A balding man in a light colored suit stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone, surrounded by a crowd and historic buildings.

Archive

The Adlai Archive contains a growing collection of annotated historic speeches, articles, images, and audio files by and about Adlai E. Stevenson II.

1952, September 1 - Adlai Stevenson II speaks to a Labor Day crowd in Detroit; courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

Articles

Following is a comprehensive list of text documents contained in the Adlai Today Archive. These include annotated speeches and articles by and about Adlai E. Stevenson II. All documents are available in PDF format.

Think

Speech of Acceptance

 Speech July 26th, 1952

The 1952 presidential contest offered a daunting array of seemingly intractable problems, the greatest of which was the very real risk of global thermonuclea...

Reading and Study Tips for Students

 Article
...

The Nature of Patriotism

 Radio August 27th, 1952

Stevenson faced an extremely tough audience before the American Legion. His Republican opponent, retired Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as the Supreme Com...

Will India Turn Communist?

 Article July 14th, 1953

In the spring of 1953, Stevenson embarked on a five-month world tour through thirty-five countries. Look, a weekly photo magazine, commissioned the ...

An Ethic for Survival

 Speech May 23rd, 1961

In this brief but perceptive speech, Stevenson called on American citizens to open their eyes and ears to the wider world. He believed it was important to li...

Connect

This I Believe

 Radio

Adlai's son, Adlai Stevenson III (1930-2021), reads his father's essay for this public radio broadcast on WGLT in 2007 celebrating United Nations D...

Debate against Clay Judson

 Speech October 14th, 1940

Adlai Stevenson never wavered from his belief that the United States needed to be actively engaged in international affairs. He understood that new transport...

The Organization of the United Nations

 Speech January 10th, 1947

Adlai Stevenson played an influential role in the formation of the United Nations (UN). From the rubble of World War II, forward-thinking diplomats such as S...

Final Report to the People of Illinois

 Radio January 7th, 1953

This radio address was Adlai Stevenson’s farewell as Illinois governor. Though popular, Stevenson did not run for reelection, choosing instead to run for pre...

Strengthening the International Development Institutions

 Radio July 9th, 1965

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Adlai Stevenson American ambassador to the United Nations. Although he sought the more important position as Sec...

Care

Free Speech: A Duty

 Speech November 9th, 1952

Stevenson believed that to have a free society, people must have the freedom to speak out about their own ideas. In America, as he said in this speech, citiz...

Faith In Liberalism

 Speech August 28th, 1952

Founded in 1944, the Liberal Party of New York often endorsed Democrats for local, state, and national office. In the 1952 presidential campaign, Adlai Steve...

“Sir Galahad & the Pols”

 Article January 28th, 1952

Although this Time magazine cover story ran six months prior to the Democratic National Convention, it was a clear indication that party leaders, including P...

18th anniversary of the Bloomington Unitarian Church

 Radio October 22nd, 1939

In October 1939, Stevenson returned to his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois to visit friends and family. He also delivered this speech. His family, on his m...

Images

Like speeches and articles, images are a type of primary source used by historians. They tell us something about the past through pictures rather than words. Some photos capture a slice of life; others are a posed moment marking a particular event. When you look at historic photos, ask questions about them, examine the details, and consider their historic context.

Click images to expand.

A small boy in a dress stands on a curved wood chair.
Adlai Stevenson at age 2.
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A boy flys a kite, surrounded by two young girls, an older woman, and a man in a hat.
Adlai E. Stevenson II as a boy, flying a kite.
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
Eight men in suits sit at a table in a conference room
Governor Adlai Stevenson II meeting with his staff
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A balding man in white shirt and khaki pants sits on a fence next to a woman in a long dress.
Adlai with his wife, Ellen Waller Borden, in 1948.
Courtesy .
A crowd dressed in white stands in front of a stage in front of a historic courthouse
Crowd gathered for Adlai Stevenson at the McLean County Courthouse, July 28, 1952
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A crowd of men in suits and hats surround a pair of men in suits.
1952 - Democratic National Convention
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A crowd of men in white shirts, dark pants, and hats stand in front of a train. A man waves from the train.
1952, July 28 - Adlai Stevenson II makes a stop in Bloomington, Illinois during his whistle-stop campaign tour
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A man in a suit and a hat walks alongside Asian men in military uniforms.
1953 - Adlai Stevenson II visits China during his five-month tour of thirty-five nations
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A man in a collared shirt, slacks, and a wide brimmed hat stands among other men in shirts and hats, looking at a manual plow,
Adlai Stevenson II visits India during his five-month tour of thirty-five nations in 1953.
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A balding man in a dark suit waves toward a crowd of men in suits. Signs are held representing various US states.
1956, August - Democratic National Convention. Adlai Stevenson II begins his second run for president.
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A balding man in a suit and an older woman with glasses stand next to a four tier cake decorated with flags and stars.
Adlai E. Stevenson II celebrating his birthday with Eleanor Roosevelt, estimated ~ 1960 to 1965.
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A middle aged man in glasses and a suit sits as a table and speaks into a small microphone.
1961 - Adlai Stevenson II as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, speaking at a UN gathering
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
Several middle aged men in suits watch as another middle aged man in a suit speaks.
1961, October 31 - Adlai Stevenson at the United Nations
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
People dressed in black line the street as a line of black cars move toward the viewer.
1965, July - Funeral motorcade outside the U.S. Embassy in London
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A middle aged bald man in a suit is holding a brimmed hat and standing next to a large gravestone that is taller than him.
Adlai Stevenson II standing beside the Stevenson-Scott family grave stone at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, IL, May 30, 1950
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A letter and drawing by Adlai Stevenson II when he was a young boy. "Dear father, I hope you will come home soon. I will make you a picture of a cow. Adlai E. Stevenson"
Courtesy .
A man dressed in university robes poses for a portrait.
Adlai graduates from Princeton University
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A balding man in a suit speaks into a ribbon microphone at night.
1949, February 11 - Governor Adlai Stevenson speaking outside the McLean County Courthouse
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A man in a suit faces a standing crowd in a park
Governor Stevenson addressing Democrat Day crowd at Miller Park, September 23, 1950
Courtesy Pantagraph.
Men in suits are seated and talking and laughing.
Governor Adlai Stevenson, Memorial Day, May 30, 1950
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A middle aged bald man in a dark suit speaks into a microphone in front of a window.
Adlai Stevenson speaking, Normal, Illinois, February 29, 1949
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A middle aged bald man speaks into three ribbon microphones at a podium beneath trees.
Governor Adlai Stevenson, Memorial Day, May 30, 1950
Courtesy Pantagraph.
A balding man in a light colored suit stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone, surrounded by a crowd and historic buildings.
1952, September 1 - Adlai Stevenson II speaks to a Labor Day crowd in Detroit
Courtesy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
A red ticket for Gate 1, Section Q, Row 7, Seat 23 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, July 1952, only for the fifth day.
Guest ticket for the July 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL
Courtesy .
Meet Your Candidates brochure with biographies for three democratic candidates
November 1952, campaign brochure, featuring candidate Adlai E. Stevenson II
Courtesy .
Meet Your Candidates brochure with biographies for democratic candidates
November 1952, campaign brochure featuring candidate Adlai E. Stevenson II
Courtesy .
350,000 Hail Steve, a headline on the front page of the New York Post from October 28, 1952
October 28, 1952, New York Post front page
Courtesy .
Campaign button featuring a man in a wool coat and wide brimmed hat, and the words Stevenson For President
1956 presidential campaign button
Courtesy .
A man in a wide brimmed hat feeds a cow hay, while a man in a baseball cap and suit covered in overalls watches.
Governor Adlai Stevenson visiting a farmer, February 11, 1949
Courtesy Pantagraph.