Treaty of Fifth Avenue

The Treaty of Fifth Avenue refers to the agreement reached between US Vice President Richard Nixon and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller in July 1960.

Although Rockefeller had little influence over the Republican Party's conservative wing, he was the de facto leader of the liberal Republicans. Nixon felt he needed the support of Rockefeller to secure the Republican Party nomination. Nixon feared that Rockefeller, who had recently written an indictment of the Republican Party, would refuse to support him unless the party platform was changed. Nixon and Rockefeller met at Rockefeller's Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City where, over the course of four hours (and with other participants joining by phone) they agreed to this fourteen-point compact of security and economic issues. The compact called for increased defense spending on U.S. nuclear capability as well as the establishment of a flexible response force to deal with armed conflicts. In addition, the document supports planks to the party platform that stimulate economic growth, "remove the last vestiges of segregation or discrimination," and provide government funding for education. While the compromise might not have profoundly changed the party's platform, it strained Nixon's relations with the party's conservative members who disagreed with Rockefeller's more liberal views (See Rockefeller Republicans).

From Steven Hess, who worked with Richard Nixon:

"The platform committee met at the Blackstone Hotel, Chicago, a week before the convention convened. On July 22, 10:30 pm, we are gathered in the suite of Charles Percy, the committee chairman, waiting for the final draft to be typed so that the committee can give its approval in the morning. The phone rings and from Percy’s response this is no ordinary call. Nixon has flown secretly to New York to meet with arch foe Nelson Rockefeller in his Fifth Avenue apartment. They are now telling Percy what they wish to have in the platform. There are three phone connections in the suite: Percy is on one; Rod Perkins, Rockefeller’s representative is on the second; I am one of the people rotating on the third. The call lasts nearly four hours, except for when the hotel switchboard operator pulls the plugs at midnight and goes home, causing a 15 minute interruption. This is “The Compact of Fifth Avenue,” so named by headline writers. The committee’s reaction is explosive: We will not be dictated to, and especially not by Rockefeller. Their revolt lasts 36 hours. Eisenhower is furious over new wording in the defense plank, which we quietly delete. Nixon rushes to Chicago to calm the delegates, also raising questions about his political smarts."

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