1320004
ronald Reagan
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Reagan opposes the Panama Canal treaties:
" I . . . will continue my efforts as long as there is a battle to fight.
I feel more than ever that the giveaway . . . will be a disaster for our country."
Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911-2004. 40th President of the United States. Typed Letter Signed, Ron, one page, 7¼” x 10½”, on personal stationery, Los Angeles, California, September 14, 1977. With original envelope.
Reagan responds to an encouraging telegram from California Senator John Stull, a fellow Republican, about Reagan's congressional testimony in opposition to ratification of the Panama Canal treaties that President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian General Omar Torrijos Herrera had signed the day before. Reagan was unalterably opposed to the treaties, which ultimately returned full control and responsibility for the Panama Canal to Panama. He writes to Stull, in full: “Just a line to tell you I received your wire at the hotel and hope I fulfilled your expectations in my testimony. / I have already taped three of my radio broadcasts on this subject and will continue my efforts as long as there is a battle to fight. I feel more than ever that the giveaway, if it is ratified, will be a disaster for our country. I am urging everyone to write and wire their congressmen and senators. / Nancy sends here best and from both of us ‒ thanks for the wire."
Reagan was the nation's most vocal conservative voice in opposition to the treaties. Although the Nixon and Ford administrations had negotiated with Panama for return of the 10-mile-wide Canal Zone, Reagan was concerned about the security implications of the transfer. He first spoke forcefully about it in 1975, declaring in a speech, “We bought it, we paid for it, it is sovereign U.S. territory and we should keep it." He then made it an issue in the 1976 presidential primary campaign in an effort to unseat incumbent Republican President Gerald R. Ford, who held the opposite view. As Reagan notes in this letter, he devoted numerous radio commentaries to the topic. He also spoke about it in speeches around the United States.
On September 7, 1977, Carter concluded the Torrijos-Carter Treaties with Torrijos, the commander of the Panamanian National Guard who had seized power in a 1968 coup. Together, the two treaties abrogated the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, guaranteed the United States the right to defend the canal from any threat that might interfere with its continued neutral service to ships of all nations, and returned full control and primary responsibility for the canal to Panama as of midnight December 31, 1999.
The next day, Reagan testified before a subcommittee of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee—the testimony to which he refers in this letter. He argued that the canal was part of the United Statesʼ defense perimeter and that ceding the Canal Zone back to Panama would damage American defense interests. He continued to speak out in radio broadcasts, speeches, and interviews until finally, after intense debate, the Senate ratified the treaties by identical 68-32 votes—barely more than the two-thirds majority that the Constitution requires for treaty ratification—in March 1978. The votes crossed party lines with 52 Democrats and 16 Republicans in favor of them and 10 Democrats and 22 Republicans opposed.
This letter comes from Senator Stull's estate and has never been on the autograph market before. Stull (1920-2011) represented California's 80th Assembly District, covering North San Diego County, from 1967 to 1972. During his tenure he crafted California's famous Stull Act, part of the education code, which made the state's public school teachers accountable for the progress of their students. Stull then won a special election to the California Senate in 1973 and represented the 38th Senate District until 1978.
Reagan has signed this letter in blue ballpoint pen. The letter has two normal mailing folds and shows a bit of handling. The accompanying original mailing envelope has a note, “On Panama Canal give-away & RR's testimony,” in another hand. Both pieces are in fine condition.
Unframed. Please ask us about custom framing this piece.
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