JFK SIGNS BILL CREATING WILSON MEMORIAL COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 4, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed a joint resolution of the United States Congress creating the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Commission (a.k.a. Public Law 87-364).
The Commission's function was "to formulate the plans for the design and construction and the location of a permanent memorial to Woodrow Wilson."
At the signing, President Kennedy said...
"(President Wilson) called for a New Freedom at home, and a world of unity and peace. 'Democratic institutions are never done,' he once wrote, 'they are, like the living tissue, always a-making. It is a strenuous thing, this of living the life of a free people; and we cannot escape the burden of our inheritance.'"
The President expressed gratitude that Mrs. Wilson and members of the Wilson family were in attendance. He also acknowledged Harrison A. Williams, Jr.*, Senator of New Jersey who sponsored the bill in the Senate.
*Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams, Jr. (1919-2001) was born in Plainfield, New Jersey & educated at Georgetown University, Oberlin College & Columbia Law School. HAW served in the US Congress 1953-1957 & US Senate 1959-1982. He was convicted of bribery & conspiracy in the Abscam scandal.
SOURCE
"Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Creating the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Commission, October 4, 1961," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 20 to December 31, 1961, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 4, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed a joint resolution of the United States Congress creating the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Commission (a.k.a. Public Law 87-364).
The Commission's function was "to formulate the plans for the design and construction and the location of a permanent memorial to Woodrow Wilson."
At the signing, President Kennedy said...
"(President Wilson) called for a New Freedom at home, and a world of unity and peace. 'Democratic institutions are never done,' he once wrote, 'they are, like the living tissue, always a-making. It is a strenuous thing, this of living the life of a free people; and we cannot escape the burden of our inheritance.'"
The President expressed gratitude that Mrs. Wilson and members of the Wilson family were in attendance. He also acknowledged Harrison A. Williams, Jr.*, Senator of New Jersey who sponsored the bill in the Senate.
*Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams, Jr. (1919-2001) was born in Plainfield, New Jersey & educated at Georgetown University, Oberlin College & Columbia Law School. HAW served in the US Congress 1953-1957 & US Senate 1959-1982. He was convicted of bribery & conspiracy in the Abscam scandal.
SOURCE
"Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Creating the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Commission, October 4, 1961," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 20 to December 31, 1961, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962.
