at all levels.
The Panel shall have the authority to hire and direct an independent staff to
assist it with its responsibilities.
In making final decisions, the Panel will operate on the principle of
consensus among the Governors, Executive Branch, and Congress. In the event
that a vote must be taken, a decision will require seventy-five percent of the
voting members.
Expert Advisers
The process for developing and establishing appropriate measures shall benefit
from the experiences and expertise of the education research and measurement
communities and other interested parties.
The Panel, in carrying out its responsibilities, will consult broadly with
experts in the field of research and measurement, as well as with other
interested parties, in order to:
o
Identify and evaluate existing indicators; and
o
Prepare specific options and recommendations for the Panel
concerning: the selection of appropriate indicators; baselines and
benchmarks against which performance may be evaluated; and the format
for an annual report.
REPORT TO THE NATION
The President and the Governors agree that beginning in 1991, the Panel will
issue a report card to the nation on the anniversary of the Education Summit
(September 27-28) on progress toward the national education goals. The
Governors reaffirm their commitment made in Charlottesville to report
individually on restructuring efforts in their states on the first anniversary
of the Education Summit.
In developing the report card, the Panel will be guided by the following
principles:
The measurements and benchmarks should be consistent with the intent
of the Charlottesville Joint Statement and the comprehensive
statement of national education goals adopted by the President and
the Governors.
The measurement of benchmarks should not discriminate in favor of or
against any state based on its current performance or the degree of
improvement needed to reach the goals. The main focus of the
national report card will be measuring each state's progress toward
achieving the goals based on each state's baseline.
Following the release of the annual report card, each Governor shall issue a
report on progress in his or her state related to the goals.
EXTENDING THE PARTNERSHIP
Although the immediate task relates to national, state, and international
assessments, the President and the Governors encourage the creation of similar
systems of accountability in every school in America.
The President and Governors agree to begin work immediately to fulfill the
commitments made in this statement.
JAN 15 '91 13:12 MISSOURI-WASH_DCTON,D.C. OFFICE
P.3
DRAFT - (LEGISLS #249)
January 14, 1991
A NEW FEDERAL-STATE COMPACT
Within their states, the nation's Governors are making hard choices during
what has become the most difficult fiscal situation since the 1982 recession.
More hard choices await us as a nation. As partners in the federal system,
the nation's Governors propose a new compact with Congress and the
Administration to address the nation's critical issues. Specifically, we
propose a new compact to:
0
address the immediate concerns of the short-run recession, and
o
develop a new blueprint for renewed economic growth and a better
quality of life in the future.
State Fiscal Pressures
Currently, more than thirty states will have deficits if they do not cut
spending or increase revenues before the end of fiscal 1991. Eleven states
face shortfalls in excess of 5 percent. On average, states face a 3 percent
deficit. Specifically:
0
1990 state fiscal balances were at their lowest level since the 1982
recession and 1991 balances continue to drop precipitously.
0
The 1991 recession is expected to increase mandatory services to the
poor and unemployed. Considerably more workers are now collecting
unemployment than are provided for in the fiscal 1991 appropriation,
and caseloads for Medicaid and Aid to Families with Dependent
Children are increasing dramatically.
Many services will be cut back, including some services to the poor.
Clearly cutback management is the critical state budget theme until
national economic growth is positive again.
- 1 -
JAN 15 '91 13:12 MISSOURI-WASH_DCTON,D.C. OFFICE
P.4
In 1990, states increased taxes $10.3 billion, the largest
single-year increase ever recorded. The political climate regarding
increased taxes has also become quite negative. As a result,
additional tax increases for 1991 and 1992 will be very difficult.
Why the Fiscal Pressure on the States
The most significant cause of the fiscal pressure on states is the decline
in economic growth in many regions of the country. As a result, corporate
profits, sales, and personal income tax revenues have decreased
dramatically. Other factors also are at work:
o
Health care costs are virtually exploding. State Medicaid spending
increased by 18.4 percent in fiscal 1990 alone, and is expected to
increase by nearly 25 percent in fiscal 1991. Over the next five
years, Medicaid is projected to increase $75 billion -- costing the
federal government an additional $42 billion and states an extra $33
billion.
o
Medicaid and other federally mandated expenditures are forcing states
to make cuts in other critical areas, such as education, highways,
environmental protection, and aid to localities. Furthermore,
mandated expenditures drain precious resources, virtually eliminating
any opportunity for states to initiate new, innovative programs.
o
States are losing their ability to raise revenues and state tax bases
are eroding. Federal tax policymakers are taxing traditional state
sources, such as excise taxes, and are limiting the deductibility of
state and local taxes. Increasingly, interstate industries are
asking Congress to exempt them from state taxes.
o
Large portions of dedicated federal trust funds have been withheld.
Balances in highway and airport construction funds, unemployment
benefits, and land and water conservation funds have been withheld to
reduce the federal deficit, rather than being returned to the states
for needed programs.
- 2 -
JAN 15 '91 13:13 MISSOURI-WASH_DCTON, D.C. OFFICE
P.5
0
state and federal courts are ordering states to increase financial
commitments to stop prison overcrowding, to equalize education
spending among districts, and to provide higher reimbursements to
hospitals for medical services. In 1990 prisons in about forty-one
states and two territories were under court order to relieve
overcrowding and/or improve conditions, and in eight of those states,
the entire prison system was under court order. Twenty-six percent
of all local jails are now under court orders. State expenditures on
prisons created by those mandates are expanding dramatically.
0
Due to federal fiscal cutbacks and the downturn in the economy, most
big cities and many other local governments also lack funds to meet
basic services. The average local government raises only 63 percent
of its revenues from its own sources. By far, the balance comes from
states. However, states cannot maintain current local aid when their
own revenues are falling and spending is increasing.
The Governors' Recommendations
Even though economists predict that the current downturn will reverse itself
by the end of 1991, few predict a robust recovery. In addition, forty-nine
states have balanced budget requirements. As a result, Governors will
continue to face extremely difficult fiscal choices well into 1992.
Immediate Concerns
The Governors recommend five short-term actions the federal government can
take to help stabilize the economy and provide fiscal relief to states.
1. Relax the new Medicaid mandates included in the final budget
agreement for fiscal 1991 and 1992 by making these expansions
optional. Incremental Medicaid mandates and extensions are a poor
solution to the nation's health care problems. The nation's
Governors are working to help develop a more effective partnership on
health care reform, but some fiscal relief is necessary during the
interim.
- 3 -
JAN 15 '91 13:13 MISSOURI-WASH_DCTON,D.C. OFFICE
P.6
2. Freeze any further cost shifts to the states. Current federal
Shifts
to
formula matching rates should be maintained. This is particularly
The
important in the area of federal highway and transit programs.
3. Spend the surplus funds in the highway, transit, airport, and land
and water conservation trust funds. This would have the dual benefit
of stimulating economic activity during the recession while making
much-needed infrastructure improvements at a lower cost since
construction expenses are traditionally lower during an economic
downturn.
4. Refrain from enacting legislation that preempts state taxation of
interstate industries, such as financial institutions, railroads,
telecommunications, interstate gas pipelines, and trucking. Help
states collect sales taxes from out-of-state direct marketers by
approving legislation to overturn the National Bellag Hess decision.
Finally, preserve the deductibility of state and local taxes, which
are essential to state revenue raising capability.
5. Enact changes in the unemployment insurance extended benefits program
to make it an effective countercyclical program. First, adjust the
unemployment rate trigger so it is more responsive to rising
unemployment. second, because cyclical unemployment is due to
national trends beyond the control of individual states, the federal
government should cover 100 percent of extended unemployment
benefits. The current extended unemployment compensation trust fund
has a surplus of approximately $8 billion.
Long-Term Concerns
The Governors call for a new blueprint for renewed economic growth and a
better quality of life. They call on Congress and the Administration to work
with them to develop:
1. A national health care policy to provide increased access at
reasonable costs.
-
2. A comprehensive education plan to achieve the national education
goals.
- 4 -
JAN 15 '91 13:14 MISSOURI-WASH_DCTON,D.C. OFFICE
P.7
3. A national energy policy that will assure the long-term availability
of adequate energy supplies, including domestic resources, and
increase the efficiency of energy use.
4. A new long-term national transportation policy, beginning with the
reauthorization of the surface transportation program in 1991.
5. A new national program for waste management and clean water that
relies on state leadership.
6. A long-term strategy for investment in human resources, worker
training, education, infrastructure, and research and development.
A more effective partnership is essential, both to maintain critical services
during the recession and to make the long-term investments necessary for our
nation's continued growth and well-being. We as Governors stand ready to work
on a bipartisan basis to create and implement this new blueprint. We ask
Congress and the Administration to join with us and share our commitment to
this new federal-state compact.
- 5 -
3
not stand. Think of unprecedented United Nations solidarity --
and unprecedented unity at home. We're not going it alone -- but
believe me, we are going to see it through. //
Tonight, let me thank you for your support of what is right,
and decent. And let us raise our glasses:
--
To the partnership between this White House and every
State House in the Nation;
-- To what, together, we can do for our generation and
those to come;
--
And to the finest soldiers, sailors, airmen, and
Marines any Nation ever had, this prayer: May God bring them
back, and soon.
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2
Think of health care -- where Booth Gardner has been a
pioneer. Sir, your colleagues and your Nation are profoundly
grateful. And education -- our most enduring legacy -- vital to
everything we are and can become. Daniel Webster once said,
"Mind is the great leveler of all things." Our educational
partnership will help America produce the children -- not orphans
-- of a new enlightment. / /
In education and other domestic issues, we are all
Republicans -- all Democrats. Let others talk of special
interests. Our only interest is America's. // That is also true
abroad -- and nowhere more than in the Persian Gulf. So let me
close by noting how, as James Polk once said, "This war will
continue to be prosecuted with vigor, as the best means of
securing peace." //
ae
400
Each Governor is the peacetime commander-in-chief of the
state's national guard -- with virtually every state's Guard now
serving in the Gulf. None of us wanted war. Yet we are
determined to seize from battle the real peace that can create a
new world order. I cannot tell you how long we will remain in
the Gulf. I can tell you: We will stay just as long -- and only
as long -- as it takes to complete our mission. //
Right now -- half a world away -- our young men and women -
- pride of our nation -- are showing that America would not be
the land of the free if it were not also the home of the brave.
// I salute your standing up for them at home and abroad --
showing that we will not waver -- and Saddam's aggression will
(Smith/Grossman)
January 29, 1991
8 A.M.
GOV
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: GOVERNORS TOAST
EAST ROOM
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1991
7:00 P.M.
Vice-President and Mrs. Quayle. Members of the Cabinet --
especially your ex-colleagues Secretary Alexander and Secretary
Martinez. Governors and their spouses. Friends. This marks the
third State Dinner we have had together -- and including the
Charlottesville Summit, the fourth time we have met. //
It is always wonderful to see Chairman Booth Gardner. That
goes, too, for the -- unbelievably -- 22 new faces in one of
America's most distinguished clubs. / It is a pleasure to
welcome all of you to the White House. //
( (One of those new faces, Pete Wilson, may remember how
California was still a Spanish colony when Alexis de Tocqueville
asked a local politician to define the role of Governor. He
received this answer: "The Governor counts for absolutely
nothing and is paid \only twelve hundred dollars.
I'm sure you'd agree that Governors' salaries are still
inadequate. But in 1991, the office of Governor counts for
absolutely everything. // Here is where the action is for
localities across America. Here you have forged a special
relationship with this Administration to help people help
themselves. //
'91-01-29 12:43 DOUG GAMBLE
-1
DOUG GAMBLE
91 JAN 29 424 36th
- Place
Beach, CA 90266
Jan. 29/91
(213) 546-6409
TO: CHRISTINA MARTIN
GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE (Curt Smith)
I KEEP HEARING TALK ABOUT THE "ELITE REPUBLICAN GUARD." I ALWAYS THOUGHT
THE ELITE REPUBLICAN GUARD WAS JOHN SUNUNU.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY NIGHTS WHEN I'VE GONE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT WITH A LITTLE
VOICE IN MY HEAD SAYING "GOVERNORS ARE GREAT, GOVERNORS ARE VITAL, GOVERNORS
ARE VISIONARY." I HAVE TO FIND OUT HOW SUNUNU KEEPS SLIPPING INTO THE FAMILY
QUARTERS.
1 ASKED JIM BAKER IF HE HAD ANY MEETINGS COMING UP WITH ANY STRONGMEN,
POTENTATES OR GRAND HIGH EXALTED RULERS. HE SAID "I'M SEEING JOHN SUNUNU
TOMORROW."
THE 50 GOVERNORS: NEW FACES
Democrats will hold 28 governorships, one fewer than they held before, and the
Republicans will hold 20, a loss of one, as a result of the Nov. 6 elections.
Alaska's Walter J. Hickel and Connecticut's Lowell P. Weicker Jr. are indepen-
dents. Here are the 50 postelection governors. The names of the new governors
are in boldface.
STATE
GOVERNOR
PARTY
Alabama
Guy Hunt
R
Alaska
Walter J. Hickel
I
Arizona
J. Fife Symington III
R
Arkansas
Bill Clinton
D
California
Pete Wilson
R
Colorado
Roy Romer
D
Connecticut
Lowell P. Weicker Jr.
I
Delaware
Michael N. Castle
R
Florida
Lawton Chiles
D
Georgia
Zell Miller
D
means
Hawaii
John D. Waihee III
D
Idaho
Cecil D. Andrus
D
Hinois
Jim Edgar
R
Indiana
Evan Bayh
D
Iowa
Terry Branstad
R
Kansas
Joan M. Finney
D
Kentucky
Wallace G. Wilkinson
D
Louisiana
Buddy Roemer
D
Maine
John R. McKernan Jr.
R
Maryland
William Donald Schaefer
D
Massachusetts
William Weld
R
Michigan
John Engler
R
Minnesota
Arne Carlson
R
Mississippi
Ray Mabus
D
Missouri
John D. Ashcroft
R
Montana
Stan Stephens
R
Nebraska
E. Benjamin Nelson
D
Nevada
Robert J. Miller
D
New Hampshire
Judd Gregg
R
New Jersey
James J. Florio
D
New Mexico
Bruce King
D
New York
Mario M. Cuomo
D
North Carolina
James G. Martin
R
North Dakota
George Sinner
D
Ohio
George V. Voinovich
R
Oklahoma
David Walters
D
Oregon
Barbara Roberts
D
Pennsylvania
Robert P. Casey
D
Rhode Island
Bruce Sundlun
D
South Carolina
Carroll A. Campbell Jr.
R
South Dakota
George S. Mickelson
R
Tennessee
Ned R. McWherter
D
Texas
Ann W. Richards
D
Utah
Norman H. Bangerter
R
Vermont
Richard A. Snelling
R
Virginia
L. Douglas Wilder
D
Washington
Booth Gardner
D
West Virginia
Gaston Caperton
D
Wisconsin
Tommy G. Thompson
R
Wyoming
Michael J. Sullivan
D
*subject to runoff election
II
74th
Contact Sheet
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Nations Governoris Baxt 2/3/91
1
heah Zeaccagnino, intergovernmental 7170
DINNER (GOVERNORS OF THE STATES & TERRITORIES)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1991 - 7:00 PM - EAST ENTRANCE - (bt)
AA THE PRESIDENT & MRS. BUSH
AA The Vice President & Mrs. Quayle
AA Hon. & Mrs. Lamar Alexander (Honey)
Secretary-designate of Education
AA The Secretary of State & Mrs. Baker (Susan)
AA The Secretary of the Treasury & Mrs. Brady (Katherine)
AA The Secretary of Defense & Hon. (Dr.) Lynne V. Cheney
AA The Secretary of Veterans Affairs & Mrs. Derwinski (Bonnie)
AA The Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Mrs. Kemp (Joanne)
AA The Secretary of the Interior & Mrs. Lujan (Jean)
-- Hon. Lynn Martin & Judge Harry Leinenweber
Secretary-designate of Labor
RR The Secretary of Commerce & Mrs. Mosbacher (Georgette)
AA The Secretary of Transportation & Mrs. Skinner (Honey)
-- The Secretary of Health & Human Services & Mrs. Sullivan (Ginger)
RR The Attorney General & Mrs. Thornburgh (Ginny)
AR The Secretary of Energy & Mrs. Watkins (Sheila)
AA The Secretary of Agriculture & Mrs. Yeutter (Jeanne)
-- Hon. & Mrs. Richard G. Darman (Kathleen)
Director, OMB
-- Hon. Carla A. Hills & Hon. Roderick M. Hills
United States Trade Representative
AA
Hon. (Dr.) & Mrs. Michael J. Boskin (Christien)
Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers
AA Hon. & Mrs. William K. Reilly (Libbie)
Administrator, EPA
AA
Hon. & Mrs. Robert Martinez (Mary Jane)
Director-designate, National Drug Control Policy
-
Hon. (Miss) Debra Rae Anderson
Deputy Assistant to the President & Director, Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs
AA Hon. & Mrs. Andrew H. Card, Jr. (Kathleene)
Assistant to the President & Deputy to the Chief of Staff
AA Hon. David F. Demarest, Jr. & Ms. Sarah Tinsley
Assistant to the President for Communications
AA
Hon. & Mrs. George O. "Lanny" Griffith, Jr. (Susan)
Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental
Affairs
-- Hon. (Dr.) & Mrs. Roger B. Porter (Ann)
Assistant to the President for Economic & Domestic Policy
A
Hon. (Gen.) Brent Scowcroft
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
AA
Hon. (Gov.) & Mrs. John H. Sununu (Nancy)
Chief of Staff to the President
DINNER (GOVERNORS OF THE STATES & TERRITORIES)
PAGE 2
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1991 - 7:00 PM - EAST ENTRANCE - (bt)
The Governor of Guam & Mrs. Joseph Ada (Roseanne)
AA
The Governor of Idaho & Mrs. Cecil D. Andrus (Carol)
AA
The Governor of Missouri & Mrs. John Ashcroft (Janet)
AA
Hon. Norman H. Bangerter & daughter, Mrs. Ann Gayheart
Governor of Utah
(Mrs. Bangerter regrets)
:
The Governor of Indiana & Mrs. Evan Bayh III (Susan)
AA
The Governor of Iowa & Mrs. Terry E. Branstad (Christine)
AA
The Governor of South Carolina & Mrs. Carroll A. Campbell (Iris)
AA
Hon. Gaston Caperton & Ms. Rachel Worby
Governor of West Virginia
--
The Governor of Minnesota & Mrs. Arne Carlson (Susan)
--
The Governor of Pennsylvania & Mrs. Robert P. Casey (Ellen Theresa)
-
Hon. Michael N. Castle, Governor of Delaware
The Governor of Florida & Mrs. Lawton Chiles (Rhea)
AA
The Governor of Arkansas & Mrs. Bill Clinton (Hilary)
The Governor of American Samoa & Mrs. Peter Tali Coleman (Nora)
RR
The Governor of New York & Mrs. Mario M. Cuomo (Matilda)
--
The Governor of Illinois & Mrs. James Edgar (Brenda)
--
The Governor of Michigan & Mrs. John Engler (Michelle)
-
Hon. Alexander A. Farrelly, Governor of the Virgin Islands
:
Hon. Joan M. Finney, Governor of Kansas & Mr. Spencer Finney
AA
The Governor of New Jersey & Mrs. James J. Florio (Lucinda)
The Governor of Washington & Mrs. Booth Gardner (Jean)
AA
The Governor of New Hampshire & Mrs. Judd Gregg (Kathy)
:
The Governor of Northern Mariana Islands
& Mrs. Lorenzo I. Guerrero (Matilda)
AA
The Governor of Puerto Rico & Mrs. Rafael Hernandez-Colon (Lila)
--
The Governor of Alaska & Mrs. Walter J. Hickel (Ermalee)
AA
The Governor of Alabama & Mrs. Harold Guy Hunt (Helen)
--
The Governor of New Mexico & Mrs. Bruce King (Alice)
AA
The Governor of Mississippi & Mrs. Ray Mabus (Julie)
AA
The Governor of North Carolina & Mrs. James G. Martin (Dorothy)
AA
Hon. John R. McKernan, Governor of Maine
& Hon. Olympia J. Snowe (US Rep/R/Maine)
-
Hon. Ned Ray McWherter, Governor of Tennessee
AA
The Governor of South Dakota & Mrs. George S. Mickelson (Linda)
The Governor of Nevada & Mrs. Robert J. Miller (Sandy)
The Governor of Georgia & Mrs. Zell Miller (Shirley)
-
Hon. Rose Mofford, Governor of Arizona
The Governor of Nebraska & Mrs. E. Benjamin Nelson (Diane)
-
Hon. Anne W. Richards, Governor of Texas
Hon. Barbara Roberts, Governor of Oregon & Mr. Frank Roberts
:
The Governor of Louisiana & Mrs. Buddy Roemer (Patti)
The Governor of Colorado & Mrs. Roy R. Romer (Bea)
-
Hon. W. Donald Schaefer, Governor of Maryland
The Governor of North Dakota & Mrs. George Sinner (Jane)
The Governor of Vermont & Mrs. Richard A. Snelling (Barbara)
AA
Hon. Stanley G. Stephens, & daughter, Mrs. Alana Gillen
Governor of Montana
(Mrs. Stephens regrets)
AA
The Governor of Wyoming & Mrs. Michael Sullivan (Jane)
DINNER (GOVERNORS OF THE STATES & TERRITORIES)
PAGE 2
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1991 - 7:00 PM - EAST ENTRANCE - (bt)
The Governor of Rhode Island & Mrs. Bruce Sundlun (Marjorie)
AR The Governor of Wisconsin & Mrs. Tommy G. Thompson (Sue Ann)
The Governor of Ohio & Mrs. George V. Voinovich (Janet)
The Governor of Hawaii & Mrs. John Waihee (Lynne)
The Governor of Oklahoma & Mrs. David Walters (Rhonda)
The Governor of Connecticut & Mrs. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (Claudia)
The Governor of Massachusetts & Mrs. William Weld (Susan)
AA Hon. L. Douglas Wilder & son, Mr. Larry Wilder
Governor of Virginia
AA
The Governor of Kentucky & Mrs. Wallace Wilkinson (Martha)
The Governor of California & Mrs. Pete Wilson (Gayle)
AA
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Scheppach (Terry)
Executive Director, National Governors Association
(Smith/Garmey)
October 31, 1990
3 P.M.
PETE
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WILSON FUNDRAISER
SAN BERNADINO VALLEY
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1990
Governor Deukmejian, Senator Wilson. And it's always great
to see Frank Visco, our State party chairman. // Pete, thank
you for that kind introduction. And let me say what a pleasure
it is to return to California. // Again. // ((Some say I've
spent more time on the road here than Charles Kuralt. )) //
((It's great to see the current and future Governors of
California. / I say that with the knowledge that having the
three of us here at the same time is more charisma than most
audiences can stand. )) //
((Most of all, I'm glad to be back with you. What a
reception I had at the airport. Red carpet. 21-gun salute. //
Signs saying "Welcome back" and "We love you." When I went down
the stairs I told someone I was surprised by the big greeting. /
He said, "Not as surprised as we are -- we expected Barbara. "))
Let there be no confusion about why I'm here. To support a
a good friend -- a great Mayor of San Diego -- our superb U.S.
Senator. Pete Wilson. // The - calls him, " " / The
I
calls him " ." / What do I plan on calling Pete? Come next
January, I think I'll just call him Governor. 11
((You know, California was still a Spanish colony when
Alexis de Tocqueville asked a local politician to define the role
2
of Governor. He received this answer: "The Governor counts for
absolutely nothing and is paid only twelve hundred dollars. )) //
Compare with that today: In 1990, the office of Governor of
California counts for absolutely everything. //
First, the next Governor will count politically. // Only
Pete Wilson can stop Democratic gerrymandering -- sanctioned by a
Democratic Governor -- from making a mockery of the Democratic
process. //
Here's another way the next Governor will matter. He can
shape policies that ensure a better life for all. // Maybe
you've heard the song titled, "A New York State of Mind. " // On
Election Day, we can support a California State of Mind that
encourages growth, opportunity, and prosperity -- yes, GOP! //
All his life, that's what Pete Wilson has done. In
education, he has tried to empower parents to choose their
children's school. He's right. / In crime, he's tried to
empower the peace forces against the criminal forces. Right on.
/ In clean air, he believes that to keep our environment green,
we don't have to make our economy black and blue. // Pete's
opponent adores the special interests. // Pete and I believe:
The only thing that counts is America's interest. //
Never has this philosophical Great Divide been more evident
than during the last few weeks. I refer to the sorry spectacle
known as the United States Congress. // Yes, Virginia, America
finally has a Federal budget. But even Ripley would not believe
what we had to endure to get that budget passed. //
3
All of you know the history of these budget negotiations.
For most of the past year, our Administration has worked to
produce a serious response to a serious deficit -- grappling not
only with the budget, but a self-serving Congress. //
For eight months, this Democrat Congress acted like a 78
record played at 33. // For eight months, it postured. Debated.
Bellowed. Stalled. // If Congress were a play, it would have
closed before New Haven. Congress hasn't been doing the people's
business. It's been giving the business to the people. Now
Pete's opponent wants to give the business to every Californian.
Part of Congress' problem is institutional. Think of it --
20,000 staff members and a Rubik's Cube of committees. Too
often, serving liberals who pander to pressure groups. // When I
was little, I read a book titled, "Far From The Madding Crowd."
Today, Congress is the Madding Crowd. //
A second fact makes the crisis even worse: Congress' left-
wing philosophy perpetuated by nearly 40 years of one-party rule.
// Because Congress has been unaccountable, Congress has become
irresponsible -- sort of reminds me of the song from the musical
Oklahoma, "I'm just a girl who can't say no." // The problem is
a Congress addicted to "Tax and spend." I have a solution.
Let's change the budget process -- by changing the Congress, too.
Three days from now, let's remember who gave us the charade
we call a budget process. Who? You know who. Liberal
Democrats. // And recall who fought so hard for budget reform -
- for built-in enforcement rules. Yes, Republicans. //
4
Republicans helped us achieve the first five-year curb on
spending ever. And ensured over $350 billion in spending cuts -
- the largest cut in history. // Republicans helped me reduce
the deficit by nearly $500 billion. Held the line against those
who would cripple our national defense. Finally, who was it that
helped me keep Congress from raising income tax rates on working
Americans? Right again -- Republicans. We need more Pete Wilsons
to help government serve people -- not the other way around. //
I know our budget agreement's not perfect. Here's its good
news. The agreement will help bring interest rates down in
California --- helping you buy that new car or home. // It will
help build more new businesses -- and that means more new jobs.
// The bad news it's not the best budget possible -- but ask
Pete: It's the best we could get with this Democrat Congress. //
If spending were an art form, this Congress would be the
Michaelangelo of its age. We have to elect Republicans who will
help break liberals' tax and spend addiction once and for all. //
Let me give some examples of what I'm talking about -- all
taken from this Democratic budget. // All of you, of course,
have heard about the half million dollars allocated to renovate
Lawrence Welk's birthplace. Now I have nothing against the
esteemed Mr. Welk. // Barbara tells me often wake up chanting,
"A one and a two. " // But this boondoggle shows why America is
fed up with a Congress that feeds at the trough. //
Here's another example: Recently, Congress voted itself a
pay raise that now puts them in the very tax bracket that --
5
under the new budget -- is set to decrease by two percent.
Congress believes in more pay and lower taxes -- but only when it
comes to them. 11 Want more? Try the $375,000 for a facelift of
the House beauty parlor -- or $250,000 to study the best
placement for T.V. lights on the Senate floor. // America knows
who arranged these cosmetic changes. Who? You know who.
Liberal Democrats. // But it's going to take more than a beauty
parlor facelight and a change in lighting to hide the ugly truth
from the American people. //
I could go on. Could tell you about the quarter of a
million dollars appropriated for studies to improve the texture
of sweet potatoes -- or the $40,000 to study how long it takes to
cook breakfast eggs. // I know this -- takes longer for me than
Barbara. // I could tell you about the 182 "commemorative" bills
Congress has asked me for one thing or another. The Democrats
gave me "National Asparagus Month" -but they stalled for almost
a year before passing a farm bill. // They gave me "The Year of
Clean Water" -- but delayed for months before finally passing a
clean air bill. // [[If all this sounds unpalatable, don't
worry -- the Democratic Congress also declared National Digestive
Disease Awareness Month. ]] //
Now, I have nothing against clean water, or asparagus. 11
Broccoli's another matter. // But Americans deserve more than a
government that measures progress made by dollars spent. So in
closing, here's how starting Tuesday, we can empower individuals
-- not bureaucracies. And help Pete Wilson and I build a
6
government where progress made is measured in people helped and
dreams achieved. // Sounds like a definition of California. //
On Election Day, let's vote for candidates who support the
line-item veto -- the same one that 43 Governors like Pete Wilson
will use to balance their budget. // Let's also back men and
women who support a Federal balanced budget amendment. // Next,
let's support initiatives on the ballot to limit terms of our
State officials. Unlike his opponent, Pete wants a Sacramento
where ideas take root -- not politicians. Let's prove Tuesday the
answer to political abuse of power is the power of the people. //
Finally, this Tuesday let's support those candidates who
understand the people's values and concerns. Candidates like
Pete Wilson. // ( (Pete knows that it will cost money to help
California prosper. So do I. // When I was here last , the
demonstrators who got up and shouted at me paid a thousand
dollars to get into the room. Even free speech isn't free.) ) //
Yet Pete knows that only standing for the general against the
special interests can achieve a Better Deal for all. //
For instance, look at quotas. Pete supported my recent veto
of the so-called Civil Rights Bill. He knows the way to end
discrimination against some Americans is not to begin it against
others. 11 Look at the environment. Pete wrote the first
Coastal Protection Act before the environmental movement ever
began. He was an architect of our comprehensive Clean Air
legislation that the Congress finally passed last week. //
Here's more on how Pete Wilson will act for all Californians.
7
Education -- where the Governor plays a special role. Democrats
think we can keep America No. 1 by throwing money at the problem.
Pete supports our Administration's Educational Excellence Act --
demanding more accountability -- higher standards -- and more
parental choice in where your kids go to school. // Or crime -
- where all the Democrat Congress has done is to make the streets
of America safer -- safer for muggers, safer for killers, safer
for the most barbaric elements of society. //
Last week, after 17 months of delay, the Democrats finally
passed a crime bill -- a tough bill -- then proceded to weaken
it, out of sight, in a backroom. The mutilation was itself a
mugging -- a legislative crime that could only take place behind
closed doors. // What a difference more Pete Wilsons would have
made. You know his record: The son of a police offier -- his
dad was a police officer who died so that others might live.
Who's responsible for gutting our crime bill? You know who?
Liberal Democrats. They sympathize with criminals. We support
the police. Let's elect Pete Wilson here -- and Republicans
across the country. Together, we'll pass a Crime Bill that gives
cop-killers the kind of punishment they deserve.
Pete Wilson understands the California State of Mind.
That's why as Mayor of San Diego, he balanced 11 straight
budgets. And why -- the day after a recent emergency
appendectomy -- Pete made it to the Senate floor to cast a tie-
breaking vote to reduce the Federal deficit. // He knows that
Californians want lower spending -- not higher taxes. So he has
4
was little, I read a book titled, "Far From The Madding Crowd."
Today, Congress is the Madding Crowd. //
A second fact makes the crisis even worse: Congress' left-
wing philosophy perpetuated by nearly 40 years of one-party rule.
// Because Congress has been unaccountable, Congress has become
irresponsible -- sort of reminds me of the song from the broadway
musical Oklahoma, "I'm just a girl who can't say no. // The
problem is a Congress addicted to "Tax and spend." I have a
solution. Let's change the budget process -- by changing the
Congress, too. //
Three days from now, let's remember who gave us the charade
we call a budget process. The Democrats. // And who fought so
hard for budget reform -- for built-in enforcement rules. Yes,
Republicans. // Republicans helped us achieve the first five-
year curb on spending ever. And ensured over $350 billion in
spending cuts -- the largest cut in history. // Republicans
helped me reduce the deficit by $500 billion. Hold the line
against the ultra-liberals who would cripple our national
defense. Finally, who was it that helped me keep Congress from
raising income tax rates on working Americans? Right again --
Republicans. We need more Pete Wilsons to help government serve
the people -- not the other way around. //
I know our budget agreement's imperfect. Here's its good
news. The agreement will help bring interest rates down in
California -- helping you buy that new car or home. // It will
help build more new businesses -- and that means more new jobs.
5
// It's not the best budget possible -- but ask Pete: It's the
best we could get with this Democrat Congress. // If spending
were an art form, this Congress would be the Michaelangelo of its
age. We have to elect Republicans who will help break liberals'
tax and spend addiction once and for all. 11
Let me give some examples of what I'm talking about -- all
taken from this Democratic budget. // All of you, of course,
have heard about the half million dollars allocated to renovate
Lawrence Welk's birthplace. Now I have nothing against the
esteemed Mr. Welk. // Barbara tells me often wake up chanting,
"A one and a two. " // But it seems to me this boondoggle shows
not merely that Democrats are in control of Congress. Worse,
those Democrats are out of control. //
Here is another example of why next Tuesday, America will
say: We're fed up with a Congress that feeds at the trough. //
Recently, Congress voted itself a pay raise that now puts them in
the very tax bracket that -- under the new budget -- is set to
decrease by two percent. Congress believes in more pay and lower
taxes -- but only when it comes to them. // Want more? Try the
$375,000 for a facelift of the House beauty parlor -- or $250,000
to study the best placement for T.V. lights on the Senate floor.
// These are cosmetic changes, all smoke and mirrors. But it's
going to take more than a beauty parlor facelight and a change in
lighting to hide the ugly truth from the American people. //
I could go on. Could tell you about the quarter of a
million dollars appropriated for studies to improve the texture
THE PRESIDENT'S EDUCATION SUMMIT WITH GOVERNORS
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
September 27 - 28, 1989
Joint Statement
The President and the nation's Governors agree that a better
educated citizenry is the key to the continued growth and
prosperity of the United States. Education has historically been
and should remain, a state responsibility and a local function,
which works best when there is also strong parental involvement
in the schools. And, as a Nation we must have an educated
workforce, second to none, in order to succeed in an increasingly
competitive world economy.
Education has always been important, but never this important
because the stakes have changed: Our competitors for opportunity
are also working to educate their people. As they continue to
improve, they make the future a moving target. We believe that
the time has come, for the first time in U.S. history, to
establish clear, national performance goals, goals that will make
us internationally competitive.
The President and the nation's Governors have agreed at this
summit to:
--
establish a process for setting national education goals;
--
seek greater flexibility and enhanced accountability in the
use of Federal resources to meet the goals, through both
regulatory and legislative changes;
:
undertake a major state-by-state effort to restructure our
education system; and
--
report annually on progress in achieving our goals.
This agreement represents the first step in a long-term
commitment to reorient the education system and to marshal
widespread support for the needed reforms.
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
The first step in restructuring our education system is to build
a broad-based consensus around a defined set of national
education goals. The National Governors' Association Task Force
on Education will work with the President's designees to
recommend goals to the President and the Nation's Governors. The
process to develop the goals will involve teachers, parents,
local school administrators, school board members, elected
officials, business and labor communities, and the public at
large. The overriding objective is to develop an ambitious,
realistic, set of performance goals that reflect the views of
those with a stake in the performance of our education system.
To succeed we need a common understanding and a common mission.
National goals will allow us to plan effectively, to set
priorities, and to establish clear lines of accountability and
authority. These goals will lead to the development of detailed
strategies that will allow us to meet these objectives.
The process for establishing these goals should be completed and
the goals announced in early 1990.
By performance we mean goals that will, if achieved, guarantee
that we are internationally competitive, such as goals related
to:
the readiness of children to start school;
the performance of students on international achievement
tests, especially in math and science;
the reduction of the dropout rate and improvement of
academic performance, especially among at-risk students;
the functional literacy of adult Americans;
the level of training necessary to guarantee a competitive
workforce;
the supply of qualified teachers and up-to-date technology;
and
the establishment of safe, disciplined, and drug-free
schools.
THE FEDERAL/STATE PARTNERSHIP
Flexibility and Accountability
The President and the Governors are committed to achieving the
maximum return possible from our investment in the Nation's
education system. We define maximum return as the following:
significant and sustained educational improvement for all
children. Nothing less will meet the Nation's needs for a
strong, competitive workforce; nothing less will meet our
children's needs for successful citizenship and economic
opportunity.
Federal funds, which represent only a small part of total
education spending, are directed particularly toward services for
young people most at risk. Federal laws and regulations control
where and for whom states and localities spend this money. State
and local laws and regulations control what is taught, and how,
for all students.
At present, neither Federal nor State and local laws and
regulations focus sufficiently on results, or on real educational
improvement for all children. Federal and State executives need
authority to waive statutory and regulatory provisions in return
for greater accountability for results.
The President and the Governors have agreed:
to examine Federal regulations under current law and to move
in the direction of greater flexibility;
to take parallel steps in each state with respect to State
laws and administrative rules.
to submit legislation to Congress early next year that would
provide State and local recipients greater flexibility in
the use of Federal funds, in return for firm commitments to
improved levels of education and skill training.
The President and the Governors have agreed to establish a
working group of Governors and the President's designees to begin
work immediately to accomplish these tasks.
We know that other voices need to be heard in this discussion --
voices of educators, parents, and those whose primary interest is
the protection of the disadvantaged, minorities, and the
handicapped. We need to work with the Congress. The processes
we will set up immediately following this conference will involve
all parties.
The urgent need for flexibility in using Federal funds can best
be illustrated by a few examples.
First, the Federal Vocational Education Act, which mandates
specific set-asides that often result in individual awards that
are too small to be meaningful and that prohibit the money from
being spent to achieve its purpose. One state reported being
required to divide $300,000 in aid among far too many categories
and set-asides.
Second, similarly, the Chapter 1 program requires that equipment
purchased to provide remedial education services cannot be used
for non-Chapter 1 institutions in areas such as adult education.
Several States report that large numbers of computers purchased
by Federal funds are idle at night, while adult education classes
that need them either do without or use scarce tax dollars to buy
other equipment.
Third, the requirements that children who benefit from Federal
funds for compensatory and special education be taught separately
often undermines their achievement. Waivers that permit these
students to return to regular classes and receive extra help have
produced large increases in their test scores. This option
should be available for all school districts.
These commitments are historic steps toward ensuring that young
people with the greatest needs receive the best our schools and
training programs can give them, and that all children reach
their highest educational potential.
In a phrase, we want to swap red tape for results.
The Federal Government's Financial Role
State and local Governments provide more than 90 percent of
education funding. They should continue to bear that lion's
share of the load. The Federal financial role is limited and has
even declined, but it is still important. That role is:
to promote National education equity by helping our poor
children get off to a good start in school, giving
disadvantaged and handicapped children extra help to assist
them in their school years, ensuring accessibility to a
college education, and preparing the workforce for jobs;
and second, to provide research and development for programs
that work, good information on the real performance of
students, schools, and states, and assistance in replicating
successful state and local initiatives all across the United
States;
We understand the limits imposed on new spending by the Federal
deficit and the budget process. However, we urge that priority
for any further funding increases be given to prepare young
children to succeed in school. This is consistent with the
President's recommendation for an increase in the number of
children served by Head Start in this year's budget. If we are
ever to develop a system that ensures that our children are
healthy and succeed in school, the Federal Government will have
to play a leading role.
Further, we urge that the Congress not impose new Federal
mandates that are unrelated to children, but that require States
to spend state tax money that could otherwise go to education.
COMMITMENT TO RESTRUCTURING
Virtually every State has substantially increased its investment
in education, increased standards, and improved learning. Real
gains have occurred. However, we still have a long way to go.
We must make dramatic improvements in our education system. This
cannot be done without a genuine, National, Bipartisan commitment
to excellence and without a willingness to dramatically alter our
system of education.
The President and the Nation's Governors agree that significant
steps must be taken to restructure education in all states. We
share the view that simply more of the same will not achieve the
results we need. We must find ways to deploy the resources we
commit to education more effectively.
A similar process has been going on in American manufacturing
industry over the last decade with astonishing results: An
increase in productivity of nearly 4 percent a year.
There are many promising new ideas and strategies for
restructuring education. These include greater choice for
parents and students, greater authority and accountability for
teachers and principles, alternative certification programs for
teachers, and programs that systematically reward excellence and
performance. Most successful restructuring efforts seem to have
certain common characteristics.
a system of accountability that focuses on results, rather
than on compliance with rules and regulations;
decentralization of authority and decision-making
responsibility to the school site, so that educators are
empowered to determine the means for achieving the goals and
to be held accountable for accomplishing them;
a rigorous program of instruction designed to ensure that
every child can acquire the knowledge and skills required in
an economy in which our citizens must be able to think for a
living;
an education system that develops first-rate teachers and
creates a professional environment that provides real
rewards for success with students, real consequences for
failure, and the tools and flexibility required to get the
job done; and
active, sustained parental and business community
involvement.
Restructuring efforts are now underway in many states. The
Nation's Governors are committed to a major restructuring effort
in every state. The Governors will give this task high priority
and will report on their progress in one year.
ASSURING ACCOUNTABILITY
As elected chief executives, we expect to be held accountable for
progress in meeting the new National goals and we expect to hold
other accountable as well.
When goals are set and strategies for achieving them are adopted,
we must establish clear measures of performance and then issue
annual Report Cards on the progress of students, schools, the
states, and the Federal Government.
Over the last few days we have humbly walked in the footsteps of
Thomas Jefferson. We have started down a promising path. We
have entered into a compact -- a Jeffersonian compact to
enlighten our children and the children of generations to come.
The time for rhetoric is past; the time for performance is now.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Charlottesville, Virginia)
For Immediate Release
September 28, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT,
GOVERNOR GERALD BALILES, GOVERNOR TERRY BRANSTAD
AND SECRETARY LAURO CAVAZOS
DURING UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION
The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
11:56 A.M. EDT
GOVERNOR BALILES: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen,
as you may have noticed during the course of this unprecedented
education summit, Virginia law and tradition oblige us to publicly
envoke the name of Thomas Jefferson at least once or twice an hour.
(Laughter and applause.) There are worse habits.
Mr. President, it has been an interesting -- sometimes
provocative -- gathering. You asked the governors to be candid, and
I think we've fulfilled that request -- perhaps beyond your fondest
hopes. (Laughter.) I would also say, however, that you gave as good
as you got. But these are times for candor and outspoken
self-examination. These are times for us to open our eyes and our
minds and face the facts. The world has changed more than we
sometimes would prefer. The challenges, both internally and
externally, are profound and difficult. And, frankly, we have not
made it easy for ourselves.
Within the last decade, immense federal budget deficits
have accumulated with resulting declines in domestic spending,
including education. We need not assign blame, but we ought to
acknowledge that the federal budget situation has left the states
increasingly on their own to address not only education, but also
health care, transportation, law enforcement and other pressing
concerns.
Indeed, the federal budget deficits have been the
backdrop to the education summit stage. The federal deficits confine
our flexibility, limit our options, and explain our shared reluctance
to discuss financial resources. To be sure, in recent years the
states have stepped into the breach. Imaginative and innovative
programs have been created and funded by governors and state
legislators determined not to let the red ink in Washington inhibit
the potential of our people in their enterprise.
But has it been enough? Has the renaissance of state
governments yielded a renewed competitive America? The evidence says
no. Indeed, it may be said of the American federal system of
government that the whole remains less than the sum of the parts.
Education is one example, but not the only one. In other words, if
we are to take on education as a nation, we had better get all the
parts in accord and pulling together. And you, Mr. President, have
taken a valuable and important step in that direction.
Up to this point, Mr. Jefferson's preference for
locally-administered education has prevailed. We will not depart
from that model entirely. States and localities will continue to
provide more than 90 percent of the funding and the preponderance of
the direction and supervision.
- 2 -
And yet, there is a federal role to be more clearly
defined, supported and sustained. In response to international
economic competition, a consensus has emerged for an American
national resolve. The Jeffersonian belief that education is the
first, best hope for our Republic's enduring success has not
diminished. We have simply discovered that, as the times change, so
must our ideas.
That may be the finest result of this education summit
that we have begun. State and federal governments together, to think
anew our respective roles and to address education for the first time
as a nation undivided.
Mr. President, you have a loyal ally to support your
efforts in the person of the new Chairman of the National Governors
Association. It is my pleasure to introduce my friend and the
distinguished Governor of the State of Iowa, Terry Branstad.
(Applause.)
GOVERNOR BRANSTAD: Thank you, Governor Baliles. Mr.
President, First Lady Barbara Bush, members of the Cabinet, fellow
governors and their spouses, President O'Neil and Mrs. O'Neil, and
members of the University of Virginia community: It is indeed
appropriate that this education summit be held here amidst this
historic setting. On behalf of the governors and their spouses we
want to thank the faculty, administration and students for hosting us
here at this beautiful University of Virginia campus. And I hope we
haven't disrupted your class schedules too much the last couple of
days. (Laughter.)
With this historic education summit, the President and
the governors have taken an important first step in the process of
developing for the first time a national consensus for educational
goals. We are discussing some of the most critical issues facing
America today -- that is, the state of education. Our discussions
underscore the breadth and depth and the complexity of the issues
that we face. We believe that this summit can serve as a catalyst
for change and improvement in American education.
But we know that we can't do it alone. Not even the
President of the United States and the Congress, each governor and
their legislature can cause the kind of changes that we want. We
have to have the involvement of the people who are directly affected;
the people who can assure that we get results for America's children.
These are the teachers, the parents, local school
administrators and school board members. Students, business leaders,
leaders in their communities. People who care deeply about American
education. Only with the commitment of all of these people and with
their cooperation and help can we be successful in attaining the
goals that we hope to agree upon.
Governors recognize that this is a time for results. We
are working hard to achieve results in our states. Results like
better student performances on math, science and foreign language
tests; lower dropout rates and higher graduation rates; improved
adult literacy; skilled and productive workers for the jobs of the
21st century.
To get the results we want, we have to hold our education
system accountable and give educators the flexibility they need to do
their job. It is time to find new measures of performance based on
what students know and what students can do: not just the number of
classes that they complete in high school or college. It is time for
more flexibility in the use of federal dollars. And better
coordination and cooperation among all levels of government and the
different agencies of the federal government and state governments.
We need to better serve the needs of American families
and American schools.
- 3 -
On behalf of the nation's governors, we thank you, Mr.
President, for convening this historic summit, for the process that
you have started and for our opportunity to help achieve significant
goals that will get results for future generations of Americans.
And now I have the privilege of introducing the Secretary
of Education for the United States. Lauro Cavazos was appointed by
President Reagan in 1988 as U.S. Secretary of Education. He was
confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate, and before that,
he had a distinguished career as President of Texas Tech University.
And I'm pleased to say, he also has a PH.D. from Iowa State.
Lauro Cavazos, Secretary of Education. (Applause.)
SECRETARY CAVAZOS: Thank you, Governor. Thank you.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It's my distinct pleasure to be
here today as we continue this historic education summit. The
decisions we make will affect the lives of millions of children in
the United States, and it is for those children and the future of
this country that we are here.
President Bush has pledged his support for education and
the need to restructure our educational system, and it is an honor
now for me to introduce the President of the United States, George
Bush. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thank you
Secretary Cavazos. Thank you governors. Thank you, Dr. Cavazos --
Secretary Cavazos. First, my respects to all the governors here, and
I want to thank the music of that Air Force Band. Just lovely.
Thank you for your performance. (Applause.) I want to thank
Governor Baliles and Governor Branstad and so many others who had a
very special role.
I want to thank President O'Neil and Mrs. O'Neil. It was
only yesterday that I discovered that we had evicted them from the
President's house. (Laughter.) And not only did they go peacefully,
but they left me this necktie from Eljo's, which I'm sure some of you
may (Laughter.) recognize. (Applause.) You talk about Virginia hospitality.
And I also want to pay my respects to the students and
especially (Applause.) to the distinguished faculty of this great institution.
And for Barbara and me it's a delight to be back in
Charlottesville. Imagine this -- you have a President, the Cabinet,
America's governors all visiting your school. And the big man on the
campus -- still Sean Moore. (Laughter and applause.) But, you see,
we're somewhat familiar. Our son Marvin and our daughter-in-law
Margaret, having gone here, both advising me to be humble while I'm
at U. Hall. You see, they told me you only do the wave for Ralph
Sampson. (Laughter.)
Now, it's easy to keep your perspective and be humble at
a school so rich in history and in educational endeavor. And I've
also been deeply impressed by the commitment, the creativity and the
knowledge that my fellow chief executives bring here to this
education reform agenda. In our meetings yesterday, I learned
exactly how much you care about the children of your states and the
future. And in short, I came to Charlottesville with high
expectations, and I've got to say, you have exceeded them.
So the spirit of our summit is not: "Who will get the
credit?" The spirit of this summit is: "How can we get results?"
We are here to put progress before partisanship, the future before
the moment, and our children before ourselves.
I've heard eloquent advice from many of you, and from so
many others, in the last few weeks. And I've listened, and I am
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deeply appreciative of all that I have learned.
But I've also learned that we should listen to our
children. And they have much to tell us. In many ways, they are the
luckiest generation in history. Just last month, our children
observed, in the clarity of Voyager's sight, the horizons of new
worlds, the majesty of space. And think what these images would have
meant to the ever-curious founder of this univerity, who could only
look through a primitive telescope at faint patches of light and
wonder.
But our children are growing up in an age where wonder is
commonplace, peace and prosperity often taken for granted. And our
children are also the beneficiaries of a nation that lavishes
unsurpassed resources on their schooling. So in many ways, we're
close to fulfilling the Enlightenment dream of universal education, a
dream that became a reality in the shadows of the Shenandoahs here at
Mr. Jefferson's school.
And every step we take at this university is truly a walk
in Thomas Jefferson's footsteps. When he first charted the ground on
which we gather today, there was just a field of grass, a horizon
limited only by the Blue Mountains beyond. But Jefferson surveyed a
horizon that no one else could see. He saw the graceful dome of the
Rotunda, the elegance of the Lawn and its pavilions. He saw meeting
rooms and libraries and lecture halls teeming with professors,
students yet unborn.
Jefferson set out to fashion his rarified vision into
solid reality, brick by brick, book by book. And it is his
University -- and his dream -- that inspires us today to follow in
his footsteps.
As President O'Neil said, Thomas Jefferson, our first
education president, was a relentless advocate for universal public
education. "He had a fundmental conviction that on the good sense of
an educated citizenry, we could build and defend a country of liberty
and justice.
I borrowed those words -- this assessment -- from a
friend of mine -- another Renaissance man of our time -- the late
Bartlett Giamatti.
Like Jefferson, his life was a metaphor for civility and
public service. And it is this commitment to public service that we
must carry on. so let us make this an education society.
We have already come close to this Jeffersonian ideal.
Our educational system is, in many ways, unrivaled in its scale and
its diversity; in its commitment to meeting special needs and
individual differences. And we're inspired by our best teachers, who
give more than we can rightly expect; and from our best students, who
surpass our highest expectations.
And yet, after two centuries of progress, we are
stagnant. While millions of Americans read for pleasure, millions of
others don't read at all. And while millions go to college, millions
may never graduate from high school.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress estimates
that fewer than one in four of our high school juniors can write an
adequate, persuasive letter. And only half can manage decimals,
fractions and percentages. And barely one in three can locate the
Civil War in the correct half-century. No modern nation can long
afford to allow so many of its sons and daughters to emerge into
adulthood ignorant and unskilled. The status quo is a guarantee of
mediocrity, social decay and national decline.
Education is our most enduring legacy, vital to
everything that we are and can become. And come the next century
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just 10 years away -- what will we be? Will we be the children of
the enlightenment, or its orphans?
Six years ago, the Committee on Excellence in Education
issued its powerful report; and yet today, our nation is still at
risk. The educational reform movement has done well in articulating
its criticisms. And now it is time to define goals. This is the
time for action.
I sent my proposals for federal action in education to
Congress last spring, including an increase in funding for Head
Start. The Educational Excellence Act of 1989 includes ways to
reshape and expand federal efforts, to recognize excellence, lift the
needy, foster flexibility and choice, and measure and reward
progress. I remain solidly committed to these principles and I value
your advice and ideas as we continue to refine the federal role.
Some offer a completely different answer -- spend more
money alone. And at the federal level, we have asked Congress to
provide nearly a half a billion dollars in new funding for 10 worthy
programs. Your states may also choose to spend more. But to those
who say that money alone is the answer, I say that there is no one
answer. If anything, hard experience teaches that we are simply not
getting our money's worth in education. Our focus must no longer be
on resources. It must be on results.
And this is only the third time in our 200 years as a
nation that a President has called a summit with the governors. And
I've called you together because you bear the constitutional
responsibility for education. And I didn't ask you to such an
historic occasion merely to bemoan what is wrong. We are here to
work; and work together; to once again make an American education the
best in the world (Applause.) And let me say to the governors
before this majestic audience, these sessions have been informative
and thoughtful and very useful to me. And I appreciate the obvious
extensive preparations that the governors have undertaken in the days
and weeks leading up to this summit. The governors have emphasized
to me the need for national performance goals and the importance of
greater flexibility in the use of federal funds, while accepting
enhanced accountability for the results.
And they've also stressed the high priority that helping
prepare preschool children should have in federal spending even in
time of fiscal constraint.
And finally, the governors have articulated eloquently
the need to restructure our education system. You already are
consulting with state legislators to better our schools. Our
teachers already are giving their heart and soul to their jobs. But
we've never before worked together -- President and principal,
governor and teacher -- to achieve results in education.
A social compact begins today in Charlottesville,
Virginia -- a compact between parents, teachers, principals,
superintendents, state legislators, governors and the administration.
Our compact is founded not on promises, but on challenges -- each one
a radical departure from tradition.
I hope that you will join me, to define national goals in
education for the first time. From this day forward, let us be an
America of tougher standards, of higher goals and a land of bigger
dreams. (Applause.)
Our goals must be national, not federal. That's why I
welcome the initiatives of the National Governors Association, from
the Time for Results report in 1986, to the goal-setting project
recently begun under the leadership of Iowa's Terry Branstad, South
Carolina's Carroll Campbell, Washington's Booth Gardner, Bill Clinton
of Arkansas. And my administration will work with you to build on
the National Assessment Program's first state-by-state achievement
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results. We will work with you to formulate national goals. And
then we're going to challenge superintendents and principals to meet
these higher goals.
In return, I accept your challenge and will work with you
to loosen the grip of federal restrictions. How many great ideas,
how many grand and noble experiments, have been impaled on the narrow
spike of a federal directive? Unnecessary restriction is the enemy
of the bold. And bold action is what we need most of all.
(Applause.)
I ask Congress to allow Washington to be more flexible by
passing reform legislation. And I ask you, in turn, to ease state
restrictions on local bodies. And then we'll judge our efforts not
by our intentions, but by our results.
So to get results, we need national goals and more
flexibility from federal and state government. To get results, we
will need a new spirit of competition between students, between
teachers and between schools -- a report card for all. And to get
results, we will need discipline, structure and goals.
And yet I do not counsel a naive nostalgia, some tame
adherence to the past. Business as usual is not getting us where we
need to go. So when hallowed tradition proves to be hollow
convention, then we must shatter tradition. The polls show what
every PTA board member already knows -- the American people are ready
for radical reforms. We must not disappoint them. (Applause.)
For myself, I envision tradition-shattering reform in
five areas.
First, I see the day when every student is literate. But
literacy should mean more than the "three Rs." We must be a reading
nation. We must grapple with the hard sciences. And because
education is as spiritual as it is practical, our children must know
why Americans died at Bunker Hill, at Gettysburg and at Monte
Cassino. And they must do more than identify names on a multiple
choice question. They must understand the generosity of Andrew
Carnegie and the genius of Alexander Graham Bell and the heroism of
Rosa Parks.
Some youngsters will naturally take longer than others.
And some will need more study and extra instruction. But we should
never send a student from school to school just because he or she has
passed an arbitrary birthday. (Applause.)
Second, I see a day when our educational system will be
unafraid of diversity. of course, all schools in a state will share
a core curriculum and minimum standards of achievement. But the
means by which that curriculum is taught and those goals met should
be as diverse and varied as America itself. Let them blend, in
myriad ways, the traditional and the modern, the human and the
technological. Let us give our schools and our teachers the freedom
to do what they do best.
Children also differ -- in their interests and learning
styles and capabilities. And so, third, I see the day when choice
among schools will be the norm rather than the exception --
(applause) -- when parents will be full partners in the education of
their children.
Too many parents have come to see education as a service
we can hand over to the school boards, in much the same way we expect
our cities to provide electricity or water. But education is not a
utility, not something to be delegated. Education is a way of life.
And educational reform is an urgent responsibility for every parent,
every student, every community. And those who do not advance the
cause of education hinder it. Parents, students and professional
educators must be accountable to one another as a community.
- 7 -
But to be accountable, we need to know just how much
progress we're making. So, fourth, I see the day when we use
accurate assessments, carefully linked to our educational goals. We
need to first know where we are. And this means accepting the bad
news along with the good. We've always measured our progress against
our past performance. We must now evaluate ourselves on a tougher
grading curve -- one that includes the other major industrial
nations. (Applause.)
And accountability also means we must act on what we
discover. Weak performance in the classroom or the principal's
office will no longer be tolerated. But neither will indifference
towards good educators. Society has no greater benefactors than
outstanding teachers and principals. (Applause.) And so, let them
have their day in the sun, get what they deserve -- generous praise
and solid rewards. (Applause.)
Fifth, I see an educational system that never settles for
the minimum, in academics or in behavior. Decades of research bear
out what the best teachers already know -- when standard and
expectations are high, everyone does better. And this includes both
the unusually gifted and those with special needs and disabilities.
But it must also include the student we too often forget, the average
student. (Applause.) All you guys with C's, I want to hear it from
you. (Applause.) For I do believe that with a little care and a
little work we can unleash within each of these so-called ordinary
kids an extraordinary potential.
This same potential can be found within every
disadvantged child, those from troubled neighborhoods, children for
whom our schools must be a beacon of excellence, a sanctuary from
violence, a model of good character, sound values, exemplary ethics.
Let no child in America be forgotten or forsaken. (Applause.)
Some of our reforms and experiments are sure to come up
short. But for too many of our schools, experimentation is
preferable to the status quo, because the status quo could scarcely
be worse. The worthy and the useful will win out only if we give our
schools the freedom that they need.
And such freedom will not lead to a quick and easy
solution. It's the work of years. And we've taken such a long-term
view in our meetings over the last couple of days.
We've discussed the need for educational reform in terms
of our national competitiveness -- you heard Governor Baliles refer
to that just a minute ago. But I'm sure you agree that there is more
to learning than just our trade balance or the graying of our work
force; it is broader than the important, but narrow, compass of
economics and government.
A scholar once wrote that great books are not lifeless
paper, but minds alive on the shelves. And he observed that just as
the touch of a button on a stereo will fill a room with music, so by
taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into
range the voice of a man far distant in time and space and hear him
speak, mind to mind, heart to heart.
As a nation, we can again hear these voices, feel this
enchantment -- every time a parent reads a bedtime story to a sleepy
child; every time a young scholar turns to the great books. The day
must (Applause.) come when every young American can know the life of the mind.
I might say parenthetically that is why my wife, Barbara,
for many years, has devoted a lot of her time to making this country
more literate. (Applause.)
In essence, that is why we've gathered here at Mr.
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Jefferson's school. He was just one man, but look at what one man
can do. Imagine what we can do, if we -- more than 50 strong -- are
united by this great cause. So let us dream. And let us talk. And
if need be, let us argue. But in the end, let us walk together on a
journey to enlightenment, in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication. God bless
you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END
12:28 P.M. EDT
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Remarks at the University of Virginia Convocation in
Charlottesville
25 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1458
September 28, 1989
LENGTH: 4045 words
Governor Baliles. Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, as you may have noticed
during the course of this unprecedented education summit, Virginia law and
tradition oblige us to publicly invoke the name of Thomas Jefferson at least
once or twice an hour. [Laughter] There are worse habits.
Mr. President, it has been an interesting, sometimes provocative, gathering.
You asked the Governors to be candid, and I think we've fulfilled that request
-- perhaps beyond your fondest hopes. [Laughter] I would also say, however,
that you gave as good as you got. But these are times for candor and outspoken
self-examination. These are times for us to open our eyes and our minds and
face the facts. The world has changed more than we sometimes would prefer. The
challenges, both internally and externally, are profound and difficult. And,
frankly, we have not made it easy for ourselves.
With the last decade, immense Federal budget deficits have accumulated with
resulting declines in domestic spending, including education. We need not
assign blame, but we ought to acknowledge that the Federal budget situation has
left the States increasingly on their own to address not only education, but
also health care, transportation, law enforcement, and other pressing concerns.
Indeed, the Federal budget deficits have been the backdrop of the education
summit stage. The Federal deficits confine our flexibility, limit our options,
and explain our shared reluctance to discuss financial resources. To be sure,
in recent years the States have stepped into the breach. Imaginative and
innovative programs have been created and funded by Governors and State
legislators determined not to let the red ink in Washington inhibit the
potential of our people in their enterprise.
But has it been enough? Has the renaissance of State governments yielded a
renewed competitive America? The evidence says no. Indeed, it may be said of
the American Federal system of government that the whole remains less than the
sum of the parts. Education is one example, but not the only one. In other
words, if we are to take on education as a nation, we had better get all the
parts in accord and pulling together. And you, Mr. President, have taken a
valuable and important step in that direction.
Up to this point, Mr. Jefferson's preference for locally administered
education has prevailed. We will not depart from that model entirely. States
and localities will continue to provide more than 90 percent of the funding and
the preponderance of the direction and supervision.
And yet, there is a Federal role to be more clearly defined, supported, and
sustained. In response to international economic competition, a consensus has
emerged for an American national resolve. The Jeffersonain belief that
education is the first, best hope for our Republic's enduring success has not
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diminished. We have simply discovered that, as the times change, so must our
ideas. That may be the finest result of this education summit: that we have
begun, State and Federal governments together, to think anew our respective
roles and to address education for the first time as a nation undivided.
Mr. President, you have a loyal ally to support your efforts in the person of
the new Chairman of the National Governors Association. It is my pleasure to
introduce my friend and the distinguished Governor of the State of Iowa, Terry
Bradstad.
Governor Bradstad. Thank you, Governor Baliles. Mr. President, First Lady
Barbara Bush, members of the Cabinet, fellow Governors and their spouses,
President[University of Virginial O'Neil an Mrs. O'Neil, and members of the
University of Virginia community: It is indeed appropriate that this education
summit be held here admist this historic setting. On behalf of the Governors
and their spouses we want to thank the faculty, administration, and students for
hosting us here at this beautiful University of Virginia campus. And I hope we
haven't disrupted your class schedules too much the last couple of days.
[Laughter]
With this historic education summit, the President and the Governors have
taken an important first step in the process of developing for the first time a
national consensus for educational goals. We are discussing some of the most
critical issues facing America today -- that is, the state of education. Our
discussions underscore the breadth and depth and the complexity of the issues
that we face. We believe that this summit can serve as a catalyst for change
and improvement in American education.
But we know that WE can't do it alone. Not even the President of the United
States and the Congress, each Governor and their legislature can cause the kind
of changes that WE want. We have to have the involvement of the people who are
directly affected; the people who can assure that we get results for America's
children. These are the teachers, the parents, local school administrators and
school board members. Students, business leaders, leaders in their communities.
People who care deeply about American education. Only with the commitment of
all of these people and with their cooperation and help can we be successful in
attaining the goals that we hope to agree upon.
Governors realize that this is a time for results. We are working hard to
achieve results in our States -- results like better student performances on
math, science, and foreign language tests; lower dropout rates and higher
graduation rates; improved adult literacy; skilled and productive workers for
the jobs of the 21st century.
To get the results we want, we have to hold our education system accountable
and give educators the flexibility they need to do their job. It is time to
find new measures of performance based on what students know and what students
can do, not just the number of classes that they complete in high school or
college. It is time for more flexibility in the use of Federal dollars, and
better coordination and cooperation among all levels of government and the
different agencies of the Federal Government and State governments. We need to
better serve the needs of American families and American schools.
On behalf of the nation's Governors, we thank you, Mr. President, for
convening this historic summit, for the process that you have started and for
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our opportunity to help achieve significant goals that will get results for
future generations of Americans.
And now I have the privilege of introducing the Secretary of Education for
the United States. Lauro Cavazos was appointed by President Reagan in 1988 as
U.S. Secretary of Education. He was confirmed unanimously by the United States
Senate, and before that, he had a distinguished career as president of Texas
Tech University. And I'm pleased to say, he also has a Ph.D. from Iowa State.
Lauro Cavazos, Secretary of Education.
Secretary Cavazos. Thank you, Governor. Thank you. Thank you, ladies and
gentlemen. It's my distinct pleasure to be here today as we continue this
historic education summit. The decisions we make will affect the lives of
millions of children in the United States, and it is for those children and the
future of this country that we are here. President Bush has pledged his support
for education and system, and it is an honor now for me to introduce the
President of the United States, George Bush.
The President. Thank you all very much. Thank you, Secretary Cavazos.
Thank you, Governors. Thank you, Dr. Cavazos -- Secretary Cavazos. First, my
response to all the Governors here, and I want to thank -- the music of that Air
Force Band, just lovely. Thank you for your performance. I want to thank
Governor Baliles and Governor Branstad and 50 many others who had a very special
role. I want to thank President O'Neil and Mrs. O'Neil. It was only yesterday
that I discovered that he had evicted them for the president's house.
[Laughter] And not only did they go peacefully, but they left me this necktie
from Eljo's, which I'm sure some of you may recognize. You talk about Virginia
hospitality. [Laughter] And I also want to pay my respects to the students and
especially to the distinguished faculty for this great institution.
And for Barbara and me it's a delight to be back in Charlottesville.
Imagine this: You have a President, the Cabinet, America's Governors all
visiting your school. And the big man on the campus -- still Sean
Moore. [Laughter] But, you see, we're somewhat familiar -- our son Marvin and our
daughter-in-law Margaret, have gone here, both advising me to be humble while
I'm at U. Hall. You see, they told me you only do the wave for Ralph Sampson.
[Laughter]
Now, it's easy to keep your perspective and be humble at a school 50 rich in
history and in educational endeavor. And I've also been deeply impressed by the
commitment, the creativity, and the knowledge that my fellow chief executives
bring here to this education reform agenda. In our meetings yesterday, I
learned exactly how much you care about the children of your States and the
future. And in short, I came to Charlottesville with high expectations, and
I've got to say, you have exceeded them. So the spirit of our summit is not:
"Who will get the credit?" The spirit of this summit is: "How can we get
results?" We are here to put progress before partisanship, the future before the
moment, and our children before ourselves.
I've heard eloquent advice from many of you, and from so many others, in the
last few weeks. And I've listened, and I am deeply appreciative of all that I
have learned. But I've also learned that we should listen to our children. And
they have much to tell us. In many ways, they are the luckiest generation in
history. Just last month, our children observed, in the clarity of Voyager's
sight, the horizons of new worlds, the majesty of space. And think what these
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images would have meant to the ever-curious founder of this university, who
could only look through a primitive telescope at faint patches of light and
wonder.
But our children are growing up in an age where wonder is commonplace. And
our children are also the beneficiaries of a nation that lavishes unsurpassed
resources on their schooling. So in many ways, we're close to fulfilling the
Enlightenment dream of universal education, a dream that became a reality in the
shadows of the Shenandoahs here at Mr. Jefferson's school. And every step we
take at this university is truly a walk in Thomas Jefferson's footsteps. When
he first charted the ground on which we gather today, there was just a field of
grass, a horizon limited only by the blue mountains beyond. But Jefferson
surveyed a horizon that no one else could see. He saw the graceful dome of the
Rotunda, the elegance of the Lawn and its pavilions. He saw meeting rooms and
libraries and lecture halls teeming with professors, students yet unborn.
Jefferson set out to fashion his rarified vision into solid reality, brick by
brick, book by book. And it is his university, and his dream, that inspires us
today to follow in his footsteps. As President O'Neil said, Thomas Jefferson,
our first education president, was a relentless advocate for universal public
education. "He had a fundamental conviction that on the good sense of an
educated citizenry, we could build and defend a country of liberty and justice."
I borrowed those words -- this assessment -- from a friend of mine, another
Renaissance man of our time, the late Bartlett Giamatti. Like Jefferson, his
life was a metaphor for civility and public service. And it is this commitment
to public service that we must carry on. So, let us make this an educational
society.
We have already come close to this Jeffersonian ideal. Our educational
system is, in many ways, unrivaled in its scale and its diversity, in.its
commitment to meeting special needs and individual differences. And we're
inspired by our best teachers, who give more than we can rightly expect; and
from our best students, who surpass our highest expectations. And yet, after
two centuries of progress, we are stagnant. While millions of Americans read
for pleasure, million of others don't read at all. And while millions go to
college, millions may never graduate from high school.
The national Assessment of Educational Progress estimates that fewer than one
in four of our high school juniors can write an adequate, persuasive letter.
And only half can manage decimals, fractions, and percentages. And barely one
in three can locate the Civil War in the correct half-century. No modern nation
can long afford to allow SO many of its sons and daughters to emerge into
adulthood ignorant and unskilled. The status quo is a guarantee of mediocrity,
social decay, and national decline.
Education is our most enduring legacy, vital to everything that we are and
can become. And come the next century, just 10 years away, what will we be?
Will we be the children of the Enlightenment, or its orphans?
Six years ago, the Committee on Excellence in Education issued its powerful
report; and yet today, our nation is still at risk. The educational reform
movement has done well in articulating its criticisms. And now it is time to
define goals. This is the time for action. I sent my proposals for Federal
action in education to Congress last spring, including an increase in funding
for Head Start. The Educational Excellence Act of 1989 includes ways to
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reshape and expand Federal efforts, to recognize excellence, lift the needy,
foster flexibility and choice, and measure and reward progress. I remain
solidly committed to these principles and I value your advice and ideas as we
continue to refine the Federal role.
Some offer a completely different answer: spend more money alone. And at the
Federal level, we have asked Congress to provide nearly a half a billion dollars
in new funding for 10 worthy programs. Your States may also choose to spend
more. But to those who say that money alone is the answer, I say that there is
no one answer. If anything, hard experience teaches that we are simply not
getting our money's worth in education. Our focus must no longer be on
resources. It must be on results.
And this is only the third time in our 200 years as a nation that a President
has called a summit with the Governors. And I've called you together because
you bear the constitutional responsibility for education. And I didn't ask you
to such an historic occasion merely to bemoan what is wrong. We are here to
work; and work together, to once again make an American education the best in
the world. And let me say to the Governors before this majestic audience, these
sessions have been informative and thoughtful and very useful to me. And I
appreciate the obvious extensive preparations that the Governors have undertaken
in the days and weeks leading up to this summit. The Governors have emphasized
to me the need for national performance goals and the importance of greater
flexibility in the use of Federal funds, while accepting enhanced accountability
for the results. And they've also stressed the high priority that helping
prepare preschool children should have in Federal spending even in time of
fiscal constraint.
And finally, the Governors have articulated eloquently the need to
restructure our education system. You already are consulting with State
legislators to better our schools. Our teachers already are giving their heart
and soul to their jobs. But we've never before worked together -- President and
principal, Governor and teacher -- to achieve results in education.
A social compact begins today in Charlottesville, Virginia -- a compact
between parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, State legislators,
Governors and the administration. Our compact is founded out on promises, but
on challenges -- each one a radical departure from tradition. I hope that you
will join me to define national goals in education for the first time. From
this day forward, let us be an America of tougher standards, of higher goals,
and a land of bigger dreams.
Our goals must be national, not Federal. That's why I welcome the
initiatives of the National Governors' Association, from the Time for Results
report in 1986 to the goal-setting project recently begun under the leadership
of Iowa's Terry Branstad, South Carolina's Carroll Campbell, Washington's Booth
Gardner, Bill Clinton of Arkansas. And my administration will work with you to
build on the National Assessement Program's first State by State achievement
results. We will work with you to formulate national goals. And then we're
going to challenge superintendents and principals to meet these higher goals.
In return, I accept your challenge and will work with you to loosen the grip of
Federal restrictions. How many great ideas, how many grand and noble
experiments, have been impaled on the narrow spike of a Federal directive?
Unnecessary restriction is the enemy of the bold. And bold action is what we
need most of all.
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I ask Congress to allow Washington to be more flexible by passing reform
legislation. And I ask you, in turn, to ease State restrictions on local
bodies. And then we'll judge our efforts not by our intentions, but by our
results. So, to get results, we need national goals and more flexibility from
Federal and State government. To get results, we will need a new spirit of
competition between students, between teachers, and between schools -- a report
card for all. And to get results, we will need discipline, structure, and
goals.
And yet, I do not counsel a naive nostalgia, some tame adherence to the past.
Business as usual is not getting us where we need to go. So when hallowed
tradition proves to be hollow convention, then we must shatter tradition. The
polls show what every PTA board member already knows -- the American people are
ready for radical reforms. We must not disappoint them.
For myself, I envision tradition-shattering reform in five areas.
First, I see the day when every student is literate. But literacy should
mean more than the "three R's." We must be a reading nation. We must grapple
with the hard sciences. And because education is as spiritual as it is
practical, our children must know why Americans died at Bunker Hill, at
Gettysburg, and at Monte Cassino. And they must do more than identify names on
a multiple choice question. They must understand the generosity of Andrew
Carnegie and the genius of Alexander Graham Bell and the heroism of Rosa Parks.
Some youngsters will naturally take longer than others. And some will need more
study and extra instruction. But we should never send a student from school to
school just because he or she has passed an arbitrary birthday.
Second, I 522 a day when our educational system will be unafraid of
diversity. Of course, all schools in a State will share a core curriculum and
minimum standards of achievement. But the means by which that curriculum is
taught and those goals met should be as diverse and varied as America itself.
Let them blend, in myriad ways, the traditional and the modern, the human and
the technological. Let us give our schools and our teachers the freedom to do
what they do best.
Children also differ in their interests and learning styles and capabilities.
And so, third, I see the day when choice among schools will be the norm rather
than the exception, when parents will be full partners in the education of their
children. Too many parents have come to see education as a service we can hand
over to the school boards, in much the same way we expect our cities to provide
electricity or water. But education is not a utility, not something to be
delegated. Education is a way of life. And educational reform is an urgent
responsibility for every parent, every student, every community. And those who
do not advance the cause of education hinder it. Parents, students, and
professional educators must be accountable to one another as a community.
But to be accountable, we need to know just how much progress we're making.
So, fourth, I see the day when we use accurate assessments, carefully linked to
our educational goals. We need to first know where WE are. And this means
accepting the bad news along with the good. We've always measured our progress
against our past performance. We must now evaluate ourselves on a tougher
grading curve -- one that includes the other major industrial nations. And
accountability also means we must act on what we discover. Weak performance in
the classroom or the principal's office will no longer be tolerated. But
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neither will indifference towards good educators. Society has no greater
benefactors than outstanding teachers and principals. And so, let them have
their day in the sun, get what they deserve -- generous praise and solid
rewards.
Fifth, I see an educational system that never settles for the minimum, in
academics or in behavior. Decades of research bear out what the best teachers
already know: when standard and expectations are high, everyone does better.
And this includes both the unusually gifted and those with special needs and
disabilities. But it must also include the student we too often forget, the
average student. All you guys with C's, I want to hear it from you. For I do
believe that with a little care and a little work we can unleash within each of
these so-called ordinary kids an extraordinary potential. This same potential
can be found within every disadvantaged child, those from troubled
neighborhoods, children for whom our schools must be a beacon of excellence, a
sanctuary from violence, a model of good character, sound values, exemplary
ethics. Let no child in America be forgotten or forsaken.
Some of our reforms and experiments are sure to come up short. But for too
many of our schools, experimentation is preferable to the status quo, because
the status quo could scarcely be worse. The worthy and the useful will win out
only if we give our schools the freedom that they need. And such freedom will
not lead to a quick and easy solution. It's the work of years. And we've taken
such a long-term view in our meetings over the last couple of days.
We've discussed the need for educational reform in terms of our national
competitiveness -- you hear Governor Baliles refer to that just a minute ago.
But I'm sure you agree that there is more to learning than just our trade
balance or the graying of our work force; it is broader than the important, but
narrow, compass of economies and government. A scholar once wrote that great
books are not lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. And he observed
that just as the touch of a button on a stereo will fill a room with music, so
by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the
voice of a man far distant in time and space and hear him speak, mind to mind,
heart to heart.
As a nation, we can again hear these voices, feel this enchantment, every
time a parent reads a bedtime story to a sleepy child, every time a young
scholar turns to the great books. The day must come when every young American
can know the life of the mind. I might say parenthetically that is why my wife,
Barbara, for many years has devoted a lot of her time to making this country
more literate.
In essence, that is why we've gathered here at Mr. Jefferson's school. He
was just one man, but look at what one man can do. Imagine what we can do, if
we -- more than 50 strong -- are united by this great cause. So let us dream.
And let us talk. And if need be, let us argue. But in the end, let us walk
together on a journey to enlightenment, in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication. God bless you. And God bless the
United States of America.
Note: The President spoke at 11:56 a.m. at the University Hall. In his
remarks, he referred to University of Virginia football player Sean Moore,
former University of Virginia basketball player Ralph Sampson, and former
baseball commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti.
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4TH DOCUMENT of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Remarks at the Education Summit Farewell Ceremony in
Charlottesville, Virginia
25 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1463
September 28, 1989
LENGTH: 1785 words
Secretary Cavazos. Thank you very much. The past two days have been busy for
all of us, but the enthusiasm has come to this meeting, discussions have borne
our knowledge that we are doing vital and important work and that the results of
our decisions will have an impact far beyond what we can imagine. We've made
history at this education summit and I know that we will continue to make
history in every State and every school across America.
It is an honor now to introduce the President of the United States, George
Bush.
The President. Thank you very much. My role is simply now, at the end of
what I think we all agree was a very successful conference, to again thank the
University of Virginia -- students, its faculty, its president -- to thank all
of the Governors. I want to single out those on the platform with me now.
Governor Branstad, who is head of the Governors' Association; Governor
Carruthers; Governor Booth Gardner of the State of Washington; and of course
Bill Clinton, who looks a little tired, but took on an extra responsibility for
hammering out a statement upon which there is strong agreement.
And we've reached agreement on the need for national performance goals; on
the need for more flexibility and accountability; the need for structuring and
choice, and I agree with Governor Clinton that this is a major step forward in
education, the need for letting parents, teachers, students, and communities -
to encourage them to work together more and more; and the need for more Federal
support for the prekindergarten education process normally identified with Head
Start, but certainly other programs might fit that description.
But I want to thank each and every one of the Governors and their families.
This has been historic, and I pledge to you my determination to follow up in
every way possible. We just cannot let it sit here and end here, and I promise
you that I won't, that my Cabinet won't, and that our entire administration will
not. So, with no further ado, to all the Governors here, my heartfelt thanks.
Governor Branstad. Mr. President, on behalf of the National Governors'
Association, we thank you for calling us together in this very historic summit
on education. I want to thank all of the Governors that participated. We have
better attendance than we even do at the National Governors' annual meetings.
There were open and frank discussions. A very significant agreement has been
reached. This year, the National Governors' Association has an agenda that
calls for building a consensus for change to address some of the critical issues
facing the United States of America -- the issues of education and the
environment.
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And in the last 2 days here, we have made significant progress towards
building that national consensus with the leadership of the President and the
Governors. In the area of setting national education goals, we unanimously
agree that there is a need for the first time in this nation's history to have
specific results-oriented goals. And we're talking about roles in the area of
readiness of children to start school; in the area of performance of students in
international achievement tests in the areas of math and science; in the
reduction of the dropout rate and the improvement of academic performance,
especially for at-risk children; in the functional literacy of adult Americans;
in the level of training necessary to guarantee a competitive work force; in the
supply of qualified teachers with up-to-date technology; and the establishment
of safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools.
We recognize the need for both flexibility to State governments and to local
school districts; but coupled with that, accountability for outcome-related
results. I think significant progress has been made. We have committed to work
together. The National Governors' Association Task Force on Education and the
people designated by the President to make specific goals and to reach those
goals hopefully by the February meeting of the National Governors' Association
in the Nation's Capital.
It's a beautiful day in Charlottesville, Virginia. I'm proud that the
President has invited us to be here. We appreciate the great hospitality of
this great State and this great university, and I'm pleased to introduce my Vice
Chairman for the National Governors' Association, the Governor of the State of
Washington, Governor Booth Gardner, to talk about some of the other goals that
have been spelled out in this joint statement. Governor Gardner.
Governor Gardner. The report goes further, and I think one of the reasons
that we're all 50 excited about the results of the last two days are that the
report addresses the financial role of the Federal Government in education,
albeit in a limited role, but an extremely important role. And the
understanding is that the money that becomes available will be applied to the
issue of early childhood education and Head Start and preparing young people for
the day that they enter school that they will be on a parred and equity basis
with other children and they're ready and able to perform.
And we also discussed and agreed that we have to continue to look at mandates
from the Federal Government to make sure that those mandates do not impinge on
the State's ability to provide its discretionary funds for education. Then we
have a very exciting statement on the commitment to restructuring. The
President and the Nation's governments have agreed that significant steps must
be made in restructuring education in all States; a system of accountability
that focuses on results rather than input; a decentralized authority and
decision-making responsibility to the school site; empowerment to the principals
and the teachers to carry out their mandates and citing challenges to face us in
this country; and an educational system that develops first-rate teachers and
supports those teachers with the technology, staff and services that are
necessary to allow them to be productive.
And lastly, we want to compliment the Secretary of Education and the
President on agreeing that we will have a report card and that we will measure
the schools, the State, and the Federal Government year by year to make sure
that we remain committed to the agreements that we have reached in the past two
days and the goals that will come out of the process for the next few months
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that we hope to agree on in February or March.
In the past few days, the President, his Cabinet, Secretary of Education, the
Governors and their staff have humbly walked the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson.
We started down a promising path, and we have composed a Jeffersonian compact --
the beneficiaries of which will be the children of this country. The children
of this country today represent 25 percent of our population. Tomorrow, they
are 100 percent of that population. With that, I'd like to introduce the
Governor of New Mexico and the Chairman of the Educational Commission of the
States, Garrey Carruthers.
Governor Carruthers. Thank you very much, Booth. We came to talk about
sharing the responsibility for success, and we've done that. And to have
success we need to have a vision, much higher expectations, and the President of
the United States gave one of the finest speeches I've ever heard on education
today at the convocation at the University of Virginia.
And it is from that speech and the work that we have to do afterwards that
will develop the vision of education in this country. But I think also we came
to talk about empowering people, and we talked a lot about empowering. We're
going to empower parents by encouraging choice; we're going to empower teachers
by letting them take over the classrooms again; we're going to empower those
educational entrepreneurs that exist in all our communities by deregulating the
educational system.
We need to empower the kids by making sure that before they're 5 years old
they've been properly taken care of in every way, particularly with health. And
we need to empower the private sector by inviting them into the school systems
and getting their assistance and mentoring programs and the financial assistance
they've always been willing to give us. And then we need to empower all
Americans very simply by having them join us in developing a set of national
goals. It has been a wonderful conference and now I'd like to introduce you to
Governor Bill Clinton who's one of the prime forces in developing this
conference, the summit, with the President of the United States.
Governor Clinton. Thank you very much, Governor Carruthers, Mr. President,
ladies and gentlemen. This is a rather emotional moment for me. For one thing,
I didn't get much sleep last night. We were up working on this statement.
I want to thank Governor Campbell, who is not here, and Governor Branstad,
who is, and all of the others who worked on this statement from the National
Governors' Association -- [Chief of Staff] John Sununu and [Assistant to the
President for Domestic and Economic Affairs] Roger Porter and others from the
White House staff. And most important, Mr. President, I want to thank you for
giving us the chance, the Governors, after 7 years of hard work on educational
reform, to have a real national partnership in education.
The press will ask today, and maybe the people will when we get home, what
really happened here that makes a difference. I would say there are three
things.
This is the first time in the history of this country that we have ever
thought enough of education and ever understood its significance to our economic
future enough to commit ourselves to national performance goals. It has never
happened in over 200 years. This is the first time, ever, any group of public
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officials have ever committed themselves to a national effort to restructure the
schools of the United States -- something every educator who studied it says is
the single most significant thing we could do.
And this is the first time a President and Governors have even stood before
the American people and said, not only are we going to set national performance
goals, which are ambitious, not only are we going to develop strategies to
achieve them, but we stand here before you and tell you we expect to be held
personally accountable for the progress we make in moving this country to a
brighter future. If that doesn't make this a happy day, I don't know what does.
Thank you very much.
The President. Thank you all. Well done, Bill. You did a wonderful job.
Booth, thanks for everything.
Note: The President spoke at 3:07 p.m. on the steps of the Rotunda.
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24 January 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR CURT SMITH
FROM:
JENNIFER GROSSMAN
SUBJECT:
NATION'S GOVERNORS TOAST
I.
MEETING WITH LANNY GRIFFITH
A.
Precedents:
We've already had two state dinners with the
governors (late May '89 and late Feb. 90)
plus we had the Charlottesville Education
Summit (Sept. 27, '89) with the governors, so
this is really the fourth such meeting.
POTUS has referred to his "special
relationship" with the governors. The
summitry and the working out of joint
statements represent an unprecedented
partnership, and underscore the President's
commitment to our education goals.
B.
Audience:
I've included the guest list. At present, it
appears that the only governor who will not
attend is Cuomo (bummer). Remember, there
are 55 governors in total, so refer to them
not it number, but as "the nation's
governors." Also in attendance: the First
Lady, Vice President Quayle, Mrs. Quayle,
most of the Cabinet members, and the
governors' spouses. Governor Alexander and
Governor Martinez will attend; they are the
two new Cabinet appointees, selected out of
the ranks of the nation's governors---worth
acknowledging, governor-types get excited
about this kind of thing: you too could be a
star.
C.
Response:
National Governors' Association Chairman
Booth Gardner (D-Washington) will respond to
the President's toast. His interests and
agenda center on health care. His remarks
will probably touch on this agenda, but also
most likely mirror the President's remarks in
terms of themes.
D.
Suggested length: one page, more or less.
E.
WHERE: East Room.
F.
Three areas POTUS' remarks should touch on:
1.
Pay a brief tribute to Booth Gardner; basically what
great leadership he has provided to the NGA. Again his
agenda is health (access and reasonable cost) and I
guess it deserves a nano-mention. Two Gardner quotes:
"I can think of no better way to serve our
citizens than to propose a health care system that
can flexibly promote good health--not just cure
illness.' "
"As Governors, we have much at stake in how the
nation's health care system is restructured, and
we have much to contribute. It's important that
we participate actively in the debate and take
part in the solutions."
2.
GULF TIE-IN/NEXUS WITH GOVERNORS: Mention the National
Guard--each governor is the commander-in-chief of the
state's national guard/state militia, and all 50 states
have guard units serving in the Gulf. Mentioning the
Guard will be popular because it'll make the governors
feel important. Blah, blah, how well prepared the
Guard is to meet this challenge, blah, blah.
NOTE: There's a possibility that General Conway
will be invited to the dinner. He's the head of
the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon, and his
presence would make this tie-in all the more
appropriate.
3.
EDUCATION: We called for the governors to meet in
Charlotte for the Education Summit; we agreed to
develop national education goals; we announced these
goals in last year's State of the Union. Stress:
ongoing process--much done, much to do.
G.
In Closing
-therefore I offer this toast to all of you
-partnership, working together
--commanders-in-chief, comrades in arms, working
together to make this next century worthy of our
children, and make sure our children's education will
be worthy of the next century.
--International leadership, leadership in education.
II. EXCERPTS FROM PAST/SIMILAR SPEECHES
A.
Remarks by the President at the University of Virginia:
"So the spirit of our summit is not: 'Who will get the
credit?' The spirit of this summit is: 'How can we get
results?' We are here to put progress before
partisanship, the future before the moment, and our
children before ourselves."
" after two centuries of progress, we are stagnant.
While millions of Americans read for pleasure, millions
of others don't read at all. And while millions go to
college, millions may never graduate from high school. "
"Education is our most enduring legacy, vital to
everything that we are and can become. And come the
next century
what will we be? Will we be the
children of the enlightenment, or its orphans?"
"
this is only the third time in our 200 years as a
nation that a President has called a summit with the
governors. And I've called you together because you
bear the constitutional responsibility for education.
And I didn't ask you to such an historic occasion
merely to bemoan what is wrong. We are here to work;
and work together; to once again make an American
education the best in the world."
"A social compact begins today in Charlottesville,
Virginia--a compact between parents, teachers,
principals, superintendents, state legislators,
governors and the administration. Our compact is
founded not on promises, but on challenges--each one a
radical departure from tradition."
B.
President's Toast at the Governors' State Dinner, February
25, 1990:
"You know, I'm reminded every day about the vital work
Governors do. The genius of the Governors--the special
insight that comes from the experience of being Chief
Executive in the Statehouse. // But come to think of
it--it's always the same fellow who reminds me. //
John Sununu. "
"So tonight, let me thank you for working with me--for
the exciting start we've made, and for your commitment
to build on this beginning. And let us all raise our
glasses: To the partnership between this White House
and every State House in the nation
"
III. NATIONAL GOALS FOR EDUCATION
GOAL 1:
By the year 2000, all children in America will start
school ready to learn.
GOAL 2:
By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will
increase to at least 90 percent.
GOAL 3:
By the year 2000, American students will leave grades
four, eight and twelve having demonstrated competency
in challenging subject matter including English,
mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every
school in America will ensure that all students learn
to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for
responsible citizenship, further learning, and
productive employment in our economy.
GOAL 4:
By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the
world in science and mathematics achievement.
GOAL 5:
By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate
and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to
compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship.
GOAL 6:
By the year 2000, every school in America will be free
of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined
environment conducive to learning.
IV. QUOTES
A.
Education:
"Don't forget that education is the most important,
vital strength. You will be the leaders of our nation
soon, and you will learn about peace and liberty from
all of this. Believe in yourselves. Dreams and goals
are always yours for the taking. Take as many as you
can hold and make them reality."
-letter from Senior Airman Fernando
Casillas, Operation Desert Shield, September
18, 1990.
"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us. "
Franz Kafka, Letter to Oskar Pollak,
January 27, 1904
"Mind is the great leveler of all things."
--Daniel Webster (1825)
"Books are not lumps of lifeless paper but minds alive
on the shelves. "
--Gilbert Highet
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to
remain an artist once he grows up. "
--Pablo Picasso
"Education: A debt due from present to future
generations.
"
--Robert Maynard Hutchins
B.
Gulf:
"Americans fight joyously in a just cause."
--Harold L. Ickes (1941)
"Patriotism is just loyalty to friends, people,
families."
--Robert Santos, quoted in Al Santoli,
Everything We Had: An Oral History of the
Vietnam War by Thirty-three American Soldiers
Who Fought It, 1981.
"The war will continue to be prosecuted with vigor, as
the best means of securing peace."
--James K. Polk, 2nd Annual Message to
Congress, December 8, 1846.
"[war is a] dramatic symbol of a thousand forms of
duty. "
--Woodrow Wilson, Speech at Brooklyn, NY, May
11, 1914
" let every man stand to his post, and
let
posterity find our skeleton and armor on the spot
where duty required us to stand. "
--Millard Fillmore, Speech at Buffalo, N.Y.,
April 16, 1861.
C.
A New Federal-State Compact/Much done, much left to do:
"What we have done so far are but small building blocks
in a huge pyramid to come. "
--John H. Glenn, Jr. (1962)
"A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without
a vision is drudgery, a vision with a task is the hope
of the world."
--Inscription on a church in Sussex, England,
1730.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a
thing to be achieved."
-William Jennings Bryan, in a speech in
Washington, D.C., February 22, 1899
"A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman
thinks of the next generation."
--Attributed to James Freeman Clarke
D.
Miscellaneous Quotes:
"The good governor should have a broken leg and keep at
home. "
--Cervantes, Don Quixote. Pt. ii, ch. 34
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 26, 1990
NATIONAL GOALS FOR EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
At the historic education summit in Charlottesville five months ago, the President and the
Governors declared that, "the time has come, for the first time in U.S. history, to establish
clear, national performance goals, goals that will make us internationally competitive." The
six national education goals contained here are the first step in carrying out that commitment.
America's educational performance must be second to none in the 21st century. Education is
central to our quality of life. It is at the heart of our economic strength and security, our
creativity in the arts and letters, our invention in the sciences, and the perpetuation of our
cultural values. Education is the key to America's international competitiveness.
Today, a new standard for an educated citizenry is required, one suitable for the next century.
Our people must be as knowledgeable, as well trained, as competent, and as inventive as those
in any other nation. All of our people, not just a few, must be able to think for a living, adapt
to changing environments, and to understand the world around them. They must understand
and accept the responsibilities and obligations of citizenship. They must continually learn and
develop new skills throughout their lives.
America can meet this challenge if our society is dedicated to a renaissance in education. We
must become a nation that values education and learning. We must recognize that every child
can learn, regardless of background or disability. We must recognize that education is a
lifelong pursuit, not just an endeavor for our children.
Sweeping, fundamental changes in our education system must be made. Educators must be
given greater flexibility to devise challenging and inspiring strategies to serve the needs of a
diverse body of challenging and inspiring strategies to serve the needs of a diverse body of
students. This is especially important for students who are at risk of academic failure -- for
the failure of these students will become the failure of our nation. Achieving these changes
depends in large part on the commitment of professional educators. Their daily work must
be dedicated to creating a new educational order in which success for all students is the first
priority, and they must be held accountable for the results.
This is not the responsibility of educators alone, however. All Americans have an important
stake in the success of our education system, and every part of our society must be involved
in meeting that challenge. Parents must be more interested and involved in their children's
education, and students must accept the challenge of higher expectations for achievement and
-2-
greater responsibility for their future. In addition, communities, business and civic groups,
and state, local, and federal government each has a vital role to play throughout this decade to
ensure our success.
The first step is to establish ambitious national education goals -- performance goals that
must be achieved if the United States is to remain competitive in the world marketplace and
our citizens are to reach their fullest potential.
These goals are about excellence. Meeting them will require that the performance of our
highest achievers be boosted to levels that equal or exceed the performance of the best
students anywhere. The performance of our lowest achievers must be substantially increased
far beyond their current performance. What our best students can achieve now, our average
students must be able to achieve by the turn of the century. We must work to ensure that a
significant number of students from all races, ethnic groups, and income levels are among our
top performers.
If the United States is to maintain a strong and responsible democracy and a prosperous and
growing economy into the next century, all of our citizens must be involved in achieving
these goals. Every citizen will benefit as a result. When challenged, the American people
have always shown their determination to succeed. The challenge before us calls on each
American to help ensure our nation's future.
-3-
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
Readiness for School
GOAL 1:
By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn.
Objectives:
All disadvantaged and disabled children will have access to high-quality and
developmentally appropriate preschool programs that help prepare children for
school.
Every parent in America will be a child's first teacher and devote time each day
helping his or her preschool child learn; parents will have access to the
training and support they need.
Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school
with healthy minds and bodies, and the number of low birthweight babies will
be significantly reduced through enhanced prenatal health systems.
High School Completion
GOAL 2:
By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least
90 percent.
Objectives:
The nation must dramatically reduce its dropout rate and seventy-five percent
of those students who do drop out will successfully complete a high school
degree or its equivalent.
The gap in high school graduation rates between American students from
minority backgrounds and their non-minority counterparts will be eliminated.
Student Achievement and Citizenship
GOAL 3:
By the year 2000, American students will leave grades four, eight and
twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter
including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every
school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds
well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning,
and productive employment in our modern economy.
-4-
Objectives:
The academic performance of elementary and secondary students will increase
significantly in every quartile, and the distribution of minority students in each
level will more closely reflect the student population as a whole.
The percentage of students who demonstrate the ability to reason, solve
problems, apply knowledge, and write and communicate effectively will
increase substantially.
All students will be involved in activities that promote and demonstrate good
citizenship, community service, and personal responsibility.
The percentage of students who are competent in more than one language will
substantially increase.
All students will be knowledgeable about the diverse cultural heritage of this
nation and about the world community.
Science and Mathematics
GOAL 4:
By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science and
mathematics achievement.
Objectives:
Math and science education will be strengthened throughout the system,
especially in the early grades.
The number of teachers with a substantive background in mathematics and
science will increase by 50 percent.
The number of U.S. graduate and undergraduate students, especially women
and minorities, who complete degrees in mathematics, science, and engineering
will increase significantly.
Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
GOAL 5:
By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess
the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
-5-
Objectives:
Every major American business will be involved in strengthening the
connection between education and work.
All workers will have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills, from
basic to highly technical, needed to adapt to emerging new technologies, work
methods, and markets through public and private educational, vocational,
technical, workplace, or other programs.
The number of quality programs, including those at libraries, that are designed
to serve more effectively the needs of the growing number of part-time and
mid-career students will increase substantially.
The proportion of those qualified students, especially minorities, who enter
college; who complete at least two years; and who complete their degree
programs will increase substantially.
The proportion of college graduates who demonstrate an advanced ability to
think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems will increase
substantially.
Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools
GOAL 6:
By the year 2000, every school in America will be free of drugs and
violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
Objectives:
o
Every school will implement a firm and fair policy on use, possession, and
distribution of drugs and alcohol.
Parents, businesses, and community organizations will work together to ensure
that schools are a safe haven for all children.
o
Every school district will develop a comprehensive K-12 drug and alcohol
prevention education program. Drug and alcohol curriculum should be taught
as an integral part of health education. In addition, community-based teams
should be organized to provide students and teachers with needed support.
-6-
NECESSARY CHANGES AND RESTRUCTURING
These goals are ambitious, yet they can and must be achieved. However, they cannot be
achieved by our education system as it is presently constituted. Substantial, even radical
changes will have to be made.
Without a strong commitment and concerted effort on the part of every sector and every
citizen to improve dramatically the performance of the nation's education system and each and
every student, these goals will remain nothing more than a distant, unattainable vision. For
their part, Governors will work within their own states to develop strategies for restructuring
their education systems in order to achieve the goals. Because states differ from one another,
each state will approach this in a different manner. The President and the Governors will
work to support these state efforts, and to recommend steps that the federal government,
business, and community groups should take to help achieve these national goals. The nature
of many of these steps is already clear.
The Preschool Years
American homes must be places of learning. Parents should play an active role in their
children's early learning, particularly by reading to them on a daily basis. Parents should have
access to the support and training required to fulfill this role, especially in poor, under-
educated families.
In preparing young people to start school, both the federal and state governments have
important roles to play, especially with regard to health, nutrition, and early childhood
development. Congress and the administration have increased maternal and child health
coverage for all families with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line. Many
states go beyond this level of coverage, and more are moving in this direction. In addition,
states continue to develop more effective delivery systems for prenatal and postnatal care.
However, we still need more prevention, testing, and screening, and early identification and
treatment of learning disorders and disabilities.
The federal government should work with the states to develop and fully fund early
intervention strategies for children. All eligible children should have access to Head Start,
Chapter 1, or some other successful preschool program with strong parental involvement. Our
first priority must be to provide at least one year of preschool for all disadvantaged children.
The School Years
As steps are taken to better prepare children for schools, we must also better prepare schools
for children.
This is especially important for young children. Schools must be able to educate effectively
all children when they arrive at the schoolhouse door, regardless of variations in students'
interest, capacities, or learning styles.
-7-
Next, our public education system must be fundamentally restructured in order to ensure that
all students can meet higher standards. This means reorienting schools so they focus on
results, not on procedures; giving each school's principal and teachers the discretion to make
more decisions and the flexibility to use federal, state, and local resources in more productive,
innovative ways that improve learning; providing a way for gifted professionals who want to
teach to do so through alternative certification avenues, and giving parents more responsibility
for their children's education through magnet schools, public school choice, and other
strategies. Most important, restructuring requires creating powerful incentives for performance
and improvement, and real consequences for persistent failure. It is only by maintaining this
balance of flexibility and accountability that we can truly improve our schools.
The federal government must sustain its vital role of promoting educational equity by ensuring
access to quality educational programs for all students regardless of race, national origin, sex,
or handicapping condition. Federal funds should target those students most in need of
assistance due to economic disadvantage or risk of academic failure.
Finally, efforts to restructure education must work toward guaranteeing that all students are
engaged in rigorous programs of instruction designed to ensure that every child, regardless of
background or disability, acquires the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a
changing economy. In recent years, there has been an increased commitment to mathematics
and science improvement programs. The federal government should continue to enhance
financial assistance to state and local governments for effective programs in these areas.
Likewise, there has been a greater federal emphasis on programs that target youth at risk of
school failure and dropping out. The federal government should continue to enhance funding
and seek strategies to help states in their efforts to seek solutions to these problems.
Improving elementary and secondary student achievement will not require a national
curriculum, but it will require that the nation invest in developing the skills and knowledge of
our educators and equipping our schools with up-to-date technology. The quality of teachers
and teaching is essential to meeting our goals. We must have well-prepared teachers and we
must increase the number of qualified teachers in critical shortage areas, including rural and
urban schools, specialized fields such as foreign languages, mathematics and science, and
from minority groups. Policies must attract and keep able teachers who reflect the cultural
diversity of our nation. Policies that shape how our educators are prepared, certified,
rewarded, developed and supported on the job must be consistent with efforts to restructure
the education system and ensure that every school is capable of teaching all of our children to
think and reason. Teachers and other school leaders must not only be outstanding, the schools
in which they work must also be restructured to utilize both professional talent and technology
to improve student learning and teacher- and system-productivity.
The After-School Years
Comprehensive, well-integrated lifelong learning opportunities must be created for a world in
which three of four new jobs will require more than a high school education; workers with
only high school diplomas may face the prospect of declining incomes; and most workers will
-8-
change their jobs ten or eleven times over their lifetime.
In most states, the present system for delivering adult literacy services is fractured and
inadequate. Because the United States has far higher rates of adult functional illiteracy than
other advanced countries, a first step is to establish in each state a public-private partnership
to create a functionally literate workforce.
In some other countries, government policies and programs are carefully coordinated with
private sector activities to create effective apprenticeship and job training activities. By
contrast, the United States has a multilayered system of vocational and technical schools,
community colleges, and specific training programs funded from multiple sources and subject
to little coordination. These institutions need to be restructured so they fit together more
sensibly and effectively to give all adults access to flexible and comprehensive programs that
meet their needs. Every major business must work to provide appropriate training and
educational opportunities to prepare employees for the twenty-first century.
Finally, a larger share of our population, especially those from working class, poor, and
minority backgrounds, must be helped to attend and remain in college. The cost of a college
education, as a percentage of median family income, has approximately tripled in a genera-
tion. That means more loans, scholarships, and work-study opportunities are needed. The
federal government's role in ensuring access for qualified students is critical. At the same
time, the higher education system must use existing resources far more productively than it
does at present, and must be held more accountable for what students do or do not learn. The
federal government will continue to examine ways to reduce students' increasing debt burden
and to address the proper balance between grant and loan programs.
ASSESSMENT
National education goals will be meaningless unless progress toward meeting them is
measured accurately and adequately, and reported to the American people. Doing a good job
of assessment and reporting requires the resolution of three issues.
First, what students need to know must be defined. In some cases, there is a solid foundation
on which to build. For example, the National Council on Teachers of Mathematics and the
Mathematical Sciences Education Board have done important work in defining what all
students must know and be able to do in order to be mathematically competent. A major
effort for science has been initiated by the American Association for the Advancement of
Sciences. These efforts must be expanded and extended to other subject areas.
Second, when it is clear what students need to know, it must be determined whether they
know it. There have been a number of important efforts to improve our ability to measure
student learning at the state and national levels. This year for the first time, the National
Assessment for Education Progress (NAEP) will collect data on student performance on a
state-by-state basis for thirty-seven states. Work is underway to develop a national
assessment of adult literacy. These and other efforts must be supported and strengthened.
-9-
The Governors urge the National Assessment Governing Board to begin work to set national
performance goals in the subject areas in which NAEP will be administered. This does not
mean establishing standards for individual competence; rather, it requires determining how to
set targets for increases in the percentage of students performing at the higher levels of the
NAEP scales.
Third, measurements must be accurate, comparable, appropriate, and constructive. Placement
decisions for young children should not be made on the basis of standardized tests. Achieve-
ment tests must not simply measure minimum competencies, but also higher levels of reading,
writing, speaking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. And in comparing America's
achievement with that of other countries, it is essential that international comparisons are
reliable. In addition, appropriate, nationally-directed research, demonstration, data collection,
and innovation should be maintained and recognized as a set of core responsibilities of the
federal government in education. That role needs to be strengthened in cooperation with the
states.
The President and the Governors agree that while we do not need a new data-gathering
agency, we do need a bipartisan group to oversee the process of determining and developing
appropriate measurements and reporting on the progress toward meeting the goals. This
process should stay in existence until at least the year 2000 so that we assure ten full years of
effort toward meeting the goals.
A CHALLENGE
These national education goals are not the President's goals or the Governors' goals; they are
the nation's goals.
These education goals are the beginning, not the end, of the process. Governors are commit-
ted to working within their own states to review state education goals and performance levels
in light of these national goals. States are encouraged to adjust state goals according to this
review, and to expand upon national goals where appropriate. The President and the
Governors challenge every family, school, school district, and community to adopt these
national goals as their own, and establish other goals that reflect the particular circumstances
and challenges they face as America approaches the twenty-first century.
###
FEB 21 '90 12:38 T.J.M.F.
P.1/12
Monticello
The Home of Thomas Jefferson
P.O. Box 316
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
FAX TRANSMISSION
Date 21 Feb. 1990
Total number of pages being faxed 12, including cover sheet
TO:
Peggy Dooley, Speech Writing Office, White House
202-456-6218 FAX
FROM:
Cinder Stanton, Director of Research
804-295-1832
I'm enclosing: the remainder of the letter
Messages:
to Adams; the first page of the Bill in question, with
part of the headnote and all of the footnote; and two
sources mentioned in the headnote.
Sender Telecopier Number - (804) 977-7757
Receiver Number
202-456-6218
If there are questions or problems, please call
at
Thank you!!
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation
386
THE ADAMS-JEFFERSON LETTERS
THE ASSENT OF THE MIND
387
The Latin versions of this passage by Buchanan and by Johnston," are
P.2/12
but mediocres. But the Greek of Duport T5 is worthy of quotation.
Jefferson to Adams
Oupovov aykhivas костевп ÚTTO TOOOL 8'
AXLUS αupi HEAXIVO Xuen KXL VUE, speßevvn.
Peupos потдто XEPOUBQ wonep ЕФ' trap.
Monticello Oct. 28. 13.
"INTATO 8E TETEPUYEOU полиялауктов avenoto.
DEAR SIR
The best collection of these psalms is that of the Octagonian dissenters
of Liverpool, in their printed Form of prayer; but they are not always the
According to the reservation between us, of taking up one of the sub-
best versions. Indeed bad is the best of the English versions; not a ray of
jects of our correspondence at a time, I turn to your letters of Aug. 16. and
poetical genius having ever been employed on them. And how much de-
Sep. 2.
pends on this may be seen by comparing Brady and Tate's XVth. psalm
The passage you quote from Theognis, I think has an Ethical, rather
with Blacklock's Justum et tenacem propositi virum ["a man just and
than a political object. The whole piece is a moral exhortation,
steadfast of purpose"] of Horace, quoted in Hume's history, Car. 2. ch. 65.
and this passage particularly seems to be a reproof to man, who, while
A translation of David in this style, or in that of Pompei's Cleanthes, might
with his domestic animals he is curious to improve the race by employing
give us some idea of the merit of the original. The character too of the
always the finest male, pays no attention to the improvement of his own
poetry of these hymns is singular to us. Written in monostichs, each di-
race, but intermarries with the vicious, the ugly, or the old, for con-
vided into strophe and antistrophe, the sentiment of the 1st. member
siderations of wealth or ambition. It is in conformity with the principle
responded with amplification or antithesis in the second.
adopted afterwards by the Pythagoreans, and expressed by Ocellus in
On the subject of the Postscript of yours of Aug. 16. and of Mrs.
another form. Перт 5e Tijs EK TWV allinaw YEVEOEGIS etc.-
Adams's letter, I am silent. I know the depth of the affliction it has caused,
oux nums ÉVEKX n HIEIS. Which, as literally as intelligibility will admit,
and can sympathise with it the more sensibly, inasmuch as there is no
may be thus translated. 'Concerning the interprocreation of men, how,
degree of affliction, produced by the loss of those dear to us, which ex-
and of whom it shall be, in a perfect manner, and according to the laws of
perience has not taught me to estimate. I have ever found time and silence
modesty and sanctity, conjointly, this is what I think right. First to lay it
the only medecine, and these but assuage, they never can suppress, the
down that we do not commix for the sake of pleasure, but of the procrea-
deep-drawn sigh which recollection for ever brings up, until recollection
tion of children. For the powers, the organs and desires for coition have
and life are extinguished together. Ever affectionately yours
not been given by god to man for the sake of pleasure, but for the pro-
creation of the race. For as it were incongruous for a mortal born to par-
TH: JEFFERSON
take of divine life, the immortality of the race being taken away, god
fulfilled the purpose by making the generations uninterrupted and con-
FEB 21 '90 12:38 T.J.M.F.
P.S. Your's of Sep-just recieved
tinuous. This therefore we are especially to lay down as a principle, that
coition is not for the sake of pleasure.' But Nature, not trusting to this
74. George Buchanan, ed., Pralmorum Davidis paraphrasis poetica, nunc primum
edita (Paris, 1566); Arthur Johnston, Paraphrasis postica Psalmorium Davidis (Aber-
moral and abstract motive, seems to have provided more securely for the
deen, 1637).
perpetuation of the species by making it the effect of the oestrum im-
75. James Duport, Axpress "Ециетрос, sive metapbrasis libri Psalmorum Graecis
planted in the constitution of both sexes. And not only has the commerce
versibus contexta (London, 1712).
of love been indulged on this unhallowed impulse, but made subservient
also to wealth and ambition by marriages without regard to the beauty,
the healthiness, the understanding, or virtue of the subject from which we
are to breed. The selecting the best male for B Haram of well chosen
females also, which Theognis seems to recommend from the example of
our sheep and asses, would doubtless improve the human, as it does the
brute animal, and produce a race of veritable aptotol ["aristocrats"]. For
experience proves that the moral and physical qualities of man, whether
THE ASSENT OF THE MIND
392
THE ADAMS-JEFFERSON LETTERS
393
on whom the sun has ever shone. If we do not think exactly alike as to it's
There was a little Aristocracy, among Us, of Talents and Letters. Mr.
P.3/12
Dickinson was primus inter pares; the Bell Weather; the leader of the
imperfections, it matters little to our country which, after devoting to it
long lives of disinterested labor, we have delivered over to our successors
Aristocratical flock. Billy, alias Governor Livingstone, and his Son in law
in life, who will be able to take care of it, and of themselves.
Mr. Jay, were of this priviledged order. The credit of most if not all those
Of the pamphlet on aristocracy which has been sent to you, or who
compositions was often if not generally given to one or the other of these
may be it's author, I have heard nothing but thro' your letter. If the per-
choice Spirits. Mr. Dickenson however was not on any of the original
son you suspect 80 it may be known from the quaint, mystical and hyper-
Committees. He came not into Congress till Oct. 17. He was not appointed
bolical ideas, involved in affected, new-fangled and pedantic terms, which
till the 15th by his Assembly. (Journals of Congress, containing Their
stamp his writings. Whatever it be, I hope your quiet is not to be affected
Proceedings] Vol. 1. 30. Congress adjourned 27. Oct. though our correct
at this day by the rudeness of intemperance of scribblers; but that you
Secretary has not recorded any final Adjournment or dissolution. Mr.
may continue in tranquility to live and to rejoice in the prosperity of our
Dickenson was in Congress but ten days. The business was all prepared
arranged and even in a manner finished before his Arrival.
country until it shall be your own wish to take your seat among the
Aristoi who have gone before you. Ever and affectionately yours.
R. H. Lee was the Chairman of the Committee for preparing "the loyal
and dutiful Address to his Majesty." Johnson and Henry were acute
TH: JEFFERSON
Spirits and understood the Controversy very well; though they had not
the Advantages of Education like Lee and John Rutledge. The Subject
P.S. Can you assist my memory on the enquiries of my letter of Aug. 22.7
had been near a month under discussion in Congress and most of the ma-
terials thrown out there: It underwent another deliberation in committee;
after which they made the customary compliment to their Chairman, by
Adams to Jefferson
requesting him to prepare and report a draught, which was done, and
after examination, correction, amelioration or pejoration, as usual reported
to Congress. Oct. 3.4. and 5th were taken up in debating and deliberating
Quincy November 12. 1813
on matters proper to be contained in the Address to his Majesty. Vol. I.
DEAR SIR
22. October 21. The Address to the King was after debate recommitted
As I owe you more for your Letters of Oct. 12. and 28 than I shall be
and Mr. John Dickenson added to the Committee. The first draught was
able to pay, I shall begin with the P.S. to the last.
made and all the essential materials put together by Lee, it might be em-
I am very sorry to say, that I cannot "assist your memory in the
bellished and seasoned Afterward with some of Mr. Dickenson piety; but
Enquiries of your letter of August 22d." I really know not who was the
I know not that it was. Neat and handsome as the composition is, having
compositor of any one of the Petitions or Addresses you enumerate. Nay
never had any confidenc[e] in the Utility of it, I never have thought much
farther I am certain I never did know. I was so shallow a polititian, that I
about it since it was adopted. Indeed I never bestowed much Attention on
FEB 21 '90 12:39 T.J.M.F.
was not aware of the importance of those compositions. They all appeared
any of those Addresses; which were all but repetitions of the same Things:
to me, in the circumstances of the Country like childrens play at marbles
the same facts and Arguments. Dress and ornament rather than Body, Soul
or push pin, or rather like misses in their teens emulating each other in
or Substance. My thoughts and cares were nearly monopolized by the
their pearls, their braceletts their Diamond Pins and brussells Ince.
Theory of our Rights and Wrongs, by measures for the defence of the
In the Congress of 1774 there was not one member, except Patrick
country; and the means of governing our Selves.
Henry, who appeared to me sensible of the Precipice or rather the Pin-
Please to turn over [to see N. B. at end of letter].
nacle on which he stood, and had candour and courage enough to ac-
I was in a great Error, no doubt, and am ashamed to confess it; for
knowledge it. America is in total Ignorance, or under infinite deception
those things were necessary to give Popularity to Our cause both at home
concerning that Assembly. To draw the characters of them all would re-
and abroad. And to shew my Stupidity in a stronger light the reputation
quire a volume and would now be considered as a caracatura print. One
of any one of those compositions, has been a more splendid distinction
third Tories, another Whigs and the rest mongrels.
than any aristocratical Starr or garter, in the Escutchion of every man who
80. John Taylor of Caroline.
has enjoyed it. Very sorry that I cannot give you more Satisfactory infor-
P.4/12
THE PAPERS OF
Thomas Jefferson
Volume 2 . 1777 to 18 June 1779
Including the Revisal of the Laws, 1776-1786
JULIAN P. BOYD, EDITOR
LYMAN H. BUTTERFIELD AND MINA R. BRYAN,
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
FEB 21 '90 12:40 T.J.M.F.
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
1950
I. Gimes whose premishment extends 4 Life
P.5/12
The Revisal of the Laws 1776-1786
i. High.treason. Death
Infecture Commis!
I. PLAN AGREED UPON BY THE COMMITTEE OF REVISORS AT FRED-
2. Petty Treasor. Death Dissaction by hanging
ERICKSBURG [13 JANUARY 1777]
II. CATALOGUE OF BILLS PREPARED BY THE COMMITTEE OF RF-
VISORS
Apinon kital
III. BILLS REPORTED BY THE COMMITTEE OF REVISORS, 18 JUNE 1779
3. Marder. 164 payson. Death by payson.
IV. APPENDIX
Torfeit half before
1. BILL DECLARING WHEN LAWS SHALL BE IN FORCE
Duel. Death by hanging
2. JEFFERSON'S NOTES OF ENGLISH STATUTES
gibbatory, if challengers
3. JEFFERSON'S NOTES OF ACTS OF ASSEMBLY ADOPTED OCTO-
BER 1777 AND MAY 1778
less Comfined
4. OUTLINE OF BILL FOR PROPORTIONING CRIMES AND PUNISH-
MENTS, Bx.
Death by hanging
5. MEMORANDUM BY JEFFERSON ON BILLS TO BE DRAFTED
A Manilaur 2 office
infoit shalf adbafore.
EDITORIAL NOTE
IT IS an extremely difficult task to bring into proper focus, to say nothing
of fully encompassing, the far-reaching revision of the laws that Jeffer-
Whomes whore premishment goes to Limb
son and other leading Virginians embarked upon in the autumn of
Rape
1776, This is chiefly because the revision of the laws itself never came
Castration.
into focus. It was a long-drawn-out movement, ending in something of
2
Sodemy.
an anti-climax, and never became embodied in a single enactment as in
the case of earlier or later revisions in Virginia and in other states.
4 Disfiguency } Torfeiture
3. Maiming Retalistion
However important for the whole future of society its Bill for Estab-
lishing Religious Freedom may have been, the revision as a whole has,
for the most part, faded into obscurity against the background of
Coimes punisheable by Labor Ve
ordinary legislation in the decade from 1776 to 1786, with an occa-
1. Manslaur offore.
sional landmark standing out in bold relief. There is no single identifi-
able entity that can be called the Revision of the Laws as there is, for
asbafor.
example, in the so-called Chancellors' Revisal of 1785 or the revision
2. Cownterfesting. labor VI. years.
approved in 1792.
Forfact whole to Combiner
5. Arron.
This resulted partly from its purpose, which was not that of forming
FEB 21 '90 12:40 T.J.M.F.
dates Years.
a collection of laws then in force but of reforming the entire structure
Requestion thrisfold
of law so as to strip it of all vestiges of its earlier monarchical aspects
5. Bobbary
LaborB years
6. Burglary
Repidention double
and to bring it into conformity with republican principles. If Jefferson
and his colleagues had been content merely to collect the body of law
7. Housebacking Labor them
then in force, no doubt the General Assembly would have approved in
8. Home steating Represention
1779 what it actually did approve in 1792. But this would have been
9. Grand lancery.
labor
executing the task of compilers, not that of legislators, and Jefferson,
to
Replatation
Pendleton, Wythe, Mason, and others apparently never entertained the
termins pillompianhous.
idea of making a mere collection of the laws. Certainly Jefferson never
10. Batty lareeny.
labor
year.
did. The failure of the Virginia Convention of 1776 to adopt his pro-
Registration
posed Constitution undoubtedly emphasized the need he felt for reform
of the laws, For his Constitution had included some provisions that he
If.
Ducking 18.stripted.
later incorporated in legislative bills that he thought would form "a
system by which every fibre would be eradicated of antient or future
aristocracy; and a foundation laid for 11 government truly republican"
is: Suicide.
nothing
r 305 1
REVISAL OF THE LAWS 1776-1786
EDITORIAL NOTE
(Autobiography, Ford, 1, 68). But he no doubt would have proposed
prominent in character and principle, urgent, and indicative of the
P.6/12
a general overhauling of the legal system as an urgent necessity even
strength of the general pulse of reformation" (same, I, 57). Despite
if his Constitution had been wholly adopted, for he understood the dis-
the fact that this piecemeal approach to reform resulted in legislative
tinction between fundamental and statutory law and knew that the
achievements greater than he recalled and more extensive than biog-
former could not and should not embrace the detailed provisions of the
raphers have recognized, Jefferson realized that a broader, more system-
latter. Certainly Jefferson's historic decision in the carly days of October
atic revision of the laws was necessary.
1776 to remain in Virginia rather than accept the mission to France was
His second approach, therefore, sprang from the conviction, as he
largely determined by his zeal to remake the legal structure of the
later expressed it, "that our whole code must be reviewed, adapted to
commontvealth and to remold it both in form and substance so as to
our republican form of government, and, now that we had no negatives
coincide more nearly with the leading principles of the Revolution.
of Councils, Governors, and Kings to restrain us from doing right, it
"I knew," he wrote in his Autobiography, "that our legislation under the
should be corrected, in all it's parts, with a single eye to reason, and
regal government had many very vicious points which urgently required
the good of those for whose government it was framed. Early therefore
reformation, and I thought I could be of more use in forwarding that
in the session of 76, to which I returned, I moved and presented a bill
work. I therefore retired from my seat in Congress on the 2d. of Sep.,
for the revision of the laws" (same, I, 57-8). Under the broad terms
resigned it, and took my place in the legislature of my state" (same, p.
of this Act a Committee of Revisors carried on the work of systematic
48).
reform, submitting its report on 18 June 1779. This Report of the
Yet the failure of the revision of the laws to come into focus and to
Committee of Revisors comes nearer than anything else to representing
be adequately appraised has resulted from the method as well as the
a concrete revisal of the laws executed under Jefferson's leadership. Yet
intent of its leading architect. Jefferson, who was unquestionably the
many bills included in this Report were, for one reason or another,
principal advocate of the idea of reform, was possessed of a sense of
deemed to be of such urgency or importance that they were lifted from
urgency that would not permit a single approach toward the goal. As
it, introduced, and in some instances enacted in advance of the sub-
an .active legislator, enmeshed from 1776 to 1779 in the details of day-
mission of the full Report. Others were singled out for similar action
to-day law-making and its inevitable turmoil of political maneuverings,
in the years following. Despite this selective treatment of its bills, the
Jefferson was obliged to be alert to the possibility that any legislative
proposed revision as a whole was brought forward for consideration at
calendar might bring forth bills proposed by adherents of the old order.
the October 1785 session. At that time about a third of the bills were
This ever-present tendency to preserve the status quo or to project the
enacted, though all that were adopted were suspended in operation
nature of colonial institutions into the future required constant vigilance
until 1 January 1787 so that the remainder of the Report could be
on his part. But important as this was in the time and energies It con-
considered at the next session and, if approved, the entire revisal put
sumed, the daily hacking away at laws advocated by conservatives was
into effect as a unit. Only a few of the bills that were held over for the
not reform; it was merely the negative strategy of holding ground that
October 1786 session were adopted and the revisal was never put into
had already been gained. Jefferson's achievement as legislator in the
effect as a unit. In 1785 Jefferson was in France and the sponsorship
years 1776 to 1779 was more positive and proceeded on a two-fold
of the reform rested upon James Madison. Some of the radical meas-
method.
ures proposed in the Report met with strong opposition. Then a new
The first was a singlehanded effort to hasten the new era of repub-
committee was set to work, not with the object of reforming but of
licanism by the drafting of legislative bills on particular subjects-
collecting and publishing the laws in one source. By 1786, in legisla-
courts of justice, entails, the established church, importation of slaves,
tion as in other fields of political endeavor, "the general pulse of reforma-
naturalization, &c. On these and many other subjects it is safe to say
tion" was far weaker than it had been in 1776.
that Jefferson was, as author or chief advocate, responsible for the
Because of these facts, the Pandmarks of the revision that have been
introduction and adoption of more bills than any other single member of
emphasized are chiefly those that Jefferson himself remembered and
FEB 21 '90 12:41
the General Assembly in the years 1776 to 1779. In the variety of
singled out for emphasis. He left several appraisals of the revision. The
subjects touched upon, in the quantity of bills drafted, and in the unity
most nearly contemporary account-that in Notes on Virginia-contains
of purpose behind all of this legislative activity, his accomplishment in
the longest list of "the most remarkable alterations" that had been pro- seo,
this period was astonishing. He was in himself a veritable legislative
posed by the Committee of Revisors (same, III, 242-55). It is also a enclosion
drafting bureau. Often his bills were introduced by others; equally as
fairly accurate index of what Jefferson considered his most important
often he seems to have had himself appointed to committees in order
contributions to the work of revision, since most of the bills listed were
that he might give effect to some of his own legislation by inserting
those that he drew. In 1785, before the Report of the Committee of
it in or attaching it to the bills of others. But, however his bills were
Revisors was even brought up, Jefferson wrote to G. K. van Hogendorp
introduced or however important some of them were, Jefferson realized
a very depreciatory comment on the revisal: "It contains not more than
that these were "the details of reformation only
points of legislation
three or four laws which could strike the attention of a foreigner.
[306]
307
REVISAL OF THE LAWS 1776-1786
EDITORIAL NOTE
The only merit of this work is that it may remove from our book shelves
ing "the two bundles" for transmittal, TJ struck two from the list;
P.7/12
about twenty folio volumes of statutes, retaining all the parts of them
which either their own merit or the established system of laws required"
these were bills "for establishing a loan office" and "for regulating the
(letter dated 13 October 1785). But by far the most dramatic. and
inspection of tobacco" (see Document II in this series, notes 6 and 12).
most famous comment was that made by Jefferson in his Autobiography.
Furthermore, the Report of the Committee of Revisors is, except for
Here he discussed the bills that he introduced separately as well as
specialists, a rare and inaccessible text of the most interesting and sig-
those that formed his part of the revisal, an account which concluded
nificant legal reforms attempted during the Revolutionary era. No com-
with this sweeping estimate of purpose and accomplishment: "I con-
plete publication or reproduction of the bills included in it has been
sidered 4 of these bills, passed or reported, as forming a system by
made available heretofore. Finally, even A full and correct reprinting of
which every fibre would be eradicated of antient or future aristocracy;
this pamphlet would be very far from presenting a full account of the
and a foundation laid for a government truly republican. The repeal of
reform of the law attempted by Jefferson and his colleagues. To repre-
the laws of entail would prevent the accumulation and perpetuation of
sent the scope of the revision fully it would be necessary to trace at
wealth in select families, and preserve the soil of the country from being
least three difficult and tedious stages: (1) the law as it stood before
daily more and more absorbed in Mortmain The abolition of primo-
the Committee of Revisors began work; (2) the alterations that the
geniture, and equal partition of inheritances removed the feudal and
Committee proposed; and (3) the extent to which these alterations were
unnatural distinctions which made one member of every family rich,
adopted by the General Assembly. Even in SO detailed a work as the
and all the rest poor, substituting equal partition, the best of all Agrarian
present, such an analysis, in documentary form, would not be feasible
laws. The restoration of the rights of conscience relieved the people
and probably not desirable. That kind of appraisal must await investign-
tion and evaluation by the legal historian.
from taxation for the support of a religion not theirs; for the establish-
Meanwhile, for the purposes of this work it has been deemed essen-
ment was truly of the religion of the rich, the dissenting sects being
entirely composed of the less wealthy. people; and these, by the bill for
tial to present at least the full texts of all bills drafted by the Committee
II
of Revisors, TO far as texts can be found. This has been done in the fol-
a -general education, would be qualified to understand their rights, to
maintain them, and to exercise with intelligence their parts in self-
lowing pages. In many cases a bill as proposed by the Committee has
government: and all this would be effected without the violation of a
been compared with the law which it reenacted or altered; in many other
single natural right of any one individual citizen" (Ford, I, 68-9).
cases-some of them of the highest importance-this has not been
This dramatic summation by the chief architect of the revision un-
possible because no prototype existed, as, for example, in the Bill for
doubtedly played its part in throwing the foothills into deeper shadow
Establishing Religious Freedom or the Bill for Proportioning Crimes
once the peaks had been singled out. But the total work of revision
and Punishments. In all cases, however, the extent to which the General
extending over a full decade would have been obscured even without
Assembly accepted or rejected the terms of the bills proposed by the
Committee has been noted through a comparison of the text of the bill
such an emphasis upon some of its parts. For there were other factors
involved in addition to those of purpose, method, and timing indicated
as proposed with that of the act as adopted.
above. First of all, there is apparently no manuscript extant for the
This has never been done before, though in a few notable instances
entire Report of the Committee of Revisors. Apparently no complete
the difference between what was proposed and what was accepted has
manuscript of the Report was submitted to the General Assembly even
been commented upon. However, even in respect to the most famous
when Jefferson and Wythe, with Pendleton's concurrence, addressed
of all bills in the Report-that concerning religious freedom-the exact
their letter to Benjamin Harrison on 18 June 1779, for that letter,
nature of the differences has not been indicated and has possibly been
FEB 21 '90 12:42 T.J.M.F.
after explaining that "Some of these bills have been presented to the
misunderstood (see Hening, XII, 84, where the opinion is given that
the "variations
House of Delegates in the course of the present session two or three of
render the style less elegant, though the sense is
them delivered to members of that House at their request to be pre-
not affected"; but see Malone, Jefferson, 1, 279, for a more correct
sented," explicitly stated that "the rest are in the two bundles which
opinion). A comparison of texts of this Bill also brings out the sur-
accompany this" (italics supplied). Second, the Report of the Committee
prising fact that the text most widely accepted by the general public
of Revisors, a printed text of ninety-six pages issued under authority
and by scholars as the Act for Establishing Religious Freedom is neither
of the General Assembly, is the only approximately complete text of
the text of the Bill as drafted nor of the Act as adopted, but a variant
the work of the Committee of Revisors existing in any form. Even this
of the two which, for some unknown reason, Jefferson made in 1786
cannot be regarded as a complete text of the bills prepared by the Com-
and published under a title that induced subsequent generations to
mittee. For it lacks the text of Bill No. 15, which must have been
accept it as the text of the Act as adopted. This timeless declaration of
among "the two bundles" submitted in 1779 but which, being a war-
intellectual freedom is here presented (either through a full text, a
time measure, had served its purpose so that by 1784 there was no need
facsimile reproduction, or textual annotation) in the following forms:
to print it. Also, the Committee originally prepared at least 128 bills,
(1) as originally printed in 1779 and distributed "for the consideration
but during the first week of June 1779 and undoubtedly while prepar-
of the people"; (2) as printed in the Report of the Committee of Re-
[308]
[309]
REVISAL OF THE LAWS 1776-1786
III. BILL NO. 79
being given by the superintendant, shall be no further restrained
natural powers to defeat its purposes; And whereas it is generally
P.8/12
by virtue of this act. A person authorised to see the quarantine
true that that people will be happiest whose laws are best, and are
performed, or a watchman upon any vessel, place, or goods, under
best administered, and that laws will be wisely formed, and hon-
quarantine, deserting his duty or willingly permitting a person's
estly administered, in proportion as those who form and administer
vessel or goods to depart, or be conveyed away, from the place,
them are wise and honest; whence it becomes expedient for pro-
where the quarantine ought to be performed, without a lawful
moting the publick happiness that those persons, whom nature
license, or a person, impowered to give a certificate of the perform-
hath endowed with genius and virtue, should be rendered by
ance of quarantine, knowingly giving a false certificate, shall be
liberal education worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred
amerced. The forfeitures inflicted by this act shall be to the use
deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens, and that
of the commonwealth, and shall be recovered, by action of debt,
they should be called to that charge without regard to wealth,
in which actions the defendants shall be ruled to give special bail.
birth or other accidental condition or circumstance; but the indi-
Report, p. 52-3. MS (VIU); clerk's
copy. Text of Act as adopted is in Hen-
Bill was again brought up on 31 Oct.
gence of the greater number disabling them from 80 educating,
ing, XI, 329-31.
1785 by Madison, but was postponed
at their own expence, those of their children whom nature hath
Earlier Acts dealing with the quaran-
to the next session) it was presented nt
the Oct. 1786 session, but no further
fitly formed and disposed to become useful instruments for the
time of vessele coming into Virginia were
passed in 1722, 1766, and 1772 (Hen-
action was taken on it (same, Oct. 1785,
public, it is better that such should be sought for and educated at
Ing, IV, 99-103; VIII, 260-1, 537-8). Bill
P. 12-15, 92, same, Oct. 1786, P. 16-17).
the common expence of all, than that the happiness of all should
No. 78 of the revisal was passed in
1783 as a separate Acts it was ordered
1 The Act adds: "the sum of five
be confided to the weak or wicked:
hundred pounds."
to be brought in on 20 Nov. 1783, was
Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, that in every
2 The Act adds: "the sum of one thou-
presented 24 Nov., amended by the
sand pounds."
county within this commonwealth, there shall be chosen annually,
House on 3 Dec., and passed the next
day; the Senate amended it 13 Dec.,
8 The Act adds: "the sum of one hun-
by the electors qualified to vote for Delegates, three of the most
dred pounds."
which amendments were agreed to by
House 15 Dec. (JHD, Oct. 1783, 1828
$ The Act has an additional clause
honest and able men of their county, to be called the Aldermen of
authorizing the governor in council to
edn., p. 26, 31, 32, 44, 45, 59, 63). The
the county; and that the election of the said Aldermen shall be held
Act as adopted and the Bill as proposed
direct the auditors to issue warrants on
the treasurer for such sums as may be
at the same time and place, before the same persons, and notified
by the Committee of Revisors are the
same except for the addition of a brief
necessary "for the support of the per-
and conducted in the same manner as by law is directed for the
sons performing quarantine and those
preamble in the Act and the other dif-
appointed to see it performed," to be re-
annual election of Delegates for the county.
ferences Indicated below. Although it
paid by the master or owner of the ves-
had, already been enacted into law, the
The person before whom such election is holden shall certify to
sel at the end of quarantine.
the court of the said county the names of the Aldermen chosen, in
order that the same may be entered of record, and shall give notice
of their election to the said Aldermen within a fortnight after such
79. A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
election.
FEB 21 '90 12:43 T.J.M.F.
Whereas it appeareth that however certain forms of government
The said Aldermen on the first Monday in October, if it be fair,
are better calculated than others to protect individuals in the free
and if not, then on the next fair day, excluding Sunday, shall meet
exercise of their natural rights, and are at the same time them-
at the court-house of their county, and proceed to divide their said
selves better guarded against degeneracy, yet experience hath
county into hundreds, bounding the same by water courses, moun-
shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power
tains, or limits, to be run and marked, if they think necessary, by
have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny;
the county surveyor, and at the county expence, regulating the size
and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this
of the said hundreds, according to the best of their discretion, SO as
would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the
that they may contain a convenient number of children to make up
people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of
a school, and be of such convenient size that all the children within
those facts, which history exhibiteth, that, possessed thereby of
each hundred may daily attend the school to be established therein,
the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to
distinguishing each hundred by a particular name; which division,
know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their
with the names of the several hundreds, shall be returned to the
[526]
[ 527
REVISAL OF THE LAWS 1776-1786
III. BILL NO. 80
Report, p. 53-5. Surprisingly, no MS
Bill recognized natural gradations and
strongly inspired with the public zeal,
e Dec., was amended 20 Dec., and on
P.9/12
copy of this famous Bill has been found
and no memoranda or scraps of notes
disparities among men; it saw nothing
the amor patrice of the ancient repub-
21 Dec. was actually passed by the
such 13 TJ left respecting other Bills.
dangerous or inimical to the liberties
lics, the national embellishment, and
House under a new title, "An act, direct-
of the people in accepting and making
the national grandour of this opulent
ing the mode of appointing aldermen."
The Acts pertaining to the College of
use of such a natural aristocracy of
state, must be reserved for very distant
But, on being referred to the Senute, the
William and Mary fall within Pendle-
virtue and talent; and its unique and
ages" (William Wirt, Letters of a Brit-
Bill died JHD, May 1780, 1827 edn.,
ton's share of the revision, but, as TJ
revolutionary feature, never yet put into
is/s Spy, 10th odn., N.Y., 1832, p. 231-21
p. 14, 44; same, Oct. 1785, 1828 edn.,
explained in his Autobiography, "We
practice by any people, was that, in
originally published in 1803).
p. 12-15, 74-5, 100, 101). Madison re-
order to permit such a natural aristoc-
thought that
TJ apparently finished the Bill late
ported a year later, when TJ's Bill was
a systematical plan of
racy to Hourish freely, it would remove
general education should be proposed,
in the autumn of 1778, for on 18 Dec.
again considered, that the system was
all economic, social, or other barriers
1778 he wrote to Pendleton about it
and I was requested to undertake it. I
carefully considered but not adopted
that would interfore with nature's dis-
(his letter is missing, but see Pendle-
because of the cost involved (Madlson
accordingly prepared three Bills for the
tribution of genius or virtue. (See TJ's
Revisal, proposing three distinct grades
ton's reply under date of 11 May 1779).
to TJ, 4 Dec. 1786; see also Madison to
of education, reaching all classes. 1. Ele-
account of this Bill in Notes on Virginia,
On 15 Dec. 1778 leave was given by the
TJ, 22 Jan. 1786).
Ford, III, 251-5; see also R. J. Honey-
House for the presentation of a Bill
Madison did not bring in Bill No. 70
mentary schools for all children gener-
ally, rich and poor. 2. Colleges for a
well, Educational Work of Thomas Jef-
"for the more general diffusion of knowl-
with the others reported on 1 Nov. 1786
middle degree of instruction, calculated
ferson, Cambridge, Mass., 1931.) A
edge," and Richard Purker and George
but It was brought up two weeks Inter,
highly interesting contemporary com-
for the common purposes of life, and
Mason were ordered to prepare it, the
and, as Madison reported to TJ, it "went
such as would be desirable for all who
ment on the Bill is that by William
Bill was presented by Parker on the next
through two readings by a small major-
were in easy circumstances. And 3d. an
Wirt: "Among other wise and highly
day; whereupon the House "Ordered,
ity and was hot pushed to a third one"
patriotic bills which are proposed, there
ultimate grade for teaching the sciences
That the public printer do forthwith
(Madison to TJ, 15 Feb. 1787; JHD,
is one for the more general diffusion of
print and forward four copies of the
generally, and in their highest degree"
knowledge. After a preamble, in which
Oct. 1786, 1828 edo., p. 44). The plan
(Ford, 1, 66). Within a decade after the
said act to each county within this Com-
the Importance of the subject to the
for establishing public schools was not
work of the Committee of Revisors was
monwealth" (JHD, Oct. 1778, 1827
republic is most ably and eloquently
carried to completion until 1796 when
only
begun, TJ regarded the Bill for the
edu, P. 117, 120). It is very doubtful
announced, the bill proposes a simple
whether this order to print the Bill was
the Assembly passed an "Act to Estab- partia
General Diffusion of Knowledge
and beautiful scheme, whereby science
actually executed; If it was, no copy of
hish Public Schools" (Shepherd, II, 3-5)
see enclosure
as the most important one in the Report
(like justice under the institutions of
it has been found (see Edmund Pendle-
which retained some of the phraseology
(TJ to George Wythe, 13 Aug. 1786).
our Alfred) would have been 'carried
ton to TJ, 11 May 1779 and notes
of T3's Bill, especially that providing
The exalted declaration of purpose in
to every man's door.' Genius, instead of
thereon). The Bill was again presented
for the election of aldermen. However,
the preamble remains one of the classic
having to break its way through the
on 12 June 1780, but no further action
the 1796 Act provided only for primary
statements of the responsibility of the
thick opposing clouds of native ob-
was taken until, on 31 Oct. 1785, Madi-
schools, and the determination of the
state in matters of education. But what
scurity, Indigence and Ignorance, was to
son brought it up along with other bills
expediency of establishing such schools
was new and distinctively Jeffersonian
be sought for through every family in
of the Report of the Committee of Re-
was left entirely to the aldermen of each
in the Bill was not its advocacy of public
the commonwealth; the sacred spark,
visors. It was considered by the House
county, borough, or corporation.
education, for in this respect it in fact
wherever it was detected, was to be
envisaged a combined system of public
tenderly cherished, fed and fanned into
and private education; and, indeed, pub-
a llame; its Innate properties and tend-
lic education was already in practice
encies were to be developed and exam-
and had been for some generations in
ined, and then cantiously and judicious-
80. A Bill for Amending the Constitution of the College
the systems of common schools of New
ly invested with all the auxiliary energy
England. But what WSS new in the Bill
and radiance of which its character was
of William and Mary, and Substituting More Certain
and what stamped its author as a con-
susceptible. What a plan was here to
Revenues for Its Support
structive statesman of far-seeing vision
give stability and solid glory to the re-
was the object of seeking out men of
public! If you ask me why it has never
genius and virtue and of rendering
Whereas a scheme for cultivating and disseminating useful
been adopted, I answer, that as a for-
them "by Hberal education worthy to
eigner, I can perceive no possible reg-
knowledge in this country, which had been proposed by some of
receive, and able to guard the sacred
son for it, except that the comprehensive
deposit of the rights and liberties of
its liberal minded inhabitants, before the year 1690 of the Christian
views and generous patriotism which
their fellow citizens." This implied the
produced the bill, have not prevailed
epocha, was approved, adopted, and cherished, by the General
establishment of a ruling élite that
throughout the country, nor presided in
would promote public happiness by
Assembly, upon whose petition King William and Queen Mary of
the body on whose vote the adoption of
wisely forming and honestly administer-
the bill depended. I have new reason to
England, to the crown whereof the people here at that time ac-
Ing the laws, but, though this never
remark it, almost every day, that there
FEB 21
became and possibly could not become
knowledged themselves, as a colony, to be subject, by their charter,
is throughout Virginia, # most deplor-
an explicit object of any democratic
able destitution of public spirit, of the
bearing date the seventh day of February, in the fourth year of their
society, the Important thing about TJ's
noble pride and love of country. Unless
Bill was that those "whom nature bath
reign, gave license, in due form, to Francis Nicholson, Esquire,
the body of the people can be awakened
endowed with genius and virtue
from this fatal apathy; unless their
Lieutenant Governor of the colony, and seventeen other trustees,
should be called to that charge without
regard to wealth, birth or other acct.
thoughts and their feelings can be urged
particularly named, to found a place of universal study, or per-
beyond the narrow confines of their own
dental condition or circumstance." The
private affairs; unless they can be
petual college, in such part of the country as the General Assembly
l' 534 1
5 535 1
TJ to George Wythe, 13 Aug 1786
13 AUGUST 1786
13 AUGUST 1786
much matter in as few words as possible. The word omitted will
kings, nobles and priests, and by them alone. Preach, my dear Sir,
P.10/12
be supplied by every reader.
The European papers have announced that the assembly of
a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for
educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the
Virginia were occupied on the revisal of their Code of laws. This,
people alone can protect us against these evils, and that the tax
with some other similar intelligence, has contributed much to con-
which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth
vince the people of Europe, that what the English papers are con-
part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise
stantly publishing of our anarchy, is false; as they are sensible
that such à work is that of a people only who are in perfect tran-
up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.-The people of
England, I think, are less oppressed than here. But it needs but
quillity. Our act for freedom of religion is extremely applauded.
half an eye to see, when among them, that the foundation is laid
The Ambassadors and ministers of the several nations of Europe
resident at this court have asked of me copies of it to send to their
in their dispositions, for the establishment of a despotism. Nobility,
sovereigns, and it is inserted at full length in several books now
wealth, and pomp are the objects of their adoration. They are by
no means the free-minded people we suppose them in America.
in the press; among others, in the new Encyclopedie. I think it will
Their learned men too are few in number, and are less learned
produce considerable good even in these countries where ignorance,
and infinitely less emancipated from prejudice than those of this
superstition, poverty and oppression of body and mind in every
country. An event too seems to be prospering, in the order of
form, are so firmly settled on the mass of the people, that their
redemption from them can never be hoped. If the almighty had
things, which will probably decide the fate of that country. It is
no longer doubtful that the harbour of Cherbourg will be com-
begotten a thousand sons, instead of one, they would not have
sufficed for this task. If all the sovereigns of Europe were to set
pleted, that it will be a most excellent one, and capacious enough
themselves to work to emancipate the minds of their subjects from
to hold the whole navy of France. Nothing has ever been wanting
their present ignorance and prejudices, and that as zealously as
to enable this country to invade that, but a naval force conveniently
stationed to protect the transports. This change of situation, must
they now endeavor the contrary, a thousand years would not place
oblige the English to keep up a great standing army, and there is
them on that high ground on which our common people are now
no king, who, with a sufficient force, is not always ready to make
setting out. Ours could not have been so fairly put into the hands
himself absolute.-My paper warns me it is time to recommend
of their own common sense, had they not been separated from their
myself to the friendly recollection of Mrs. Wythe, of Colo. Talia-
parent stock and been kept from contamination, either from them,
or the other people of the old world, by the intervention of SO wide
ferro and his family and particularly of Mr. R. T. and to assure you
an ocean. To know the worth of this, one must see the want of it
of the affectionate esteem with which I am Dear Sir your friend
& servt.,
TH: JEFFERSON
here. I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is
that for the diffusion of knowlege among the people. No other sure
PrC (DLC). Enclosure: Tr of Glo-
The original copperplate of the Talia-
vanni Fabbronl to TJ, 20 July 1786.
foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom, and
Mr. R. T.: Richard Taliaferro. I
ferro arms is owned by Colonial Wil-
FEB 21 '90 12:45 T.J.M.F.
happiness. If any body thinks that kings, nobles, or priests are good
WILL HAVE THE COPPER PLATE IMMEDI-
liamsburg, Inc., and is in the Wythe
House, Williamsburg.
ATELY ENGRAVED: On 25 Oct. 1786
conservators of the public happiness, send them here. It is the
Short wrote to William Nelson: "This
will be delivered to you by Major Mar-
1 Thus in MS; TJ followed Wythe's
best school in the universe to cure them of that folly. They will
tin of Williamsburg. Ho has been in
use of the word literally, both as to the
see here with their own eyes that these descriptions of men are an
Pario a few days and leaves it Immedi-
erroneous spelling and as to the form
abandoned confederacy against the happiness of the mass of people.
ately to return to America by the way
of the first sigma; see Wythe to TJ, 10
Jan. and 10 Feb. 1786.
of London. Mr. Jefferson sends by him
The omnipotence of their effect cannot be better proved than in
also the Arms of the Family of Taglia-
2 The preceding seven words were In-
this country particularly, where notwithstanding the finest soil upon
ferro as received from Italy" (DLC:
terlined in substitution for: "could give
Short Papers; see also TJ to Short, 7
any aid towards their preservation," de-
leted.
earth, the finest climate under heaven, and a people of the most
Apr. 1787; TJ to Wythe, 16 Sep. 1787).
benevolent, the most gay, and amiable character of which the
human form is susceptible, where such a people I say, surrounded
by so many blessings from nature, are yet loaded with misery by
244
245 1
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State o)Virginia, ed. William Peden (Chapel Hill, 1955)
Laws
147
146
Notes on the State of Virginia
P.11/12
branches of learning, shall have added such of the sciences as their
Pardon and privilege of clergy are proposed to be abolished; but if
genius shall have led them to: the furnishing to the wealthier part of
the verdict be against the defendant, the court in their discretion, may
the people convenient schools, at which their children may be educated,
allow a new trial. No attainder to cause a corruption of blood,19 or
at their own expence.-The general objects of this law are to provide
forfeiture of dower. Slaves guilty of offences punishable in others by
an education adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition of
labour, to be transported to Africa, or elsewhere, as the circumstances
every one, and directed to their freedom and happiness. Specific details
of the time admit, there to be continued in slavery. A rigorous regimen
were not proper for the law. These must be the business of the visitors
proposed for those condemned to labour.)
entrusted with its execution. The first stage of this education being the
Another object of the revisal is, to diffuse knowledge more generally
schools of the hundreds, wherein the great mass of the people will
through the mass of the people.20 This bill proposes to lay off every
receive their instruction, the principal foundations of future order will
county into small districts of five or six miles square, called hundreds,
be laid here. Instead therefore of putting the Bible and Testament
and in each of them to establish a school for teaching reading, writing,
into the hands of the children, at an age when their judgments are
and arithmetic. The tutor to be supported by the hundred, and every
not sufficiently matured for religious enquiries, their memories may
person in it entitled to send their children three years gratis, and as
here be stored with the most useful facts from Grecian, Roman, Euro-
much longer as they please, paying for it. These schools to be under a
pean and American history. The first elements of morality too may be
visitor, who is annually to chuse the boy, of best genius in the school,
instilled into their minds; such as, when further developed as their
of those whose parents are too poor to give them further education,
judgments advance in strength, may teach them how to work out their
and to send him forward to one of the grammar schools, of which
own greatest happiness, by shewing them that it does not depend on
twenty are proposed to be erected in different parts of the country, for
the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the
teaching Greek, Latin, geography, and the higher branches of numeri-
result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in
cal arithmetic. Of the boys thus sent in any one year, trial is to be made
all just pursuits.-Those whom either the wealth of their parents or
at the grammar schools one or two years, and the best genius of the
the adoption of the state shall destine to higher degrees of learning, will
whole selected, and continued six years, and the residue dismissed. By
go on to the grammar schools, which constitute the next stage, there to
this means twenty of the best geniusses will be raked from the rubbish
be instructed in the languages. The learning Greek and Latin, I am
annually, and be instructed, at the public expence, so far as the gram-
told, is going into disuse in Europe. I know not what their manners
mar schools go. At the end of six years instruction, one half are to be
and occupations may call for: but it would be very ill-judged in us to
discontinued (from among whom the grammar schools will probably
follow their example in this instance. There is a certain period of life,
be supplied with future masters); and the other half, who are to be
FEB 21 '90 12:46 T.J.M.F.
say from eight to fifteen or sixteen years of age, when the mind, like
chosen for the superiority of their parts and disposition, are to be sent
the body, is not yet firm enough for laborious and close operations. If
and continued three years in the study of such sciences as they shall
applied to such, it falls an early victim to premature exertion; exhibiting
chuse, at William and Mary college, the plan of which is proposed to
indeed at first, in these young and tender subjects, the flattering appear-
be enlarged, as will be hereafter explained, and extended to all the
ance of their being men while they are yet children, but ending in
useful sciences. The ultimate result of the whole scheme of education
reducing them to be children when they should be men. The memory
would be the teaching all children of the state reading, writing, and
is then most susceptible and tenacious of impressions; and the learning
common arithmetic: turning out ten annually of superior genius, well
of languages being chiefly a work of memory, it seems precisely fitted
taught in Greek, Latin, geography, and the higher branches of arithme-
to the powers of this period, which is long enough too for acquiring
tic: turning out ten others annually, of still superior parts, who, to those
148
Notes on the State of Virginia
Laws
149
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the most useful languages antient and modern. I do not pretend that
the people. If every individual which composes their mass participates
language is science. It is only an instrument for the attainment of
of the ultimate authority, the government will be safe; because the
science. But that time is not lost which is employed in providing tools
corrupting the whole mass will exceed any private resources of wealth:
for future operation: more especially as in this case the books put into
and public ones cannot be provided but by levies on the people. In this
the hands of the youth for this purpose may be such as will at the same
case every man would have to pay his own price. The government of
time impress their minds with useful facts and good principles. If this
Great-Britain has been corrupted, because but one man in ten has a
period be suffered to pass in idleness, the mind becomes lethargic and
right to vote for members of parliament. The sellers of the government
impotent, as would the body it inhabits if unexercised during the same
therefore get nine-tenths of their price clear. It has been thought that
time. The sympathy between body and mind during their rise, progress
corruption is restrained by confining the right of suffrage to a few
and decline, is too strict and obvious to endanger our being misled while
of the wealthier of the people: but it would be more effectually re-
we reason from the one to the other.-As soon as they are of sufficient
strained by an extension of that right to such numbers as would bid
age, it is supposed they will be sent on from the grammar schools to
defiance to the means of corruption.
the university, which constitutes our third and last stage, there to study
Lastly, it is proposed, by a bill in this revisal, to begin a public library
those sciences which may be adapted to their views.-By that part of
and gallery, by laying out a certain sum annually in books, paintings,
our plan which prescribes the selection of the youths of genius from
and statues.21
among the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the state of those talents
which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but
which perish without use, if not sought for and cultivated-But of all
the views of this law none is more important, none more legitimate,
than that of rendering the people the safe, as they are the ultimate,
guardians of their own liberty. For this purpose the reading in the first
stage, where they will receive their whole education, is proposed, as has
been said, to be chiefly historical. History by apprising them of the past
will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experi-
ence of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges
of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambi-
tion under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its
FEB 21 '90 12:47 T.J.M.F.
views. In every government on earth is some trace of human weakness,
some germ of corruption and degeneracy, which cunning will discover,
and wickedness insensibly open, cultivate, and improve. Every govern-
ment degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The
people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to render
even them safe their minds must be improved to a certain degree. This
indeed is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary. An
amendment of our constitution must here come in aid of the public
education. The influence over government must be shared among all
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
815
MENT
poses the duty of every individual to obey
6
ed in it; a liberty to
I all things, when the
the established Government.
To govern mankind one must not over-rate
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Farewell Address, 1796.
them.
d not to be subject to
LORD CHESTERFIELD, Letters, 15 Feb., 1754.
in, unknown, arbitrary
I believe every citizen should support the gov-
ernment when final action is taken, whether he
You can only govern men by serving them.
approves of the action or not.
The rule is without exception. (On ne gouverne
rnment. Bk. x, ch. 4.
W. J. BRYAN, in N.Y. Times, 2 June, 1898.
les hommes qu'en les servant. Le règle est sans ex-
ly opinion, to suppose
While the people should patriotically and cheer-
ception.)
fully support their Government its functions do
VICTOR COUSIN.
ed on force has more
1 that which is bound
not include the support of the people.
7
GROVER CLEVELAND, Message, vetoing the
The good governor should have a broken leg
good-will. (Et errat
Texas Seed Bill, 16 Feb., 1887.
and keep at home.
tentia, Qui imperium
1
CERVANTES, Don Quixote. Pt. ii, ch. 34.
stabilius Vi quod fit
In general, the art of government consists in
8
tia adjungitur.)
taking as much money as possible from one
It were better to be a poor fisherman, than
i. (Act i, SC. 1.)
class of citizens to give it to the other.
to meddle with the government of men!
es perpetually. (Iniqua
VOLTAIRE, Philosophical Dictionary: Money.
GEORGES JACQUES DANTON. (CARLYLE, French
) morant.)
1a
Revolution. Vol. iii, bk. vi, ch. 2.)
No man ever saw a government. I live in the
9
midst of the Government of the United
S not endure long. (In-
I have been carried into the ministry by a can-
retinentur diu.)
States, but I never saw the Government of
non-ball.
50.
the United States.
GEORGES JACQUES DANTON, after the insurrec-
ined a violent govern-
WOODROW WILSON, Speech, at Pittsburgh, Pa.,
tion of August, 1792. (TAINE, French Rev-
29 Jan., 1916.
olution.)
dures. (Violenta nemo
10
oderata durant.)
3.
II-Government: Apothegms
An institution is the lengthened shadow of
2
one man.
less buttressed by good-
Nero could touch and tune the harp well;
EMERSON, Essays, First Series: Self-Reliance.
tutum nisi benevolentia
but in government, sometimes he used to
No institution will be better than the institutor.
IONYSIUS CATO, Lives:
wind the pins too high, sometimes to let
EMERSON, Essays, Second Series: Character.
them down too low.
11
long secure without a
APPOLONIUS, when Vespasian asked him the
He has erected the negation of God into a
cause of Nero's overthrow. (BACON, Essays:
system of government.
oningsby. Bk. ii, ch. 1.
Of Empire.)
W. E. GLADSTONE, referring to the King of
Nothing destroyeth authority so much, as the
Naples. (EMERSON, Conduct of Life: Wor-
in government, that
unequal and untimely interchange of power
ship.)
rous which proceeds
pressed too far, and relaxed too much.
12
in corporibus sic in
FRANCIS BACON, Essays: Of Empire.
I will govern according to the commonweal,
3
morbus, qui a capite
The four pillars of government
religion,
but not according to the common will.
JAMES I OF ENGLAND, Address, to the House
justice, counsel, treasure.
pistles. Bk. iv, epis. 22.
of Commons, 1621.
FRANCIS BACON, Essays: Of Seditions.
apire is forsooth curved
13
4
anes imperii virga sive
In government change is suspected, though
I would not give half a guinea to live under
dexum sit.)
to the better.
one form of government rather than another
pientia Veterum: Pan,
nes condensed to, "All
FRANCIS BACON, Filum Labyrinthi.
It is of no moment to the happiness of an
individual.
at the top." Referring
5
ok of Pan.
"Separa et impera," that same cunning
SAMUEL JOHNSON. (BOSWELL, Life, ii, 170.)
14
vernment begins almost
maxim.
A wise man neither suffers himself to be gov-
its principles. (La cor-
FRANCIS BACON, Letter to James 1, 1615, quot-
ing Machiavelli.
erned, nor attempts to govern others.
ement commence pres-
LA BRUYÈRE, Les Caractères.
principes.)
Divide et impera, that exploded adage.
15
prit des Lois. Bk. viii,
SIR EDWARD COKE, Institutes. Pt. iv, ch. 1.
Every country has the government it de-
Divide and govern, a capital motto! Unite and
serves. (Toute nation a le gouvernement
the human body, be-
lead, a better one! (Entzwei' und gebiete Tüch-
qu'elle mérite.)
h, and bears in itself
tig Wort; Verein' und leite! Bess'rer Hort.)
JOSEPH DE MAISTRE, Letter, Aug., 1811.
ction. (Le corps poli-
GOETHE, Sprüche in Reimen, 516.
16
e corps de l'homme,
Divide and govern. (Divide et impera.)
He that would govern others, first should be
LOUIS XI OF FRANCE, his motto when dealing
The master of himself.
sa naissance, et porte
de sa destruction.)
with his nobles.
PHILIP MASSINGER, The Bondman. Act i, SC. 3.
ial. Bk. iii, ch. 11.
And yet they have learnt the chief Art of a Sov'-
See also under SELF-CONTROL.
reign,
17
ower and the right of
As Machiavel taught 'em, divide and ye govern.
Republics end through luxury; monarchies
Government, presup-
SWIFT, On the Irish Bishops, 1. 47. (1732)
through poverty. (Les républiques finissent