A speech at Dartmouth in which President Dwight D. Eisenhower weighed in against McCarthyism will be the topic of an Monday at 4 p.m., presented by the and the Class of 1953.
Speaking , William Hitchcock, the James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia, will present the Constitution Day lecture commemorating Eisenhowerâs visit to campus in 1953 to give the Commencement address.
An expert on 20th-century policy and diplomacy, Hitchcock is the author of several books, including The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s, a New York Times bestseller. His talk will explore the presidentâs approach to confronting Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the âRed Scareâ of the 1950s.
Eisenhower, who rarely criticized McCarthy publicly, made headlines with advice he offered during his Commencement speech. âDonât join the book burnersâ was understood to be a swipe at the Wisconsin Republican, who asserted that the U.S. government had been infiltrated by communists.
, director of the Rockefeller Center, says the issues Eisenhower covered in his 1953 addressâparticularly the free exchange of ideas and perspectivesâare still important today.
âPolicy solutions for the 21st century often benefit from brave, diverse discussions,â Barabas says.
, chair of the , will moderate the event.
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Editorâs Note: This story has been updated to reflect that it is now an online event.
