The U.S. President's Commission on National Goals was organized in February 1960 as a non-official body whose purpose was to develop a broad outline of national objectives and programs for the next decade and longer.

Composition

The commission operated under the auspices of the American Assembly (established by

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1950 as a non-partisan educational organization) and was financed by private sources through the Assembly. The Commission was headed by Dr.

Henry Wriston Henry Merritt Wriston (July 4, 1889 – March 8, 1978) was an American educator, presidential advisor, and served as president at both Brown University and Lawrence University. Early life Henry Merritt Wriston was born in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie ...

, who was appointed by President Eisenhower on February 3, 1960. The other members of the Commission were Vice Chairman

Frank Pace Frank Pace Jr. (July 5, 1912January 8, 1988) was the 3rd United States Secretary of the Army and a business executive. Biography Pace was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and attended The Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In 1933 he graduated ...

Erwin D. Canham Erwin Dain Canham (February 13, 1904 – January 3, 1982) was an American journalist and author. He was best known for his work as the longest-serving editor of ''The Christian Science Monitor''. He also was the first, and last, Resident Commissio ...

James B. Conant James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978) was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. Conant obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard in 1916. ...

Colgate W. Darden, Jr. Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. (February 11, 1897 – June 9, 1981) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician aligned with the Byrd Organization who served as U.S. Representative from Virginia (1933–37, 1939–41), the 54th Governor of ...

Crawford H. Greenewalt Crawford Hallock Greenewalt (August 16, 1902 – September 28, 1993) was an American chemical engineer who served as president of the DuPont Company from 1948 to 1962 and as board chairman from 1962 to 1967. Early life Crawford Hallock Greene ...

Alfred M. Gruenther General (United States), General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther (March 3, 1899 – May 30, 1983) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer, American Red Cross, Red Cross president, and Bridge (game), bridge player. After be ...

Learned Hand Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 a ...

Clark Kerr Clark Kerr (May 17, 1911 – December 1, 2003) was an American professor of economics and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and twelfth president of the University of California. Bi ...

James R. Killian, Jr. James Rhyne Killian Jr. (July 24, 1904 – January 29, 1988) was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959. Early life Killian was born on July 24, 1904, in Blacksburg, South Carolina. His father ...

William P. Bundy William Putnam Bundy (September 24, 1917 – October 6, 2000) was an American attorney and intelligence expert, an analyst with the CIA. Bundy served as a foreign affairs advisor to both President of the United States, presidents John F. Kenne ...

and

George Meany William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union leader for 57 years. He was the key figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as the AFL–CIO's first president, from 1955 to 1979. Meany, the son ...

Activities

Of the numerous topics first visualized, fifteen were defined in the final report of the Commission. A writer was selected for each topic (i.e., goal) and was assisted by an ad hoc panel selected to counsel and criticize. And, as a general rule, one or more members of the Commission participated with each ad hoc panel. The Commission commented upon, approved or disapproved, the papers being written on the chosen topics. The completed report of the Commission (respecting President Eisenhower's request that its efforts be non-partisan) was sent to the president on November 16, 1960. The Report was published by

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

on December 12, 1960 in both paperback and hardbound editions.American Assembly (1960). "Goals for Americans Comprising the Report of the President's Commission on National Goals and Chapters Submitted for Consideration of the Commission." New York: Columbia University Press.

Dissolution

The Commission ceased activity with the submission of its report to the president, but its offices remained open until approximately May 1961, so as to make further arrangements for publicizing the Commission's report through the use of the communications media and the establishment of numerous discussion groups. The Commission also heavily influenced political elections because of the private funds flowing through the organization.

References

External links

U.S. President's Commission on National Goals Records, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Federal government of the United States National Goals, Commission on {{US-gov-stub