You, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear?
Hi, John You, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear that you will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States that I will faithfully execute the office
of president of the United States. And will, to the best of your ability
And will, to the best of my ability
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States. So help do god. So help me
god.
Vice president Johnson,
mister speaker,
mister 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 3 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 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 2 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 order
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 depth,
and encourage the odds 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 100 days
nor will it be finished in the first 1000 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
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.