John F. Kennedy: Inaugural Speech January 20, 1961

Inaugural Address

President John F. Kennedy

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 forbears 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 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 people in the huts and villages of half 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) 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 one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one

thousand 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 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 here 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.