The Gaither Report

Yes, there is such a report and it does not discuss the formation of the Society of Descendants of John Gaither, rather it is an important tool in America’s fight against Communism for it set strategy in the Cold War. The Report, which I will elaborate about shortly, was written by Horace Rowan Gaither, known as H. Rowan Gaither by his friends.

Rowan was both a San Francisco Attorney and Investment Banker who was commissioned by Henry Ford II to help set the priorities for the Ford Foundation at its founding in 1947. In 1947 the Ford Foundation was one of the wealthiest and most influential charitable organizations in the United States. It represents the Ford Family of the Ford Motor Company’s commitment to philanthropy. Rowan would later become President of the Ford Foundation before his death in 1961.

Back to the Gaither report, what is it? The reports official title was Deterrence & Survival in the Nuclear Age. Commissioned at the height of the Cold War, it was presented to President Eisenhower on November 7, 1957. It advocated a $44 billion program to considerably strengthen U.S. strategic offensive and defensive military capabilities. The report appeared shortly after the launching of Sputnik which made its recommendations all the more compelling. David L Snead, an assistant Professor of History at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, believes that its issuance was a key turning point in U.S. Cold War policy. Snead says the Gaither Report "significantly influenced Eisenhower’s national security policies for the remainder of his presidency" Rowan’s report predicted that the Soviet Union would have significant ICBM capability by 1959 an that the United States urgently needed offsetting offensive and defensive measures.

President John F Kennedy requested a copy of the Gaither Report immediately upon his inauguration in January 1961. Both he and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara were proponents of the study’s suggestions. The report even advised President Eisenhower to initiate arms control talks with the Soviets. Rowan Gaither was very much ahead of the rest of the defense establishment with this point in 1957. Arms control talks and SALT Treaties would become part of American Foreign Policy in the 1970’s.

The United States eventually won the Cold War. The Gaither Report set ground work for that successful strategy. Therefore among the great statesmen of that age; Churchill, Truman, Adenauer, Goldwater and Reagan belongs the name Gaither. As in 1776, when Gaithers stood shoulder to shoulder with the Minutemen of Lexington in opposition to tyranny, we helped, in the words of that great British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, "to consign Communism to the ash heap of history!"

Thanks to David Gaither for this article!