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Welcome to U.S. history!
John F. Kennedy's
Inaugural Address:
| Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice,
President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow
citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of
freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well
as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears
prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. |
| The world is very different now. For man holds
in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human
life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at
issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity
of the state, but from the hand of God. |
| We dare not forget today that we are the heirs
of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and
foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in
this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our
ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human
rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today
at home and around the world. |
| Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well
or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. |
| This much we pledge—and more. |
| To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual
origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we
cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for
we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. |
| To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks
of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed
away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find
them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their
own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by
riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. |
| To those peoples in the huts and villages across
the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help
them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may
be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society
cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. |
| To our sister republics south of our border, we
offer a special pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a new
alliance for progress—to assist free men and free governments in casting off the
chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile
powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or
subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere
intends to remain the master of its own house. |
| To that world assembly of sovereign states, the
United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far
outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support—to prevent it from
becoming merely a forum for invective—to strengthen its shield of the new and the
weak—and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. |
| Finally, to those nations who would make
themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew
the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all
humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. |
| We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only
when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will
never be employed. |
| But neither can two great and powerful groups of
nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of
modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both
racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final
war. |
| So let us begin anew—remembering on both
sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. |
| Let both sides explore what problems unite us
instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. |
| Let both sides, for the first time, formulate
serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the
absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. |
| Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of
science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts,
eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. |
| Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of
the earth the command of Isaiah—to "undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the
oppressed go free." |
| And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back
the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance
of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the
peace preserved. |
| All this will not be finished in the first 100
days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this
Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. |
| In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in
mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was
founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national
loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the
globe. |
| Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a
call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we
are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out,
"rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common
enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. |
| Can we forge against these enemies a grand and
global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for
all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? |
| In the long history of the world, only a few
generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.
I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of
us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the
faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who
serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. |
| And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your
country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. |
| My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what
America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. |
| Finally, whether you are citizens of America or
citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which
we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge
of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help,
but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. |
Back
to John F. Kennedy
Executive Oath of Office
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
United States Constitution, Article II,
Section 1, Clause 8
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back in Time
1George Washington, 2John
Adamsl, 3Thomas Jefferson, 4James Madison, 5James
Monroe, 6John Quincy Adams, 7Andrew Jackson, 8Martin
Van Buren,9William H Harrison,10John Tyler,11James K
Polk, 12Zachary Taylor, 13Millard Fillmore,14Franklin
Pierce,15James Buchanan,16Abraham Lincoln, 17Andrew
Johnson, 18Ulysses S Grant,19Rutherford B Hayes, 20James A Garfield, 21Chester
A. Arthur, 22Grover
Cleveland,23Benjamin Harrison, 24Grover Cleveland, 25William
McKinley,26Theodore Roosevelt, 27William H. Taft,28Woodrow Wilson, 29Warren
G. Harding,30Calvin Coolidge,31Herbert Hoover,32Franklin
D Roosevelt,33Harry S.
Truman, 34Dwight D Eisenhower,35John F Kennedy, 36Lyndon
B Johnson, 37RichardN. Nixon, 38Gerald R Ford, 39James E
Carter,40Ronald
W. Reagan, 41George
HerbertW. Bush, 42Bill Clinton,
43George Walker Bush
last updated
02/19/07
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