美国历届总统就职演说词(Jimmy Carter)

第一篇：美国历届总统就职演说词(Jimmy Carter)

Inaugural Address of Jimmy Carter

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1977

For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our Nation.As my high school teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, used to say: “We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.”

Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President, in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible my mother gave me a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah:

“He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”(Micah 6: 8)

This inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication within our Government, and a new spirit among us all.A President may sense and proclaim that new spirit, but only a people can provide it.Two centuries ago our Nation's birth was a milestone in the long quest for freedom, but the bold and brilliant dream which excited the founders of this Nation still awaits its consummation.I have no new dream to set forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old dream.Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and of human liberty.It is that unique self-definition which has given us an exceptional appeal, but it also imposes on us a special obligation, to take on those moral duties which, when assumed, seem invariably to be in our own best interests.You have given me a great responsibility--to stay close to you, to be worthy of you, and to exemplify what you are.Let us create together a new national spirit of unity and trust.Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes.Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the right.The American dream endures.We must once again have full faith in our country--and in one another.I believe America can be better.We can be even stronger than before.Let our recent mistakes bring a resurgent commitment to the basic

principles of our Nation, for we know that if we despise our own government we have no future.We recall in special times when we have stood briefly, but magnificently, united.In those times no prize was beyond our grasp.But we cannot dwell upon remembered glory.We cannot afford to drift.We reject the prospect of failure or mediocrity or an inferior quality of life for any person.Our Government must at the same time be both competent and compassionate.We have already found a high degree of personal liberty, and we are now struggling to enhance equality of opportunity.Our commitment to human rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our natural beauty preserved;the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhanced.We have learned that “more” is not necessarily “better,” that even our great Nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems.We cannot afford to do everything, nor can we afford to lack boldness as we meet the future.So, together, in a spirit of individual sacrifice for the common good, we must simply do our best.Our Nation can be strong abroad only if it is strong at home.And we know that the best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation.To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others.We will not behave in foreign places so as to violate our rules and standards here at home, for we know that the trust which our Nation earns is essential to our strength.The world itself is now dominated by a new spirit.Peoples more numerous and more politically aware are craving and now demanding their place in the sun--not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but for basic human rights.The passion for freedom is on the rise.Tapping this new spirit, there can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world that is truly humane.We are a strong nation, and we will maintain strength so sufficient that it need not be proven in combat--a quiet strength based not merely on the size of an arsenal, but on the nobility of ideas.We will be ever vigilant and never vulnerable, and we will fight our wars against poverty, ignorance, and injustice--for those are the enemies against which our forces can be honorably marshaled.We are a purely idealistic Nation, but let no one confuse our idealism with weakness.Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere.Our moral sense dictates a clearcut preference for these societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights.We do not seek to intimidate, but it is clear that a world which others can dominate with impunity would be inhospitable to decency and a threat to the well-being of all people.The world is still engaged in a massive armaments race designed to ensure continuing equivalent strength among potential adversaries.We pledge perseverance and wisdom in our efforts to limit the world's armaments to those necessary for each nation's own domestic safety.And we will move this year a step toward ultimate goal--the elimination of all nuclear weapons from this Earth.We urge all other people to join us, for success can mean life instead of death.Within us, the people of the United States, there is evident a serious and purposeful rekindling of confidence.And I join in the hope that when my time as your President has ended, people might say this about our Nation:

-that we had remembered the words of Micah and renewed our search for humility, mercy, and justice;

-that we had torn down the barriers that separated those of different race and region and religion, and where there had been mistrust, built unity, with a respect for diversity;

-that we had found productive work for those able to perform it;-that we had strengthened the American family, which is the basis of our society;

-that we had ensured respect for the law, and equal treatment under the law, for the weak and the powerful, for the rich and the poor;

-and that we had enabled our people to be proud of their own Government once again.I would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting peace, built not on weapons of war but on international policies which reflect our own most precious values.These are not just my goals, and they will not be my accomplishments, but the affirmation of our Nation's continuing moral strength and our belief in an undiminished, ever-expanding American dream.

第二篇：美国历届总统就职演说词(Zachary Taylor)

Inaugural Address of Zachary Taylor

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1849

Elected by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and, in compliance with a time-honored custom, to address those who are now assembled.The confidence and respect shown by my countrymen in calling me to be the Chief Magistrate of a Republic holding a high rank among the nations of the earth have inspired me with feelings of the most profound gratitude;but when I reflect that the acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed imposes the discharge of the most arduous duties and involves the weightiest obligations, I am conscious that the position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities.Happily, however, in the performance of my new duties I shall not be without able cooperation.The legislative and judicial branches of the Government present prominent examples of distinguished civil attainments and matured experience, and it shall be my endeavor to call to my assistance in the Executive

Departments individuals whose talents, integrity, and purity of character will furnish ample guaranties for the faithful and honorable performance of the trusts to be committed to their charge.With such aids and an honest purpose to do whatever is right, I hope to execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests of the country the manifold duties devolved upon me.In the discharge of these duties my guide will be the Constitution, which I this day swear to “preserve, protect, and defend.” For the

interpretation of that instrument I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority and to the practice of the Government under the earlier Presidents, who had so large a share in its formation.To the example of those illustrious patriots I shall always defer with reverence, and especially to his example who was by so many titles “the Father of his Country.”

To command the Army and Navy of the United States;with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties and to appoint ambassadors and other officers;to give to Congress information of the state of the Union and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be necessary;and to take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed--these are the most important functions intrusted to the President by the Constitution, and it may be expected that I shall briefly indicate the principles which will control me in their execution.Chosen by the body of the people under the assurance that my Administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular section or merely local interest, I this day renew the declarations I have heretofore made and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain to the extent of my ability the Government in its original purity and to adopt as the basis of my public policy those great republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence.In reference to the Army and Navy, lately employed with so much distinction on active service, care shall be taken to insure the highest condition of efficiency, and in furtherance of that object the military and naval schools, sustained by the liberality of Congress, shall receive the special attention of the Executive.As American freemen we can not but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings of civil and political liberty, but at the same time we are warned by the admonitions of history and the voice of our own beloved Washington to abstain from entangling alliances with foreign nations.In all disputes between conflicting governments it is our interest not less than our duty to remain strictly neutral, while our geographical position, the genius of our institutions and our people, the advancing spirit of civilization, and, above all, the dictates of religion direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and friendly relations with all other powers.It is to be hoped that no international question can now arise which a government confident in its own strength and resolved to protect its own just rights may not settle by wise negotiation;and it eminently becomes a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens and upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honorable diplomacy before appealing to arms.In the conduct of our foreign relations I shall conform to these views, as I believe them essential to the best interests and the true honor of the country.The appointing power vested in the President imposes delicate and onerous duties.So far as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indispensable prerequisites to the bestowal of office, and the absence of either of these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal.It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional measures to Congress as may be necessary and proper to secure encouragement and protection to the great interests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, to improve our rivers and harbors, to provide for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt, to enforce a strict accountability on the part of all officers of the Government and the utmost economy in all public

expenditures;but it is for the wisdom of Congress itself, in which all

legislative powers are vested by the Constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic policy.I shall look with confidence to the enlightened patriotism of that body to adopt such measures of conciliation as may harmonize conflicting interests and tend to perpetuate that Union which should be the paramount object of our hopes and affections.In any action calculated to promote an object so near the heart of everyone who truly loves his country I will zealously unite with the coordinate branches of the Government.In conclusion I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted our common country.Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence we this day occupy, and let us seek to deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation in our councils, by well-directed attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles, and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own widespread Republic.

第三篇：美国历届总统就职演说词( Calvin Coolidge)

Inaugural Address of Calvin Coolidge

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1925

My Countrymen: No one can contemplate current conditions without finding much that is satisfying and still more that is encouraging.Our own country is leading the world in the general readjustment to the results of the great conflict.Many of its burdens will bear heavily upon us for years, and the secondary and indirect effects we must expect to experience for some time.But we are beginning to comprehend more definitely what course should be pursued, what remedies ought to be applied, what actions should be taken for our deliverance, and are clearly manifesting a determined will faithfully and conscientiously to adopt these methods of relief.Already we have sufficiently rearranged our domestic affairs so that confidence has returned, business has revived, and we appear to be entering an era of prosperity which is gradually reaching into every part of the Nation.Realizing that we can not live unto ourselves alone, we have contributed of our resources and our counsel to the relief of the suffering and the settlement of the disputes among the European nations.Because of what America is and what America has done, a firmer courage, a higher hope, inspires the heart of all humanity.These results have not occurred by mere chance.They have been secured by a constant and enlightened effort marked by many sacrifices and extending over many generations.We can not continue these brilliant successes in the future, unless we continue to learn from the past.It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government.If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations.We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change.We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course.If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do.We stand at the opening of the one hundred and fiftieth year since our national consciousness first asserted itself by unmistakable action with an array of force.The old sentiment of detached and dependent colonies disappeared in the new sentiment of a united and independent Nation.Men began to discard the narrow confines of a local charter for the broader opportunities of a national constitution.Under the eternal urge of freedom we became an independent Nation.A little less than 50 years later that freedom and independence were reasserted in the face of all the world, and guarded, supported, and secured by the Monroe doctrine.The narrow fringe of States along the Atlantic seaboard advanced its frontiers across the hills and plains of an intervening continent until it passed down the golden slope to the Pacific.We made freedom a birthright.We extended our domain over distant islands in order to safeguard our own interests and accepted the consequent obligation to bestow justice and liberty upon less favored peoples.In the defense of our own ideals and in the general cause of liberty we entered the Great War.When victory had been fully secured, we withdrew to our own shores unrecompensed save in the consciousness of duty done.Throughout all these experiences we have enlarged our freedom, we have strengthened our independence.We have been, and propose to be, more and more American.We believe that we can best serve our own country and most successfully discharge our obligations to humanity by continuing to be openly and candidly, in tensely and scrupulously, American.If we have any heritage, it has been that.If we have any destiny, we have found it in that direction.But if we wish to continue to be distinctively American, we must continue to make that term comprehensive enough to embrace the legitimate desires of a civilized and enlightened people determined in all their relations to pursue a conscientious and religious life.We can not permit ourselves to be narrowed and dwarfed by slogans and phrases.It is not the adjective, but the substantive, which is of real importance.It is not the name of the action, but the result of the action, which is the chief concern.It will be well not to be too much disturbed by the thought of either isolation or entanglement of pacifists and militarists.The physical configuration of the earth has separated us from all of the Old World, but the common brotherhood of man, the highest law of all our being, has united us by inseparable bonds with all humanity.Our country represents nothing but peaceful intentions toward all the earth, but it ought not to fail to maintain such a military force as comports with the dignity and security of a great people.It ought to be a balanced force, intensely modem, capable of defense by sea and land, beneath the surface and in the air.But it should be so conducted that all the world may see in it, not a menace, but an instrument of security and peace.This Nation believes thoroughly in an honorable peace under which the rights of its citizens are to be everywhere protected.It has never found that the necessary enjoyment of such a peace could be maintained only by a great and threatening array of arms.In common with other nations, it is now more determined than ever to promote peace through friendliness and good will, through mutual understandings and mutual forbearance.We have never practiced the policy of competitive armaments.We have recently committed ourselves by covenants with the other great nations to a limitation of our sea power.As one result of this, our Navy ranks larger, in comparison, than it ever did before.Removing the burden of expense and jealousy, which must always accrue from a keen rivalry, is one of the most effective methods of diminishing that unreasonable hysteria and misunderstanding which are the most potent means of fomenting war.This policy represents a new departure in the world.It is a thought, an ideal, which has led to an entirely new line of action.It will not be easy to maintain.Some never moved from their old positions, some are constantly slipping back to the old ways of thought and the old action of seizing a musket and relying on force.America has taken the lead in this new direction, and that lead America must continue to hold.If we expect others to rely on our fairness and justice we must show that we rely on their fairness and justice.If we are to judge by past experience, there is much to be hoped for in international relations from frequent conferences and consultations.We have before us the beneficial results of the Washington conference and the various consultations recently held upon European affairs, some of which were in response to our suggestions and in some of which we were active participants.Even the failures can not but be accounted useful and an immeasurable advance over threatened or actual warfare.I am strongly in favor of continuation of this policy, whenever conditions are such that there is even a promise that practical and favorable results might be secured.In conformity with the principle that a display of reason rather than a threat of force should be the determining factor in the intercourse among nations, we have long advocated the peaceful settlement of disputes by methods of arbitration and have negotiated many treaties to secure that result.The same considerations should lead to our adherence to the Permanent Court of International Justice.Where great principles are involved, where great movements are under way which promise much for the welfare of humanity by reason of the very fact that many other nations have given such movements their actual support, we ought not to withhold our own sanction because of any small and inessential difference, but only upon the ground of the most important and compelling fundamental reasons.We can not barter away our independence or our sovereignty, but we ought to engage in no refinements of logic, no sophistries, and no subterfuges, to argue away the undoubted duty of this country by reason of the might of its numbers, the power of its resources, and its position of leadership in the world, actively and comprehensively to signify its approval and to bear its full share of the responsibility of a candid and disinterested attempt at the establishment of a tribunal for the administration of even-handed justice between nation and nation.The weight of our enormous influence must be cast upon the side of a reign not of force but of law and trial, not by battle but by reason.We have never any wish to interfere in the political conditions of any other countries.Especially are we determined not to become implicated in the political controversies of the Old World.With a great deal of hesitation, we have responded to appeals for help to maintain order, protect life and property, and establish responsible government in some of the small countries of the Western Hemisphere.Our private citizens have advanced large sums of money to assist in the necessary financing and relief of the Old World.We have not failed, nor shall we fail to respond, whenever necessary to mitigate human suffering and assist in the rehabilitation of distressed nations.These, too, are requirements which must be met by reason of our vast powers and the place we hold in the world.Some of the best thought of mankind has long been seeking for a formula for permanent peace.Undoubtedly the clarification of the principles of international law would be helpful, and the efforts of scholars to prepare such a work for adoption by the various nations should have our sympathy and support.Much may be hoped for from the earnest studies of those who advocate the outlawing of aggressive war.But all these plans and preparations, these treaties and covenants, will not of themselves be adequate.One of the greatest dangers to peace lies in the economic pressure to which people find themselves subjected.One of the most practical things to be done in the world is to seek arrangements under which such pressure may be removed, so that opportunity may be renewed and hope may be revived.There must be some assurance that effort and endeavor will be followed by success and prosperity.In the making and financing of such adjustments there is not only an opportunity, but a real duty, for America to respond with her counsel and her resources.Conditions must be provided under which people can make a living and work out of their difficulties.But there is another element, more important than all, without which there can not be the slightest hope of a permanent peace.That element lies in the heart of humanity.Unless the desire for peace be cherished there, unless this fundamental and only natural source of brotherly love be cultivated to its highest degree, all artificial efforts will be in vain.Peace will come when there is realization that only under a reign of law, based on righteousness and supported by the religious conviction of the brotherhood of man, can there be any hope of a complete and satisfying life.Parchment will fail, the sword will fail, it is only the spiritual nature of man that can be triumphant.It seems altogether probable that we can contribute most to these important objects by maintaining our position of political detachment and independence.We are not identified with any Old World interests.This position should be made more and more clear in our relations with all foreign countries.We are at peace with all of them.Our program is never to oppress, but always to assist.But while we do justice to others, we must require that justice be done to us.With us a treaty of peace means peace, and a treaty of amity means amity.We have made great contributions to the settlement of contentious differences in both Europe and Asia.But there is a very definite point beyond which we can not go.We can only help those who help themselves.Mindful of these limitations, the one great duty that stands out requires us to use our enormous powers to trim the balance of the world.While we can look with a great deal of pleasure upon what we have done abroad, we must remember that our continued success in that direction depends upon what we do at home.Since its very outset, it has been found necessary to conduct our Government by means of political parties.That system would not have survived from generation to generation if it had not been fundamentally sound and provided the best instrumentalities for the most complete expression of the popular will.It is not necessary to claim that it has always worked perfectly.It is enough to know that nothing better has been devised.No one would deny that there should be full and free expression and an opportunity for independence of action within the party.There is no salvation in a narrow and bigoted partisanship.But if there is to be responsible party government, the party label must be something more than a mere device for securing office.Unless those who are elected under the same party designation are willing to assume sufficient responsibility and exhibit sufficient loyalty and coherence, so that they can cooperate with each other in the support of the broad general principles, of the party platform, the election is merely a mockery, no decision is made at the polls, and there is no representation of the popular will.Common honesty and good faith with the people who support a party at the polls require that party, when it enters office, to assume the control of that portion of the Government to which it has been elected.Any other course is bad faith and a violation of the party pledges.When the country has bestowed its confidence upon a party by making it a majority in the Congress, it has a right to expect such unity of action as will make the party majority an effective instrument of government.This Administration has come into power with a very clear and definite mandate from the people.The expression of the popular will in favor of maintaining our constitutional guarantees was overwhelming and decisive.There was a manifestation of such faith in the integrity of the courts that we can consider that issue rejected for some time to come.Likewise, the policy of public ownership of railroads and certain electric utilities met with unmistakable defeat.The people declared that they wanted their rights to have not a political but a judicial determination, and their independence and freedom continued and supported by having the ownership and control of their property, not in the Government, but in their own hands.As they always do when they have a fair chance, the people demonstrated that they are sound and are determined to have a sound government.When we turn from what was rejected to inquire what was accepted, the policy that stands out with the greatest clearness is that of economy in public expenditure with reduction and reform of taxation.The principle involved in this effort is that of conservation.The resources of this country are almost beyond computation.No mind can comprehend them.But the cost of our combined governments is likewise almost beyond definition.Not only those who are now making their tax returns, but those who meet the enhanced cost of existence in their monthly bills, know by hard experience what this great burden is and what it does.No matter what others may want, these people want a drastic economy.They are opposed to waste.They know that extravagance lengthens the hours and diminishes the rewards of their labor.I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government.Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager.Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant.Economy is idealism in its most practical form.If extravagance were not reflected in taxation, and through taxation both directly and indirectly injuriously affecting the people, it would not be of so much consequence.The wisest and soundest method of solving our tax problem is through economy.Fortunately, of all the great nations this country is best in a position to adopt that simple remedy.We do not any longer need wartime revenues.The collection of any taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.Under this republic the rewards of industry belong to those who earn them.The only constitutional tax is the tax which ministers to public necessity.The property of the country belongs to the people of the country.Their title is absolute.They do not support any privileged class;they do not need to maintain great military forces;they ought not to be burdened with a great array of public employees.They are not required to make any contribution to Government expenditures except that which they voluntarily assess upon themselves through the action of their own representatives.Whenever taxes become burdensome a remedy can be applied by the people;but if they do not act for themselves, no one can be very successful in acting for them.The time is arriving when we can have further tax reduction, when, unless we wish to hamper the people in their right to earn a living, we must have tax reform.The method of raising revenue ought not to impede the transaction of business;it ought to encourage it.I am opposed to extremely high rates, because they produce little or no revenue, because they are bad for the country, and, finally, because they are wrong.We can not finance the country, we can not improve social conditions, through any system of injustice, even if we attempt to inflict it upon the rich.Those who suffer the most harm will be the poor.This country believes in prosperity.It is absurd to suppose that it is envious of those who are already prosperous.The wise and correct course to follow in taxation and all other economic legislation is not to destroy those who have already secured success but to create conditions under which every one will have a better chance to be successful.The verdict of the country has been given on this question.That verdict stands.We shall do well to heed it.These questions involve moral issues.We need not concern ourselves much about the rights of property if we will faithfully observe the rights of persons.Under our institutions their rights are supreme.It is not property but the right to hold property, both great and small, which our Constitution guarantees.All owners of property are charged with a service.These rights and duties have been revealed, through the conscience of society, to have a divine sanction.The very stability of our society rests upon production and conservation.For individuals or for governments to waste and squander their resources is to deny these rights and disregard these obligations.The result of economic dissipation to a nation is always moral decay.These policies of better international understandings, greater economy, and lower taxes have contributed largely to peaceful and prosperous industrial relations.Under the helpful influences of restrictive immigration and a protective tariff, employment is plentiful, the rate of pay is high, and wage earners are in a state of contentment seldom before seen.Our transportation systems have been gradually recovering and have been able to meet all the requirements of the service.Agriculture has been very slow in reviving, but the price of cereals at last indicates that the day of its deliverance is at hand.We are not without our problems, but our most important problem is not to secure new advantages but to maintain those which we already possess.Our system of government made up of three separate and independent departments, our divided sovereignty composed of Nation and State, the matchless wisdom that is enshrined in our Constitution, all these need constant effort and tireless vigilance for their protection and support.In a republic the first rule for the guidance of the citizen is obedience to law.Under a despotism the law may be imposed upon the subject.He has no voice in its making, no influence in its administration, it does not represent him.Under a free government the citizen makes his own laws, chooses his own administrators, which do represent him.Those who want their rights respected under the Constitution and the law ought to set the example themselves of observing the Constitution and the law.While there may be those of high intelligence who violate the law at times, the barbarian and the defective always violate it.Those who disregard the rules of society are not exhibiting a superior intelligence, are not promoting freedom and independence, are not following the path of civilization, but are displaying the traits of ignorance, of servitude, of savagery, and treading the way that leads back to the jungle.The essence of a republic is representative government.Our Congress represents the people and the States.In all legislative affairs it is the natural collaborator with the President.In spite of all the criticism which often falls to its lot, I do not hesitate to say that there is no more independent and effective legislative body in the world.It is, and should be, jealous of its prerogative.I welcome its cooperation, and expect to share with it not only the responsibility, but the credit, for our common effort to secure beneficial legislation.These are some of the principles which America represents.We have not by any means put them fully into practice, but we have strongly signified our belief in them.The encouraging feature of our country is not that it has reached its destination, but that it has overwhelmingly expressed its determination to proceed in the right direction.It is true that we could, with profit, be less sectional and more national in our thought.It would be well if we could replace much that is only a false and ignorant prejudice with a true and enlightened pride of race.But the last election showed that appeals to class and nationality had little effect.We were all found loyal to a common citizenship.The fundamental precept of liberty is toleration.We can not permit any inquisition either within or without the law or apply any religious test to the holding of office.The mind of America must be forever free.It is in such contemplations, my fellow countrymen, which are not exhaustive but only representative, that I find ample warrant for satisfaction and encouragement.We should not let the much that is to do obscure the much which has been done.The past and present show faith and hope and courage fully justified.Here stands our country, an example of tranquillity at home, a patron of tranquillity abroad.Here stands its Government, aware of its might but obedient to its conscience.Here it will continue to stand, seeking peace and prosperity, solicitous for the welfare of the wage earner, promoting enterprise, developing waterways and natural resources, attentive to the intuitive counsel of womanhood, encouraging education, desiring the advancement of religion, supporting the cause of justice and honor among the nations.America seeks no earthly empire built on blood and force.No ambition, no temptation, lures her to thought of foreign dominions.The legions which she sends forth are armed, not with the sword, but with the cross.The higher state to which she seeks the allegiance of all mankind is not of human, but of divine origin.She cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God.

第四篇：美国历届总统就职演说词(James Knox Polk)

Inaugural Address of James Knox Polk

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1845

Fellow-Citizens: Without solicitation on my part, I have been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my countrymen to the most honorable and most responsible office on earth.I am deeply impressed with gratitude for the confidence reposed in me.Honored with this distinguished consideration at an earlier period of life than any of my predecessors, I can not disguise the diffidence with which I am about to enter on the discharge of my official duties.If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the office of President of the United States even in the infancy of the Republic distrusted their ability to discharge the duties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the apprehensions of one so much younger and less endowed now that our domain extends from ocean to ocean, that our people have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the principles and policy which should characterize the administration of our Government? Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our country's peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family.In assuming responsibilities so vast I fervently invoke the aid of that Almighty Ruler of the Universe in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of men to guard this Heaven-favored land against the mischiefs which without His guidance might arise from an unwise public policy.With a firm reliance upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pursue, I stand in the presence of this assembled multitude of my countrymen to take upon myself the solemn obligation “to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” A concise enumeration of the principles which will guide me in the administrative policy of the Government is not only in accordance with the examples set me by all my predecessors, but is eminently befitting the occasion.The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding together in the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent States, will be the chart by which I shall be directed.It will be my first care to administer the Government in the true spirit of that instrument, and to assume no powers not expressly granted or clearly implied in its terms.The Government of the United States is one of delegated and limited powers, and it is by a strict adherence to the clearly granted powers and by abstaining from the exercise of doubtful or unauthorized implied powers that we have the only sure guaranty against the recurrence of those unfortunate collisions between the Federal and State authorities which have occasionally so much disturbed the harmony of our system and even threatened the perpetuity of our glorious Union.“To the States, respectively, or to the people” have been reserved “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States.” Each State is a complete sovereignty within the sphere of its reserved powers.The Government of the Union, acting within the sphere of its delegated authority, is also a complete sovereignty.While the General Government should abstain from the exercise of authority not clearly delegated to it, the States should be equally careful that in the maintenance of their rights they do not overstep the limits of powers reserved to them.One of the most distinguished of my predecessors attached deserved importance to “the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administration for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwark against antirepublican tendencies,” and to the “preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad.” To the Government of the United States has been intrusted the exclusive management of our foreign affairs.Beyond that it wields a few general enumerated powers.It does not force reform on the States.It leaves individuals, over whom it casts its protecting influence, entirely free to improve their own condition by the legitimate exercise of all their mental and physical powers.It is a common protector of each and all the States;of every man who lives upon our soil, whether of native or foreign birth;of every religious sect, in their worship of the Almighty according to the dictates of their own conscience;of every shade of opinion, and the most free inquiry;of every art, trade, and occupation consistent with the laws of the States.And we rejoice in the general happiness, prosperity, and advancement of our country, which have been the offspring of freedom, and not of power.This most admirable and wisest system of well-regulated self-government among men ever devised by human minds has been tested by its successful operation for more than half a century, and if preserved from the usurpations of the Federal Government on the one hand and the exercise by the States of powers not reserved to them on the other, will, I fervently hope and believe, endure for ages to come and dispense the blessings of civil and religious liberty to distant generations.To effect objects so dear to every patriot I shall devote myself with anxious solicitude.It will be my desire to guard against that most fruitful source of danger to the harmonious action of our system which consists in substituting the mere discretion and caprice of the Executive or of majorities in the legislative department of the Government for powers which have been withheld from the Federal Government by the Constitution.By the theory of our Government majorities rule, but this right is not an arbitrary or unlimited one.It is a right to be exercised in subordination to the Constitution and in conformity to it.One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights.Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression.That the blessings of liberty which our Constitution secures may be enjoyed alike by minorities and majorities, the Executive has been wisely invested with a qualified veto upon the acts of the Legislature.It is a negative power, and is conservative in its character.It arrests for the time hasty, inconsiderate, or unConstitutional legislation, invites reconsideration, and transfers questions at issue between the legislative and executive departments to the tribunal of the people.Like all other powers, it is subject to be abused.When judiciously and properly exercised, the Constitution itself may be saved from infraction and the rights of all preserved and protected.The inestimable value of our Federal Union is felt and acknowledged by all.By this system of united and confederated States our people are permitted collectively and individually to seek their own happiness in their own way, and the consequences have been most auspicious.Since the Union was formed the number of the States has increased from thirteen to twenty-eight;two of these have taken their position as members of the Confederacy within the last week.Our population has increased from three to twenty millions.New communities and States are seeking protection under its aegis, and multitudes from the Old World are flocking to our shores to participate in its blessings.Beneath its benign sway peace and prosperity prevail.Freed from the burdens and miseries of war, our trade and intercourse have extended throughout the world.Mind, no longer tasked in devising means to accomplish or resist schemes of ambition, usurpation, or conquest, is devoting itself to man's true interests in developing his faculties and powers and the capacity of nature to minister to his enjoyments.Genius is free to announce its inventions and discoveries, and the hand is free to accomplish whatever the head conceives not incompatible with the rights of a fellow-being.All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished.All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of precise equality.All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection.No union exists between church and state, and perfect freedom of opinion is guaranteed to all sects and creeds.These are some of the blessings secured to our happy land by our Federal Union.To perpetuate them it is our sacred duty to preserve it.Who shall assign limits to the achievements of free minds and free hands under the protection of this glorious Union? No treason to mankind since the organization of society would be equal in atrocity to that of him who would lift his hand to destroy it.He would overthrow the noblest structure of human wisdom, which protects himself and his fellow-man.He would stop the progress of free government and involve his country either in anarchy or despotism.He would extinguish the fire of liberty, which warms and animates the hearts of happy millions and invites all the nations of the earth to imitate our example.If he say that error and wrong are committed in the administration of the Government, let him remember that nothing human can be perfect, and that under no other system of government revealed by Heaven or devised by man has reason been allowed so free and broad a scope to combat error.Has the sword of despots proved to be a safer or surer instrument of reform in government than enlightened reason? Does he expect to find among the ruins of this Union a happier abode for our swarming millions than they now have under it? Every lover of his country must shudder at the thought of the possibility of its dissolution, and will be ready to adopt the patriotic sentiment, “Our Federal Union--it must be preserved.” To preserve it the compromises which alone enabled our fathers to form a common Constitution for the government and protection of so many States and distinct communities, of such diversified habits, interests, and domestic institutions, must be sacredly and religiously observed.Any attempt to disturb or destroy these compromises, being terms of the compact of union, can lead to none other than the most ruinous and disastrous consequences.It is a source of deep regret that in some sections of our country misguided persons have occasionally indulged in schemes and agitations whose object is the destruction of domestic institutions existing in other sections--institutions which existed at the adoption of the Constitution and were recognized and protected by it.All must see that if it were possible for them to be successful in attaining their object the dissolution of the Union and the consequent destruction of our happy form of government must speedily follow.I am happy to believe that at every period of our existence as a nation there has existed, and continues to exist, among the great mass of our people a devotion to the Union of the States which will shield and protect it against the moral treason of any who would seriously contemplate its destruction.To secure a continuance of that devotion the compromises of the Constitution must not only be preserved, but sectional jealousies and heartburnings must be discountenanced, and all should remember that they are members of the same political family, having a common destiny.To increase the attachment of our people to the Union, our laws should be just.Any policy which shall tend to favor monopolies or the peculiar interests of sections or classes must operate to the prejudice of the interest of their fellow-citizens, and should be avoided.If the compromises of the Constitution be preserved, if sectional jealousies and heartburnings be discountenanced, if our laws be just and the Government be practically administered strictly within the limits of power prescribed to it, we may discard all apprehensions for the safety of the Union.With these views of the nature, character, and objects of the Government and the value of the Union, I shall steadily oppose the creation of those institutions and systems which in their nature tend to pervert it from its legitimate purposes and make it the instrument of sections, classes, and individuals.We need no national banks or other extraneous institutions planted around the Government to control or strengthen it in opposition to the will of its authors.Experience has taught us how unnecessary they are as auxiliaries of the public authorities--how impotent for good and how powerful for mischief.Ours was intended to be a plain and frugal government, and I shall regard it to be my duty to recommend to Congress and, as far as the Executive is concerned, to enforce by all the means within my power the strictest economy in the expenditure of the public money which may be compatible with the public interests.A national debt has become almost an institution of European monarchies.It is viewed in some of them as an essential prop to existing governments.Melancholy is the condition of that people whose government can be sustained only by a system which periodically transfers large amounts from the labor of the many to the coffers of the few.Such a system is incompatible with the ends for which our republican Government was instituted.Under a wise policy the debts contracted in our Revolution and during the War of 1812 have been happily extinguished.By a judicious application of the revenues not required for other necessary purposes, it is not doubted that the debt which has grown out of the circumstances of the last few years may be speedily paid off.I congratulate my fellow-citizens on the entire restoration of the credit of the General Government of the Union and that of many of the States.Happy would it be for the indebted States if they were freed from their liabilities, many of which were incautiously contracted.Although the Government of the Union is neither in a legal nor a moral sense bound for the debts of the States, and it would be a violation of our compact of union to assume them, yet we can not but feel a deep interest in seeing all the States meet their public liabilities and pay off their just debts at the earliest practicable period.That they will do so as soon as it can be done without imposing too heavy burdens on their citizens there is no reason to doubt.The sound moral and honorable feeling of the people of the indebted States can not be questioned, and we are happy to perceive a settled disposition on their part, as their ability returns after a season of unexampled pecuniary embarrassment, to pay off all just demands and to acquiesce in any reasonable measures to accomplish that object.One of the difficulties which we have had to encounter in the practical administration of the Government consists in the adjustment of our revenue laws and the levy of the taxes necessary for the support of Government.In the general proposition that no more money shall be collected than the necessities of an economical administration shall require all parties seem to acquiesce.Nor does there seem to be any material difference of opinion as to the absence of right in the Government to tax one section of country, or one class of citizens, or one occupation, for the mere profit of another.“Justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country.” I have heretofore declared to my fellow-citizens that “in my judgment it is the duty of the Government to extend, as far as it may be practicable to do so, by its revenue laws and all other means within its power, fair and just protection to all of the great interests of the whole Union, embracing agriculture, manufactures, the mechanic arts, commerce, and navigation.” I have also declared my opinion to be “in favor of a tariff for revenue,” and that “in adjusting the details of such a tariff I have sanctioned such moderate discriminating duties as would produce the amount of revenue needed and at the same time afford reasonable incidental protection to our home industry,” and that I was “opposed to a tariff for protection merely, and not for revenue.” The power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises” was an indispensable one to be conferred on the Federal Government, which without it would possess no means of providing for its own support.In executing this power by levying a tariff of duties for the support of Government, the raising of revenue should be the object and protection the incident.To reverse this principle and make protection the object and revenue the incident would be to inflict manifest injustice upon all other than the protected interests.In levying duties for revenue it is doubtless proper to make such discriminations within the revenue principle as will afford incidental protection to our home interests.Within the revenue limit there is a discretion to discriminate;beyond that limit the rightful exercise of the power is not conceded.The incidental protection afforded to our home interests by discriminations within the revenue range it is believed will be ample.In making discriminations all our home interests should as far as practicable be equally protected.The largest portion of our people are agriculturists.Others are employed in manufactures, commerce, navigation, and the mechanic arts.They are all engaged in their respective pursuits and their joint labors constitute the national or home industry.To tax one branch of this home industry for the benefit of another would be unjust.No one of these interests can rightfully claim an advantage over the others, or to be enriched by impoverishing the others.All are equally entitled to the fostering care and protection of the Government.In exercising a sound discretion in levying discriminating duties within the limit prescribed, care should be taken that it be done in a manner not to benefit the wealthy few at the expense of the toiling millions by taxing lowest the luxuries of life, or articles of superior quality and high price, which can only be consumed by the wealthy, and highest the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low price, which the poor and great mass of our people must consume.The burdens of government should as far as practicable be distributed justly and equally among all classes of our population.These general views, long entertained on this subject, I have deemed it proper to reiterate.It is a subject upon which conflicting interests of sections and occupations are supposed to exist, and a spirit of mutual concession and compromise in adjusting its details should be cherished by every part of our widespread country as the only means of preserving harmony and a cheerful acquiescence of all in the operation of our revenue laws.Our patriotic citizens in every part of the Union will readily submit to the payment of such taxes as shall be needed for the support of their Government, whether in peace or in war, if they are so levied as to distribute the burdens as equally as possible among them.The Republic of Texas has made known her desire to come into our Union, to form a part of our Confederacy and enjoy with us the blessings of liberty secured and guaranteed by our Constitution.Texas was once a part of our country--was unwisely ceded away to a foreign power--is now independent, and possesses an undoubted right to dispose of a part or the whole of her territory and to merge her sovereignty as a separate and independent state in ours.I congratulate my country that by an act of the late Congress of the United States the assent of this Government has been given to the reunion, and it only remains for the two countries to agree upon the terms to consummate an object so important to both.I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.They are independent powers competent to contract, and foreign nations have no right to interfere with them or to take exceptions to their reunion.Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our Government.Our Union is a confederation of independent States, whose policy is peace with each other and all the world.To enlarge its limits is to extend the dominions of peace over additional territories and increasing millions.The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government.While the Chief Magistrate and the popular branch of Congress are elected for short terms by the suffrages of those millions who must in their own persons bear all the burdens and miseries of war, our Government can not be otherwise than pacific.Foreign powers should therefore look on the annexation of Texas to the United States not as the conquest of a nation seeking to extend her dominions by arms and violence, but as the peaceful acquisition of a territory once her own, by adding another member to our confederation, with the consent of that member, thereby diminishing the chances of war and opening to them new and ever-increasing markets for their products.To Texas the reunion is important, because the strong protecting arm of our Government would be extended over her, and the vast resources of her fertile soil and genial climate would be speedily developed, while the safety of New Orleans and of our whole southwestern frontier against hostile aggression, as well as the interests of the whole Union, would be promoted by it.In the earlier stages of our national existence the opinion prevailed with some that our system of confederated States could not operate successfully over an extended territory, and serious objections have at different times been made to the enlargement of our boundaries.These objections were earnestly urged when we acquired Louisiana.Experience has shown that they were not well founded.The title of numerous Indian tribes to vast tracts of country has been extinguished;new States have been admitted into the Union;new Territories have been created and our jurisdiction and laws extended over them.As our population has expanded, the Union has been cemented and strengthened.AS our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security.It may well be doubted whether it would not be in greater danger of overthrow if our present population were confined to the comparatively narrow limits of the original thirteen States than it is now that they are sparsely settled over a more expanded territory.It is confidently believed that our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits, and that as it shall be extended the bonds of our Union, so far from being weakened, will become stronger.None can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace if Texas remains an independent state or becomes an ally or dependency of some foreign nation more powerful than herself.Is there one among our citizens who would not prefer perpetual peace with Texas to occasional wars, which so often occur between bordering independent nations? Is there one who would not prefer free intercourse with her to high duties on all our products and manufactures which enter her ports or cross her frontiers? Is there one who would not prefer an unrestricted communication with her citizens to the frontier obstructions which must occur if she remains out of the Union? Whatever is good or evil in the local institutions of Texas will remain her own whether annexed to the United States or not.None of the present States will be responsible for them any more than they are for the local institutions of each other.They have confederated together for certain specified objects.Upon the same principle that they would refuse to form a perpetual union with Texas because of her local institutions our forefathers would have been prevented from forming our present Union.Perceiving no valid objection to the measure and many reasons for its adoption vitally affecting the peace, the safety, and the prosperity of both countries, I shall on the broad principle which formed the basis and produced the adoption of our Constitution, and not in any narrow spirit of sectional policy, endeavor by all Constitutional, honorable, and appropriate means to consummate the expressed will of the people and Government of the United States by the reannexation of Texas to our Union at the earliest practicable period.Nor will it become in a less degree my duty to assert and maintain by all Constitutional means the right of the United States to that portion of our territory which lies beyond the Rocky Mountains.Our title to the country of the Oregon is “clear and unquestionable,” and already are our people preparing to perfect that title by occupying it with their wives and children.But eighty years ago our population was confined on the west by the ridge of the Alleghanies.Within that period--within the lifetime, I might say, of some of my hearers--our people, increasing to many millions, have filled the eastern valley of the Mississippi, adventurously ascended the Missouri to its headsprings, and are already engaged in establishing the blessings of self-government in valleys of which the rivers flow to the Pacific.The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emigrants.To us belongs the duty of protecting them adequately wherever they may be upon our soil.The jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican institutions should be extended over them in the distant regions which they have selected for their homes.The increasing facilities of intercourse will easily bring the States, of which the formation in that part of our territory can not be long delayed, within the sphere of our federative Union.In the meantime every obligation imposed by treaty or conventional stipulations should be sacredly respected.In the management of our foreign relations it will be my aim to observe a careful respect for the rights of other nations, while our own will be the subject of constant watchfulness.Equal and exact justice should characterize all our intercourse with foreign countries.All alliances having a tendency to jeopard the welfare and honor of our country or sacrifice any one of the national interests will be studiously avoided, and yet no opportunity will be lost to cultivate a favorable understanding with foreign governments by which our navigation and commerce may be extended and the ample products of our fertile soil, as well as the manufactures of our skillful artisans, find a ready market and remunerating prices in foreign countries.In taking “care that the laws be faithfully executed,” a strict performance of duty will be exacted from all public officers.From those officers, especially, who are charged with the collection and disbursement of the public revenue will prompt and rigid accountability be required.Any culpable failure or delay on their part to account for the moneys intrusted to them at the times and in the manner required by law will in every instance terminate the official connection of such defaulting officer with the Government.Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a part only, but of the whole people of the United States.While he executes the laws with an impartial hand, shrinks from no proper responsibility, and faithfully carries out in the executive department of the Government the principles and policy of those who have chosen him, he should not be unmindful that our fellow-citizens who have differed with him in opinion are entitled to the full and free exercise of their opinions and judgments, and that the rights of all are entitled to respect and regard.Confidently relying upon the aid and assistance of the coordinate departments of the Government in conducting our public affairs, I enter upon the discharge of the high duties which have been assigned me by the people, again humbly supplicating that Divine Being who has watched over and protected our beloved country from its infancy to the present hour to continue His gracious benedictions upon us, that we may continue to be a prosperous and happy people.

第五篇：美国历届总统就职演说词.(George W. Bush)

Inaugural Address of George W.Bush

January 20, 2001

President Clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens: The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country.With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation;and I thank Vice President Gore for a contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace.I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.We have a place, all of us, in a long story.A story we continue, but whose end we will not see.It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.It is the American story.A story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born.Americans are called upon to enact this promise in our lives and in our laws;and though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea.Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations.Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along;and even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country.The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth;and sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country.We do not accept this, and we will not allow it.Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation;and this is my solemn pledge, “I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.” I know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image and we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.America has never been united by blood or birth or soil.We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.Every child must be taught these principles.Every citizen must uphold them;and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.Today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility.A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small.But the stakes for America are never small.If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led.If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism.If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most.We must live up to the calling we share.Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment.It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.This commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.America, at its best, is also courageous.Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defending common dangers defined our common good.Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us.We must show courage in a time of blessing by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.Together, we will reclaim America's schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives;we will reform Social Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent;we will reduce taxes, to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans;we will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge;and we will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake, America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom.We will defend our allies and our interests;we will show purpose without arrogance;we will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength;and to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.America, at its best, is compassionate.In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise.Whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault.Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love.The proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.Where there is suffering, there is duty.Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities, and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.Government has great responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools.Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government.Some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer.Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws.Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do.I can pledge our nation to a goal, “When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.” America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected.Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience.Though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment.We find the fullness of life not only in options, but in commitments.We find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.Sometimes in life we are called to do great things.But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love.The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone.I will live and lead by these principles, “to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.” In all of these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.What you do is as important as anything government does.I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort;to defend needed reforms against easy attacks;to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor.I ask you to be citizens.Citizens, not spectators;citizens, not subjects;responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves.When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it.When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson, “We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong.Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?” Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inauguration.The years and changes accumulate, but the themes of this day he would know, “our nation's grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.” We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose.Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today;to make our country more just and generous;to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.This work continues.This story goes on.And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.God bless you all, and God bless America.