paulhunterjones

On January 20, 1961

John F. Kennedy for his inaugural address stated the following

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 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.

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