HISTORIC SPEECHES
JOHN F. KENNEDY
Inaugural
Address
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 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 terror. 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 beach-head of co-operation 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, not 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.
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