| 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. |
1 |
| 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. |
2 |
| 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. |
3 |
| 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. |
4 |
| This much we pledge—and more. |
5 |
- 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.
|
6 |
- 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.
|
7 |
- 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.
|
8 |
- 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.
|
9 |
- 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.
|
10 |
- 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.
|
11 |
| 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. |
12 |
| 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. |
13 |
|
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.
|
14 |
- Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of
belaboring those problems which divide us.
|
15 |
- 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.
|
16 |
- 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.
|
17 |
- 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."
|
18 |
- 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.
|
19 |
| 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. |
20 |
| 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. |
21 |
| 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. |
22 |
| 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? |
23 |
| 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. |
24 |
| And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country
can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. |
25 |
| 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. |
26 |
| 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. |
