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Academic Convocation, Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC, January 21, 1972
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Academic Convocation, Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC, January 21, 1972
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D32, folder "Cec 0 "Eqpxqecvkqp, Dgn 0 qpv"Cddg{
College, Belmont, NC, January 21, 1972" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and
Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D32 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
ACADEMIC CONVOCATION OF BELMONT ABBEY
COLLEGE, BELMONT, NORTH CAROLINA,
10:30 A.M. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1972.
At Rw Father abbitts Bradly
THANK YOU MOST DEEPLY FOR THE
GREAT HONOR YOU HAVE BESTOWED UPON ME.
IT WILL MAKE ME EVEN MORE THOROUGHLY AWARE
OF ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ARE MINE.
IT WILL REMIND ME CONSTANTLY OF THE
TREMENDOUS CONTRIBUTION THAT SMALL
COLLEGES THROUGHOUT AMERICA ARE MAKING TO
THE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE OF OUR COUNTRY.
BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE IS A MOST
INSPIRING INSTITUTION. IT IS INSPIRING
BECAUSE IT REFLECTS THE BEST QUALITIES
OF AMERICA -- THE EAGERNESS OF YOUNG
ADULTS TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR
POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITIES
ACROSS THE LAND AND THE WILLINGNESS OF A
DEDICATED FACULTY TO HELP THEM ATTAIN
FORD & LIBRARY
THAT GOAL.
-2-
COLLEGE STUDENTS TODAY HAVE
REACHED THEIR PRESENT AGE AT A PARTICULARLY
IMPORTANT TIME, BOTH FOR THEM AND FOR
AMERICA. AS YOU KNOW, 18, 19 AND
20-YEAR-OLDS NOW HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE
IN LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS.
THIS CAUSES CONCERN AMONG SOME.
BUT I DO NOT IN THE LEAST SHARE THIS
CONCERN. I HAVE CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTED
THE ENFRANCHISEMENT OF 18-YEAR-OLDS.
I BELIEVE IT IS A CHANGE WHICH WAS LONG
OVERDUE. I HAVE LONG SUPPORTED IT
BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE GREAT BULK OF OUR
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE READY TO TAKE ON ADULT
BURDENS AT 18.
IT MAY SURPRISE YOU, BUT
CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION THAT VIEW IS
NOT AN INVENTION OF OUR TIMES. RATHER,
IT IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN HISTORY.
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
-3-
WHY SHOULD 21 BE THE MAGIC AGE
FOR A PERSON TO BECOME AN ADULT? WHY
NOT 20 OR 19, OR INDEED 18.
I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH INTO
THE MATTER AND DISCOVERED THAT THE IDEA
OF 21 BEING THE AGE OF MAJORITY STARTED
BACK IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
DURING MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES,
IN NORTHERN EUROPE, THE AGE OF MAJORITY
GENERALLY WAS 15, NOT 21. ONLY THE SMALL
KNIGHTLY CLASS HAD A HIGHER AGE, WHICH
WAS EVENTUALLY FIXED AT 21. THE REASON
FOR THIS WAS UNRELATED TO EXPERIENCE OR
MATURITY. THE DETERMINING FACTOR WAS
THE NEED TO BEAR HEAVY ARMS, TO LIFT A
LANCE OR SWORD WHILE WEARING STEEL ARMOR.
SINCE THE STRENGTH AND SKILL REQUIRED FOR
KNIGHTLY PURSUITS WERE NOT ACQUIRED BEFORE
THE AGE OF 21, THAT BECAME FOR KNIGHTS THE
AGE OF MAJORITY.
-4-
THIS PRACTICE OF THE GENTRY
CAME GRADUALLY TO APPLY UNIVERSALLY. THE
AGE THEN THAT WAS FOR SO LONG REGARDED
AS A BOUNDARY BETWEEN MATURITY AND
IMMATURITY DERIVED ITS ORIGIN FROM THE
PHYSICAL NEEDS OF MEDEIVAL KNIGHTS.
I NEED HARDLY NOTE THAT WE ARE
NO LONGER IN THE MIDDLE AGES -- AND THE
ACTION OF THE CONGRESS IN GIVING THE VOTE
TO 18, 19 AND 20-YEAR-OLDS IS TESTIMONY
TO THAT FACT.
YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY ARE BETTER
EDUCATED AND MATURE PHYSICALLY MUCH SOONER
THAN THEY DID EVEN 50 YEARS AGO. I MAKE
THAT OBSERVATION AS AN EXPERIENCED FATHER
OF TWO YOUNG MEN WHO ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS
AND A BOY AND A GIRL WHO ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL.
IN MY OPINION YOUNG PEOPLE
ABOVE THE AGES OF 18 OR 20 ARE TOO OLD
FORD & LIBRARY GER/LD
TO BE CLASSIFIED AS YOUTH. THEY ARE
-5-
YOUNG ADULTS, AND THEY DESERVE TO BE
TREATED AS SUCH.
IT HAS BEEN SO THROUGHOUT
HISTORY. THERE ARE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES
WHERE PUBLIC LEADERSHIP AT AN EARLY AGE
WAS FULLY POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO WERE
READY AND WILLING TO ASSUME THE
RESPONSIBILITIES.
WHEN HE WAS ONLY 24, WILLIAM
PITT WAS MADE PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND,
AT THAT TIME THE MOST POWERFUL NATION ON
EARTH. HE PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST
ABLE LEADERS IN MODERN HISTORY.
AT 19, CAESAR AUGUSTUS INHERITED
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND IMMEDIATELY
DEMONSTRATED HIS ABILITY BY RAISING AN
ARMY AND LEADING IT HIMSELF AGAINST
RIVALS WHO WERE CHALLENGING HIS POSITION.
HIS GREATNESS IS UNQUESTIONED.
GERALD FORD VIDRAEY
-6-
AT
17, JOAN OF ARC WAS LEADING
A VICTORIOUS ARMY.
AT
21,
ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS
ALREADY AN IMPORTANT AND RECOGNIZED
FIGURE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
AT 23, ALEXANDER THE GREAT
BECAME KING OF MACEDON, AND WITHIN SEVEN
YEARS HE HAD CONQUERED A LARGE PORTION OF
THE KNOWN WORLD.
SO WE CAN SEE THAT THROUGHOUT
HISTORY YOUTHFUL YEARS HAVE SELDOM KEPT
THE GIFTED FROM GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THE DESIRE OF YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY
FOR RECOGNITION BY SOCIETY AND FOR
CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN LIVES IS NOT
SOMETHING NEW BUT SOMETHING OLD. WHILE
IT MAY APPEAR TO SOME THAT WE ARE IN THE
VANGUARD OF A GREAT YOUTH REVOLT THE
TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE RETURNING TO
-7-
CULTURAL PATTERNS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND
OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO BE MOST
SUITED TO DEVELOPING THE NATURAL GIFTS
OF MEN.
YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY WANT TO BE
RELEASED FROM THE BONDAGE OF YOUTH TO
BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AS CITIZENS
TO
COMPETE AS FULL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
AND I THINK THEY SHOULD.
IN FACT, I HOPE THAT OUR YOUNG
ADULTS ENTERING COMMUNITY LIFE -- WHETHER
IT BE AFTER COMPLETION OF HIGH SCHOOL OR
COLLEGE -- WILL TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS AND NOT BECOME SIMPLY
SLAVES TO THE BUSINESS OF MAKING A LIVING.
OLDER PERSONS WOULD WELCOME THEIR
PARTICIPATION AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS OF
TIME AND ENERGY.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
-8-
TO YOU YOUNG ADULTS IN
PARTICULAR I WOULD SAY: YOU ARE LEADERS,
BY VIRTUE OF YOUR BACKGROUND AND
SCHOOLING. THINK OF YOURSELVES AS
LEADERS -- AND NOT JUST LEADERS OF YOUTH
BUT LEADERS OF PEOPLE. YOU WILL SHORTLY
BE IN A POSITION TO SERVE A MUCH LARGER
COMMUNITY, A COMMUNITY WHERE YOUR
CONSTITUENCY WILL INCLUDE MANY PEOPLE
OLDER THAN YOURSELVES. IT WILL BE ON
THE BASIS OF YOUR ABILITY TO APPRECIATE
MORE THAN THE NEEDS OF YOUR OWN AGE GROUP
THAT YOU WILL BE RECOGNIZED AS LEADERS.
AS YOUNG ADULTS, AS LEADERS
YOU WILL BE CONFRONTED DIRECTLY WITH A
NUMBER OF COMMUNITY PROBLEMS NO MATTER
IN WHAT AREA YOU LIVE.
YOU WILL BECOME EVEN MORE AWARE
THAN YOU ARE NOW OF OUR MANY URBAN ILLS --
-9-
CRIME CRIME, POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT, INADEQUATE
HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION
THESE PROBLEMS MUST BE ATTACKED
ON A REGIONAL BASIS, RATHER THAN IN
PIECEMEAL FRAGMENTED FASHION.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN WORK
TOGETHER AS ONE IN ATTACKING CRIME,
IMPROVING TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING,
FINDING JOBS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED THROUGH
METROPOLITAN AREA JOB CENTERS.
AT THE SAME TIME NEW ATTITUDES
ARE NECESSARY AT OTHER LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT.
STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS MUST
COME TO REALIZE THAT THE PROBLEMS OF THE
CITY GO FAR BEYOND SPECIFIC SLUM AREAS
AND SOCIAL ILLS. CITY METROPOLITAN AREA
GOVERNMENTS MUST BE GIVEN THE RESOURCES --
MONEY AND AUTHORITY -- TO SOLVE THE LARGER
-10-
PROBLEMS OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
THE KEY TO SUCH LOCAL
PROBLEM-SOLVING LIES IN A PROPOSAL WHICH
PRESIDENT NIXON LAID BEFORE THE CONGRESS
MORE THAN A YEAR AGO. IT IS CALLED
FEDERAL REVENUE SHARING -- THE ALLOCATING
OF A PERCENTAGE SLICE OF INCOME TAX
REVENUE TO STATES AND LOCAL UNITS OF
GOVERNMENT WITH ALMOST NO STRINGS
ATTACHED.
I HOPE YOU AGREE THERE MUST BE
A CUTTING OF CONTROLS FROM WASHINGTON AND
STATE CAPITOLS IF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE
TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO SOLVE URBAN
PROBLEMS.
I MENTIONED EARLIER THE BUSINESS
OF MAKING A LIVING. IT IS ALL VERY WELL
TO TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND A
ROLE IN COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BUT ALL OF US
55
LIBRARY
-11-
MUST
AFTER ALL, MAKE A LIVING.
THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FACING
US AS AMERICANS TODAY IS TO ACHIEVE
PROSPERITY IN PEACETIME
SELDOM IN THE HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES HAVE WE HAD PEACE AND
PROSPERITY AT THE SAME TIME. PROSPERITY
USUALLY HAS COME WITH A WARTIME ECONOMY
A BOOMING DEFENSE INDUSTRY.
WE ARE NOW TRYING TO ACHIEVE
PROSPERITY AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE END
OUR INVOLVEMENT IN A COSTLY AND TRAGIC
WAR.
WHAT ARE WE DEALING WITH? WE
ARE SEEKING TO BRING UNDER CONTROL AN
INFLATION THAT ROARED AHEAD ALMOST
UNCHECKED BETWEEN 1965 AND 1969. WE ARE
ALSO SEEKING TO STIMULATE AN ECONOMY THAT
FORD
HAS BEEN THROTTLED BACK AS WE HAVE FOUGHT
LIBRARY
-12-
INFLATION, HAVE PARTIALLY SHUT DOWN OUR
DEFENSE INDUSTRIES AND HAVE CUT OUR FIGHTING
FORCES BY A MILLION MEN
THE CHALLENGE THAT FACES US IS
WHETHER WE CAN MAKE INFLATION-FIGHTING
WORK WHILE AT THE SAME TIME STIMULATING
THE ECONOMY TO BRING ABOUT PEACETIME
PROSPERITY.
WE ARE FIGHTING INFLATION WITH
LIMITED PRICE AND WAGE CONTROLS. THE
EFFORT KNOWN AS PHASE II IS WORKING. IT
HAS A LOT GOING FOR IT
SIMULTANEOUSLY, WE NOW HAVE THE
STIMULUS OF TAX CUTS VOTED LATE LAST YEAR
BY THE CONGRESS. THIS SHOULD ULTIMATELY
MEAN THE CREATION OF THOUSANDS OF NEW
JOBS.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER
CHALLENGES THAT FACE YOUNG ADULTS TODAY?
-13-
CERTAINLY ONE OF THE KEY
PROBLEMS IS THE RESTORATION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT.
WE HAVE ALREADY TAKEN GIANT
STEPS TOWARD CLEANER AIR THROUGH PASSAGE
OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1970.
NOW WE MUST FOCUS ON THE NEED TO CLEAN UP
THE NATION'S WATERWAYS. WE MUST TAKE
EVERY FEASIBLE ACTION TO MAKE OUR LAKES
AND STREAMS CLEAN AGAIN.
ONE OF OUR GREATEST CHALLENGES
IS TO BUILD A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE PEACE.
WE CAN DO THIS ONLY BY REPELLING EFFORTS
BOTH ON THE RIGHT AND ON THE LEFT TO SHUNT
AMERICA OFF INTO A NEW POSTURE OF
!SOLATIONISM. WE MUST MAINTAIN OUR
POSITION OF LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD IF
THE WORLD IS TO HAVE ANY CHANCE TO LIVE
IN PEACE.
BEFORD & LIBRARY GERALD
-14-
WE ARE TURNING FROM AN ERA OF
CONFRONTATION TO AN ERA OF NEGOTIATION.
BUT THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT
NEGOTIATION WILL PROVE FRUITFUL ONLY IF
WE NEGOTIATE FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH.
WE ARE ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN
FOREIGN AFFAIRS BECAUSE WE ARE CONTINUING
TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE ARE DETERMINED
TO DISCHARGE AMERICA'S RESPONSIBILITIES.
THE PRESIDENT IS PREPARING FOR
SUMMIT MEETINGS IN PEKING AND MOSCOW IN AN
EFFORT TO EASE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND THOSE NATIONS.
WE HAVE ENGAGED IN LONG TALKS
WITH THE SOVIET UNION ON CURBING THE
DEPLOYMENT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AND WE ARE
ON THE BRINK OF AN AGREEMENT.
WE DID NOT WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM
ORD
EUROPE IN THE ABSENCE OF AN AGREEMENT FOR
LIBRARY
MUTUAL TROOP WITHDRAWAL.
-15-
WE STOOD UP TO RUSSIA IN THE
SYRIA-JORDAN CRISIS IN OCTOBER OF 1970.
DURING 18 MONTHS OF A CEASE-FIRE
WE HAVE MAINTAINED THE BALANCE OF POWER IN
THE MIDEAST. THROUGH SECRETARY ROGERS'
LEADERSHIP WE ARE INCHING SLOWLY TOWARD A
NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT IN THIS TROUBLED
AREA.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET RUSSIAN
EXPANSIONISM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN GO
UNANSWERED.
WHAT WE ARE TELLING THE SOVIET
UNION AND THE WORLD IS THAT WE WILL NOT
ALLOW THE OTHER SUPER-POWER TO GAIN ANY
ADVANTAGES AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD
THE WORLD TOWARD PEACE.
I THEREFORE THINK YOUNG ADULTS
IN AMERICA TODAY CAN LOOK FORWARD TO A
GENERATION OF PEACE.
-16-
PEACE WILL COME BECAUSE WE ARE
BUILDING IT -- SLOWLY, CAREFULLY, WISELY.
WE ARE NOT JUST WISHING FOR PEACE.
WE ARE WORKING FOR PEACE.
WE ARE PUTTING AMERICA ON A NEW
COURSE. WE ARE TAKING HER IN NEW
DIRECTIONS THAT POINT TOWARD A NEW AGE
OF GREATNESS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
WE ARE LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR
PROSPERITY WITHOUT WAR AND WE ARE BUILDING
A NEW STRATEGY FOR PEACE.
OUR GOALS ARE CLEAR. OUR PURPOSE
IS STRONG. WITH THE HELP OF THE YOUNG
ADULTS OF AMERICA, WE CANNOT FAIL.
-- END --
FORD LIBRARY & DERALD
Distribution : 20 copies w/m. Tord only
Moffice Copy
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AT AN ACADEMIC CONVOCATION OF
BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE
BELMONT, NORTH CAROLINA
JANUARY 21, 1972
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY EXPECTED AT 10:30 A.M. JAN. 21, 1972
Thank you most deeply for the great honor you have bestowed upon me. It
will make me even more thoroughly aware of all the responsibilities that are mine.
It will remind me constantly of the tremendous contribution that small colleges
throughout America are making to the academic excellence of our country.
Belmont Abbey College is a most inspiring institution. It is inspiring
because it reflects the best qualities of America--the eagerness of young adults
to prepare themselves for positions of leadership in communities across the land
and the willingness of a dedicated faculty to help them attain that goal.
College students today have reached their present age at a particularly
important time, both for them and for America. As you know, 18, 19 and 20-year-olds
now have the right to vote in local, state and national elections.
This causes concern among some. But I do not in the least share this concern.
I have consistently supported the enfranchisement of 18-year-olds. I believe it is
a change which was long overdue. I have long supported it because I believe the
great bulk of our young people are ready to take on adult burdens at 18.
It may surprise you, but contrary to popular opinion that view is not an
invention of our times. Rather, it is deeply rooted in history.
Why should 21 be the magic age for a person to become an adult? Why not
20 or 19, or indeed 18?
I did a little research into the matter and discovered that the idea of
21 being the age of majority started back in the Middle Ages.
During most of the Middle Ages, in Northern Europe, the age of majority
generally was 15, not 21. Only the small knightly class had a higher age, which was
eventually fixed at 21. The reason for this was unrelated to experience or maturity.
The determining factor was the need to bear heavy arms, to lift a lance or sword
while wearing steel armor. Since the strength and skill required for knightly
pursuits were not acquired before the age of 21, that became for knights the age
of majority.
(more)
-2-
This practice of the gentry came gradually to apply universally. The age,
then, that was for so long regarded as a boundary between maturity and immaturity
derived its origin from the physical needs of medeival knights.
I need hardly note that we are no longer in the Middle Ages--and the action
of the Congress in giving the vote to 18, 19 and 20-year-olds is testimony to that
fact.
Young people today are better educated and mature physically much sooner
than they did even 50 years ago. I make that observation as an experienced father
of two young men who are college students and a boy and a girl who are in high
school.
In my opinion, young people above the ages of 18 or 20 are too old to be
classified as youth. They are young adults, and they deserve to be treated as
such.
It has been so throughout history. There are numerous examples where public
leadership at an early age was fully possible for those who were ready and willing
to assume the responsibilities.
When he was only 24, William Pitt was made prime minister of England, at
that time the most powerful nation on earth. He proved to be one of the most able
leaders in modern history.
At 19, Caesar Augustus inherited the Roman Empire and immediately demonstrated
his ability by raising an army and leading it himself against rivals who were
challenging his position. His greatness is unquestioned.
At 17, Joan of Arc was leading a victorious army.
At 21, Alexander Hamilton was already an important and recognized figure in
the American Revolution.
At 23, Alexander the Great became King of Macedon, and within seven years
he had conquered a large portion of the known world.
So we can see that throughout history youthful years have seldom kept the
gifted from great accomplishments.
The desire of young people today for recognition by society and for control
over their own lives is not something new but something old. While it may appear
to some that we are in the vanguard of a great youth revolt, the truth is that we
are returning to cultural patterns that have been found over thousands of years to
be most suited to developing the natural gifts of men.
(more)
-3-
Young people today want to be released from the bondage of youth, to be
taken seriously as citizens, to compete as full members of the community. And I
think they should.
In fact, I hope that our young adults entering community life--whether it
be after completion of high school or college--will take an active part in community
affairs and not become simply slaves to the business of making a living. Older
persons would welcome their participation and their contributions of time and
energy.
To you young adults in particular I would say: You are leaders, by virtue
of your background and schooling. Think of yourselves as leaders--and not just
leaders of youth but leaders of people. You will shortly be in a position to serve
a much larger community, a community where your constituency will include many
people older than yourselves. It will be on the basis of your ability to
appreciate more than the needs of your own age group that you will be recognized
as leaders.
As young adults, as leaders, you will be confronted directly with a number
of community problems no matter in what area you live.
You will become even more aware than you are now of our many urban ills--
crime, poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing and transportation.
These problems must be attacked on a regional basis, rather than in piecemeal
fragmented fashion.
Local governments can work together as one in attacking crime, improving
transportation and housing, finding jobs for the unemployed through metropolitan
area job centers.
At the same time new attitudes are necessary at other levels of government.
State and federal officials must come to realize that the problems of the
city go far beyond specific slum areas and social ills. City metropolitan area
governments must be given the resources--money and authority--to solve the larger
problems of the whole community.
The key to such local problem-solving lies in a proposal which President
Nixon laid before the Congress more than a year ago. It is called Federal revenue
sharing--the allocating of a percentage slice of income tax revenue to states and
local units of government with almost no strings attached.
I hope you agree there must be a cutting of controls from Washington and
State capitols if local governments are to have the flexibility to solve urban
problems.
(more)
-4-
I mentioned earlier the business of making a living. It is all very well to
talk about community leadership and a role in community affairs but all of us must,
after all, make a living.
The greatest challenge facing us as Americans today is to achieve prosperity
in peacetime.
Seldom in the history of the United States have we had peace and prosperity
at the same time. Prosperity usually has come with a wartime economy, a booming
defense industry.
We are now trying to achieve prosperity at the same time that we end our
involvement in a costly and tragic war.
What are we dealing with? We are seeking to bring under control an inflation
that roared ahead almost unchecked between 1965 and 1969. We are also seeking to
stimulate an economy that has been throttled back as we have fought inflation, have
partially shut down our defense industries and have cut our fighting forces by a
million men.
The challenge that faces us is whether we can make inflation-fighting work
while at the same time stimulating the economy to bring about peacetime prosperity.
We are fighting inflation with limited price and wage controls. The effort
known as Phase II is working. It has a lot going for it.
Simultaneously, we now have the stimulus of tax cuts voted late last year by
the Congress. This should ultimately mean the creation of thousands of new jobs.
What are some of the other challenges that face young adults today?
Certainly one of the key problems is the restoration of the environment.
We have already taken giant steps toward cleaner air through passage of the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. Now we must focus on the need to clean up the
nation's waterways. We must take every feasible action to make our lakes and
streams clean again.
One of our greatest challenges is to build a foundation for future peace.
We can do this only by repelling efforts both on the Right and on the Left to shunt
America off into a new posture of isolationism. We must maintain our position of
leadership in the world if the world is to have any chance to live in peace.
We are turning from an era of confrontation to an era of negotiation. But
there is no question in my mind that negotiation will prove fruitful only if we
negotiate from a position of strength.
(more)
-5-
We are achieving success in foreign affairs because we are continuing to show
the world that we are determined to discharge America's responsibilities.
The President is preparing for summit meetings in Peking and Moscow in an
effort to ease tensions between the United States and those nations.
We have engaged in long talks with the Soviet Union on curbing the deployment
of nuclear weapons, and we are on the brink of an agreement.
We did not withdraw troops from Europe in the absence of an agreement for
mutual troop withdrawal.
We stood up to Russia in the Syria-Jordan crisis in October of 1970.
During 18 months of a cease-fire, we have maintained the balance of power in
the Mideast. Through Secretary Rogers' leadership we are inching slowly toward a
negotiated settlement in this troubled area.
We are not going to let Russian expansionism in the Indian Ocean go
unanswered.
What we are telling the Soviet Union and the world is that we will not allow
the other super-power to gain any advantages and we will continue to lead the world
toward peace.
I therefore think young adults in America today can look forward to a
generation of peace.
Peace will come because we are building it--slowly, carefully, wisely.
We are not just wishing for peace. We are working for peace.
We are putting America on a new course. We are taking her in new directions
that point toward a new age of greatness for the American people.
We are laying the foundation for prosperity without war and we are building
a new strategy for peace.
Our goals are clear. Our purpose is strong. With the help of the young
adults of America, we cannot fail.
# # #
20 copies of Mr. Tord only
office Copy
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R--MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AT AN ACADEMIC CONVOCATION OF
BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE
BELMONT, NORTH CAROLINA
JANUARY 21, 1972
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY EXPECTED AT 10:30 A.M. JAN. 21, 1972
Thank you most deeply for the great honor you have bestowed upon me. It
will make me even more thoroughly aware of all the responsibilities that are mine.
It will remind me constantly of the tremendous contribution that small colleges
throughout America are making to the academic excellence of our country.
Belmont Abbey College is a most inspiring institution. It is inspiring
because it reflects the best qualities of America--the eagerness of young adults
to prepare themselves for positions of leadership in communities across the land
and the willingness of a dedicated faculty to help them attain that goal.
College students today have reached their present age at a particularly
important time, both for them and for America. As you know, 18, 19 and 20-year-olds
now have the right to vote in local, state and national elections.
This causes concern among some. But I do not in the least share this concern.
I have consistently supported the enfranchisement of 18-year-olds. I believe it is
a change which was long overdue. I have long supported it because I believe the
great bulk of our young people are ready to take on adult burdens at 18.
It may surprise you, but contrary to popular opinion that view is not an
invention of our times. Rather, it is deeply rooted in history.
Why should 21 be the magic age for a person to become an adult? Why not
20 or 19, or indeed 18?
I did a little research into the matter and discovered that the idea of
21 being the age of majority started back in the Middle Ages.
During most of the Middle Ages, in Northern Europe, the age of majority
generally was 15, not 21. Only the small knightly class had a higher age, which was
eventually fixed at 21. The reason for this was unrelated to experience or maturity.
The determining factor was the need to bear heavy arms, to lift a lance or sword
while wearing steel armor. Since the strength and skill required for knightly
pursuits were not acquired before the age of 21, that became for knights the age
of majority.
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This practice of the gentry came gradually to apply universally. The age,
then, that was for so long regarded as a boundary between maturity and immaturity
derived its origin from the physical needs of medeival knights.
I need hardly note that we are no longer in the Middle Ages--and the action
of the Congress in giving the vote to 18, 19 and 20-year-olds is testimony to that
fact.
Young people today are better educated and mature physically much sooner
than they did even 50 years ago. I make that observation as an experienced father
of two young men who are college students and a boy and a girl who are in high
school.
In my opinion, young people above the ages of 18 or 20 are too old to be
classified as youth. They are young adults, and they deserve to be treated as
such.
It has been so throughout history. There are numerous examples where public
leadership at an early age was fully possible for those who were ready and willing
to assume the responsibilities.
When he was only 24, William Pitt was made prime minister of England, at
that time the most powerful nation on earth. He proved to be one of the most able
leaders in modern history.
At 19, Caesar Augustus inherited the Roman Empire and immediately demonstrated
his ability by raising an army and leading it himself against rivals who were
challenging his position. His greatness is unquestioned.
At 17, Joan of Arc was leading a victorious army.
At 21, Alexander Hamilton was already an important and recognized figure in
the American Revolution.
At 23, Alexander the Great became King of Macedon, and within seven years
he had conquered a large portion of the known world.
So we can see that throughout history youthful years have seldom kept the
gifted from great accomplishments.
The desire of young people today for recognition by society and for control
over their own lives is not something new but something old. While it may appear
to some that we are in the vanguard of a great youth revolt, the truth is that we
are returning to cultural patterns that have been found over thousands of years to
be most suited to developing the natural gifts of men.
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Young people today want to be released from the bondage of youth, to be
taken seriously as citizens, to compete as full members of the community. And I
think they should.
In fact, I hope that our young adults entering community life-whether it
be after completion of high school or college--will take an active part in community
affairs and not become simply slaves to the business of making a living. Older
persons would welcome their participation and their contributions of time and
energy.
To you young adults in particular I would say: You are leaders, by virtue
of your background and schooling. Think of yourselves as leaders--and not just
leaders of youth but leaders of people. You will shortly be in a position to serve
a much larger community, a community where your constituency will include many
people older than yourselves. It will be on the basis of your ability to
appreciate more than the needs of your own age group that you will be recognized
as leaders.
As young adults, as leaders, you will be confronted directly with a number
of community problems no matter in what area you live.
You will become even more aware than you are now of our many urban ills--
crime, poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing and transportation.
These problems must be attacked on a regional basis, rather than in piecemeal
fragmented fashion.
Local governments can work together as one in attacking crime, improving
transportation and housing, finding jobs for the unemployed through metropolitan
area job centers.
At the same time new attitudes are necessary at other levels of government.
State and federal officials must come to realize that the problems of the
city go far beyond specific slum areas and social ills. City metropolitan area
governments must be given the resources--money and authority--to solve the larger
problems of the whole community.
The key to such local problem-solving lies in a proposal which President
Nixon laid before the Congress more than a year ago. It is called Federal revenue
sharing--the allocating of a percentage slice of income tax revenue to states and
local units of government with almost no strings attached.
I hope you agree there must be a cutting of controls from Washington and
State capitols if local governments are to have the flexibility to solve urban
problems.
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I mentioned earlier the business of making a living. It is all very well to
talk about community leadership and a role in community affairs but all of us must,
after all, make a living.
The greatest challenge facing us as Americans today is to achieve prosperity
in peacetime.
Seldom in the history of the United States have we had peace and prosperity
at the same time. Prosperity usually has come with a wartime economy, a booming
defense industry.
We are now trying to achieve prosperity at the same time that we end our
involvement in a costly and tragic war.
What are we dealing with? We are seeking to bring under control an inflation
that roared ahead almost unchecked between 1965 and 1969. We are also seeking to
stimulate an economy that has been throttled back as we have fought inflation, have
partially shut down our defense industries and have cut our fighting forces by a
million men.
The challenge that faces us is whether we can make inflation-fighting work
while at the same time stimulating the economy to bring about peacetime prosperity.
We are fighting inflation with limited price and wage controls. The effort
known as Phase II is working. It has a lot going for it.
Simultaneously, we now have the stimulus of tax cuts voted late last year by
the Congress. This should ultimately mean the creation of thousands of new jobs.
What are some of the other challenges that face young adults today?
Certainly one of the key problems is the restoration of the environment.
We have already taken giant steps toward cleaner air through passage of the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. Now we must focus on the need to clean up the
nation's waterways. We must take every feasible action to make our lakes and
streams clean again.
One of our greatest challenges is to build a foundation for future peace.
We can do this only by repelling efforts both on the Right and on the Left to shunt
America off into a new posture of isolationism. We must maintain our position of
leadership in the world if the world is to have any chance to live in peace.
We are turning from an era of confrontation to an era of negotiation. But
there is no question in my mind that negotiation will prove fruitful only if we
negotiate from a position of strength.
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We are achieving success in foreign affairs because we are continuing to show
the world that we are determined to discharge America's responsibilities.
The President is preparing for summit meetings in Peking and Mos cow in an
effort to ease tensions between the United States and those nations.
We have engaged in long talks with the Soviet Union on curbing the deployment
of nuclear weapons, and we are on the brink of an agreement.
We did not withdraw troops from Europe in the absence of an agreement for
mutual troop withdrawal.
We stood up to Russia in the Syria-Jordan crisis in October of 1970.
During 18 months of a cease-fire, we have maintained the balance of power in
the Mideast. Through Secretary Rogers' leadership we are inching slowly toward a
negotiated settlement in this troubled area.
We are not going to let Russian expansionism in the Indian Ocean go
unanswered.
What we are telling the Soviet Union and the world is that we will not allow
the other super-power to gain any advantages and we will continue to lead the world
toward peace.
I therefore think young adults in America today can look forward to a
generation of peace.
Peace will come because we are building it--slowly, carefully, wisely.
We are not just wishing for peace. We are working for peace.
We are putting America on a new course. We are taking her in new directions
that point toward a new age of greatness for the American people.
We are laying the foundation for prosperity without war and we are building
a new strategy for peace.
Our goals are clear. Our purpose is strong. With the help of the young
adults of America, we cannot fail.
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