The government of the United States seriously began on the 26th September 1789 with the appointment of the first United States Secretary of State in the person of Thomas Jefferson (age 46). John Jay (age 44) was appointed the first Chief Justice of the United States and Edmund Randolph (age 36) the first Attorney General. The rule of law was firmly put into place. Samuel Osgood (age 42) was appointed the first United States Postmaster General. Vital communications had to be set into place.
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| Jefferson |
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| Jay |
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| Osgood |
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| Randolph |
It must be remembered that all these men, were 13 years younger in 1776, at the start of the Revolution, and were all revolutionaries. They had spent the previous 13 years cultivating and establishing the roots of the Constitution of the United States. They were, as Lincoln later put it, the fathers who brought forth, on the American continent, “a new nation, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Fine words. More words were exchanged on the 26th September 1960 with the first televised debate from Chicago, between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It was widely felt that Nixon lost these debates because he didn’t have the right make up. Those are two words to conjure with – make up.
At the same time on the 26th September 1960, Fidel Castro was in New York making a speech to the United Nations assembly. It was, by Castro’s standards, a short speech, but, being some 18,750 words, must have taken a little time.
It was punctuated by several ovations and moments of spontaneous applause and a little laughter. It was essentially a defiant speech against the United States’ attitude to the Cuban Revolution, and his party of delegates in particular, and stating his reason’s behind his own attitude towards the United States and his conduct of the Cuban Revolution. It also gave an indication of his intended rapprochement with the then Soviet Union and Nikita Krushchev. During the speech he made reference to comments made by Senator Kennedy and Mr Richard Nixon:
“I have here some declarations by Mister Kennedy that would surprise anybody. On Cuba he says. "We must use all the power of the Organization of American States to prevent Castro from interfering in other Latin American countries, and we must use all that power to return freedom to Cuba". They are going to give freedom back to Cuba!
"We must state our intention," he says, "of not allowing the Soviet Union to turn Cuba into its Caribbean base, and of applying the Monroe Doctrine". Half-way or more into the twentieth century, this gentleman speaks of the Monroe doctrine!
"We must make Prime Minister Castro understand that we intend to defend our right to the Naval Base of Guantanamo." He is the third who speaks of the problem. "And we must make the Cuban people know that we sympathize with their legitimate economic aspirations..." Why did they not feel sympathetic before? "...that we know their love of freedom, and that we shall never be happy until democracy is restored in Cuba..." What democracy? The democracy "made" by the imperialist monopolies of the Government of the United States?
"The forces in exile that are struggling for freedom," he says--note this very carefully so that you will understand why there are planes flying from American territory over Cuba: pay close attention to what this gentleman has to say. "The forces that struggle for liberty in exile and in the mountains of Cuba should be supported and assisted, and in other countries of Latin America communism must be confined and not allowed to expand."
If Kennedy were not an illiterate and ignorant millionaire...
(APPLAUSE)
...he would understand that is is not possible to carry out a revolution supported by landowners against the peasant in the mountains, and that every time imperialism has tried to encourage counterrevolutionary groups, the peasant militia has captured them in the course of a few days. But he seems to have read a novel, or seen a Hollywood film, about guerrillas, and he thinks it is possible to carry on guerrilla warfare in a country where the relations of the social forces are what they are in Cuba.
In any case, this is discouraging. Let no one think, however, that these opinions as regards Kennedy's statements indicate that we feel any sympathy towards the other one, Mister Nixon...
(LAUGHTER)
who has made similar statements. As far as we are concerned, both lack political brains”
He ended his speech with the following words:
"In short, The National General Assembly of the Cuban People condemns the exploitation of man by man, and the exploitations of underdeveloped countries by imperialists capital.
"Therefore, the National General Assembly of the Cuban People proclaims before America, and proclaims here before the world, the right of the peasants to the land; the right of the workers to the fruits of their labor; the right of the children to education: the right of the sick to medical care and hospitalization; the right of young people to work; the right of students to free vocational training and scientific education; the right of Negroes, and Indians to full human dignity; the right of women to civil, social and political equality; the right of the elderly to security in their old age; the right of intellectuals, artists and scientists so fight through their works for a better world; the right of States to nationalize imperialist monopolies, thus rescuing their national wealth and resources; the right of nations to their full sovereignty; the right of peoples to convert their military fortresses into schools, and to arm their workers--because in this we too have to be arms-conscious, to arm our people in defense against imperialist attacks--their peasants, their students, their intellectuals, Negroes, Indians, women, young people, old people, all the oppressed and exploited, so that they themselves can defend their rights and their destinies."
Some people wanted to know what the policy of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba was. Very well, then, this is our policy.”
(OVATION)
(END OF SPEECH)
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