June 13, 1955

In his commencement address to the Class of 1955, former Governor of New York and two-time Republican presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey had cautious good news for the 291 graduates, saying that “a new, high quality of statesmanship and skill” had upset the Soviet Union’s “timetable of conquest” at every turn. “The ghastly shadow of world conquest which hangs over all of us is, of course, still with us,” he admitted. “It will surely be with us the rest of our lives. But the good news is that freedom has won a steady succession of victories and the spread of slavery has been stopped…. The tyrant has been met by strength and brave action. He has been forced to change his tactics. Of course, we are not so naïve to as to believe the plan for conquest has changed.”

The New York Times