White House Press Release, Message from President Harry S. Truman to the United States Congress

136 HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE APRIL 16, 1948 CONFIDENTIAL: The following address to be delivered by the President at the Joint Session of the Congress in observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Cuban Independence, MUST BE HELD IN CONFIDENCE UNTIL DELIVERY HAS BEGUN. This is expected to be about 12:17 P.M., E.S.T., Monday, April 19th, 1948. NOTE: The same release applies to all newspapers, radio announcers and news broadcasters. PLEASE GUARD AGAINST PREMATURE PUBLICATION OR RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Congress, Distinguished Guests: It is eminently fitting that we should assemble here today to pay solemn tribute to the heroic champions of human freedom who brought about the liberation of Cuba. The commemoration of half a century of Cuban independence recalls the valor of the Cuban patriots and American soldiers and sailors who gave liberally of their strength and their blood that Cuba might be free. From that chapter in man's age-old struggle for freedom, we can draw inspiration for the hard tasks that confront us in our own time. NARA The struggle for Cuban independence, like every other effort of its kind, was fraught with hardship and disappointment. But the unconquerable determination of the Cuban people to win freedom overcame all obstacles. From the first, the fight for liberation by Cuban patriots evoked the sympathy of the people of the United States. Those in quest of independence have always had the support of the people of this Nation. Americans watched with admi ion the beginning of the final struggle for independence led by Jose Marti and his valiant compatriots, Gomez, Maceo, and Garcia. Our people made increasingly plain their desire to assist the Cuban patriots. The sinking of the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, crystallized the growing sentiment in this country for joining forces with the Cuban people in their fight for self-government. The Congress passed a Joint Resolution expressing in clear terms the conviction of the men and women of the United States that the people of the Island of Cuba should be free and inde- pendent. It also expressed our determination that once the Cuban people were liberated, they, and they alone, should govern the Island of Cuba. It is the passage of this Joint Resolution, fifty years ago today, which we are commemorating in this ceremony. This Joint Resolution, the foundation upon which our rela- tions with the Cuban Republic are based, brought the military and naval forces of the United States into the conflict at the side of the Cuban patriots. The names of Shafter, Roosevelt, Hobson, and many others were joined with those of Gomez, Maceo, and Garcia. For four months, as Americans fought side by side with their Cuban allies, the opposing forces were driven back. On August 12, Spain signed the Protocol of Peace and agreed to give up Cuba and withdraw her forces. The dream of Jose Marti became at last a glor- ious reality. (OVER)