Editorial Note
On August 5, 1954, shortly before the 83d Congress adjourned, Senator Bricker introduced a new amendment, S.J. Res. 181, which combined elements of the various texts rejected in February. The 83d Congress adjourned without acting on S.J. Res 181.
On November 5, 1954, Senator Bricker, prior to departing for a trip to India and Australia, came to the White House for a talk with President Eisenhower. Later that day, President Eisenhower described their conversation in a telephone call to the Secretary of State. According to the President, Senator Bricker had “talked nicely” about the Bricker Amendment. The President had told the Senator that it was foolish to have months of quarreling and had expressed his disapproval for what had gone on in the past. Senator Bricker had replied that the country needed and wanted such an amendment. President Eisenhower had then said that when [Page 1856] Senator Bricker returned to the United States, he would sit down with the Senator, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General and discuss the matter. According to the President, he had told Senator Bricker that he had always been willing to say he would obey the Constitution, but he would not be a party to damaging or lessening the executive authority below that intended by the Constitution. (Memorandum of telephone conversation between President Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles, November 5, 1954, 4:54 p.m., Eisenhower Library, Dulles papers, “Telephone Conversations”)