[MUSIC - "HAIL TO THE CHIEF"] EARL WARREN: Do you,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, solemnly swear-- JOHN F. KENNEDY: I,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear-- EARL WARREN: --that you will
faithfully execute the Office of President of
the United States-- JOHN F. KENNEDY: --and I will
faithfully execute the Office of President of
the United States-- EARL WARREN: --and will to
the best of your ability-- JOHN F. KENNEDY: --and will
to the best of my ability-- EARL WARREN:
--preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution
of the United States-- JOHN F. KENNEDY:
--preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution
of the United States-- EARL WARREN: --so help you God? JOHN F. KENNEDY:
--so help me God. [CHEERING] 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 3/4 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. [CHEERING] 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. [CHEERING] 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. [APPLAUSE] 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. [CHEERING] To our sister republics
south of our border, we offer a special pledge
to convert our good words into good deeds
and 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. [CHEERING] 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 it writ may run. Finally, to those
nations who would make themselves our
adversary, we also need a pledge but a request-- that both sides begin
anew the quest for peace before the dark
towers 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 a new,
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. [APPLAUSE] 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. [APPLAUSE] 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 Isiah 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 100 days, nor will it be finished in
the first thousand days, nor in the life of this
administration, nor even, perhaps, in our
lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. [CHEERING] 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? [CHEERING] 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. [CHEERING] 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. [CHEERING] 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. [APPLAUSE] 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. [CHEERING]
