Innsbruck, May 8, 1977
President Carter in Europe
At the summit of the seven leading industrial nations (Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States) in London, President Carter met for the first time with the heads of government in Europe. Will he succeed in passing on his unfailing optimism to his European partners? Carter used his stay in England to visit the George Washington Memorial in Sulgrave, located in the northwest of London. A branch of the Washington family had come from there in the 17th century to America. On the occasion of his visit, Carter was made an honorary citizen of that small town.
[The Washington family, who belonged to the landed gentry, had their estate and manor in the village of Sulgrave in Northamptonshire. Following the Civil Wars in England, the great-grandfather of George Washington immigrated to Virginia in 1657, where he could establish himself as plantation owner. Sulgrave erected a monument to George Washington, the first President of the United States.]
Innsbruck, May 19, 1977
South Africa
The continued apartheid policy in South Africa has become a scandal, which the world community cannot accept indifferently any longer. How widely the points of view between Pretoria and the rest of the world differ, has come to light these days at the meeting between U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale and the South African Prime Minister Johannes Vorster in Vienna. While Walter Mondale spoke up in unmistakable language for human rights, Vorster said that the situation of the Negroes in South Africa could not be compared with those in the United States. And he added that South Africa has already done everything anyway the world expects of it to do.
Innsbruck, May 20, 1977
Goal Achieved
When I was informed by the Provost Office of the University of Notre Dame that I have been promoted to full professor, I felt a great sense of happiness and relief. After twenty years of striving, many roundabout ways and overcoming many difficulties, the goal of my academic career has been achieved.
Innsbruck, May 22, 1977
President Carter at Notre Dame
Already the 10 p.m. evening news here reported on the speech, which President Jimmy Carter had given this afternoon at the commencement exercises of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Carter, who received the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa, gave the commencement address. It was a declaration of principle of the new American foreign policy, which attracted much attention in Europe. Accordingly, Carter will put American foreign policy on new moral grounds. He announced that the cooperation with developing countries will be increased and that efforts will be made to alleviate the North-South disparity between the rich and poor nations. Above all he emphasized that he will endeavor to overcome the fear of communism. Nor will America be ready to support rightwing dictators just to fight communism. The policy of casting out the devil by Beelzebub has failed. America will continue to advance détente and to cooperate with the Soviet Union and China. But the priority of his policy will remain the protection of human rights.
[Transl: For the full text of President Carter’s historic commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on May 22, 1977, see Wilson D. Miscamble, ed., Go Forth and Do Good: Memorable Notre Dame Commencement Addresses (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003), pp. 196-203.]