Republican Party Platform of 19641. Every person has the right to govern himself, to fix his own goals, and to make his own way with a minimum of governmental interference. July 13, 1964 For the People Section One For a Free People Humanity is tormented once again by an age-old issue—is man to live in dignity and freedom under God or be enslaved—are men in government to serve, or are they to master, their fellow men? To Republicans, liberty is still today mans most precious possession. For every citizen, and for the generations to come, we Republicans vow that it shall be preserved. In substantiation of this belief the Republican Party submits this platform. To the American people it is our solemn bond. To Stay Free The shape of the future is our paramount concern. Much of todays moral decline and drift—much of the prevailing preoccupation with physical and material comforts of life—much of todays crass political appeals to the appetites of the citizenry—can be traced to a leadership grown demagogic and materialistic through indifference to national ideals rounded in devoutly held religious faith. The Republican Party seeks not to renounce this heritage of faith and high purpose; rather, we are determined to reaffirm and reapply it. So doing, these will be our guides: 1. Every person has the right to govern himself, to fix his own goals, and to make his own way with a minimum of governmental interference. 2. It is for government to foster and maintain an environment of freedom encouraging every individual to develop to the fullest his God-given powers of mind, heart and body; and, beyond this, government should undertake only needful things, rightly of public concern, which the citizen cannot himself accomplish. We Republicans hold that these two principles must regain their primacy in our governments relations, not only with the American people, but also with nations and peoples everywhere in the world. 3. Within our Republic the Federal Government should act only in areas where it has Constitutional authority to act, and then only in respect to proven needs where individuals and local or state governments will not or cannot adequately perform. Great power, whether governmental or private, political or economic, must be so checked, balanced and restrained and, where necessary, so dispersed as to prevent it from becoming a threat to freedom any place in the land. 4. It is a high mission of government to help assure equal opportunity for all, affording every citizen an equal chance at the starting line but never determining who is to win or lose. But government must also reflect the nations compassionate concern for those who are unable, through no fault of their own, to provide adequately for themselves. 5. Government must be restrained in its demands upon and its use of the resources of the people, remembering that it is not the creator but the steward of the wealth it uses; that its goals must ever discipline its means; and that service to all the people, never to selfish or partisan ends, must be the abiding purpose of men entrusted with public power.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 22:21:12 +0000