Here is the video clip of
Kennedy's Inaugural Address. Scroll down for the transcript.
It follows the full text transcript of
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, delivered at
the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol, at Washington D.C. -
January 20, 1961.
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.
Also called the
Persian Wars, the Greco-Persian Wars were
fought for almost half a century from 492 BC -
449 BC. Greece won against enormous odds. Here
is more:
