| Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, and fellow citizens,I accept with humility the honor which the American people have conferredupon me. I accept it with a deep resolve to do all that I can for the welfareof this Nation and for the peace of the world. | 1 |
| In performing the duties of my office, I need the help and prayersof every one of you. I ask for your encouragement and your support. Thetasks we face are difficult, and we can accomplish them only if we worktogether. | 2 |
| Each period of our national history has had its special challenges.Those that confront us now are as momentous as any in the past. Today marksthe beginning not only of a new administration, but of a period that willbe eventful, perhaps decisive, for us and for the world. | 3 |
| It may be our lot to experience, and in large measure to bringabout, a major turning point in the long history of the human race. Thefirst half of this century has been marked by unprecedented and brutal attackson the rights of man, and by the two most frightful wars in history. Thesupreme need of our time is for men to learn to live together in peace andharmony. | 4 |
| The peoples of the earth face the future with grave uncertainty,composed almost equally of great hopes and great fears. In this time ofdoubt, they look to the United States as never before for good will, strength,and wise leadership. | 5 |
| It is fitting, therefore, that we take this occasion to proclaimto the world the essential principles of the faith by which we live, andto declare our aims to all peoples. | 6 |
| The American people stand firm in the faith which has inspiredthis Nation from the beginning. We believe that all men have a right toequal justice under law and equal opportunity to share in the common good.We believe that all men have the right to freedom of thought and expression.We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in theimage of God. | 7 |
| From this faith we will not be moved. | 8 |
| The American people desire, and are determined to work for,a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselvesas they see fit, and to achieve a decent and satisfying life. Above allelse, our people desire, and are determined to work for, peace on earth—ajust and lasting peace—based on genuine agreement freely arrived atby equals. | 9 |
| In the pursuit of these aims, the United States and other like-mindednations find themselves directly opposed by a regime with contrary aimsand a totally different concept of life. | 10 |
| That regime adheres to a false philosophy which purports tooffer freedom, security, and greater opportunity to mankind. Misled by thisphilosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn totheir sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their reward. | 11 |
| That false philosophy is communism. | 12 |
| Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequatethat he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule ofstrong masters. | 13 |
| Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moraland intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himselfwith reason and justice. | 14 |
| Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause,punishment without trial, and forced labor as the chattel of the state.It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce,what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think. | 15 |
| Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefitof the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protectingthe rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of his abilities. | 16 |
| Communism maintains that social wrongs can be corrected onlyby violence. | 17 |
| Democracy has proved that social justice can be achieved throughpeaceful change. | 18 |
| Communism holds that the world is so deeply divided into opposingclasses that war is inevitable. | 19 |
| Democracy holds that free nations can settle differences justlyand maintain lasting peace. | 20 |
| These differences between communism and democracy do not concernthe United States alone. People everywhere are coming to realize that whatis involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believein and worship God. | 21 |
| I state these differences, not to draw issues of belief as such,but because the actions resulting from the Communist philosophy are a threatto the efforts of free nations to bring about world recovery and lastingpeace. | 22 |
| Since the end of hostilities, the United States has investedits substance and its energy in a great constructive effort to restore peace,stability, and freedom to the world. | 23 |
| We have sought no territory and we have imposed our will onnone. We have asked for no privileges we would not extend to others. | 24 |
| We have constantly and vigorously supported the United Nationsand related agencies as a means of applying democratic principles to internationalrelations. We have consistently advocated and relied upon peaceful settlementof disputes among nations. | 25 |
| We have made every effort to secure agreement on effective internationalcontrol of our most powerful weapon, and we have worked steadily for thelimitation and control of all armaments. | 26 |
| We have encouraged, by precept and example, the expansion ofworld trade on a sound and fair basis. | 27 |
| Almost a year ago, in company with 16 free nations of Europe,we launched the greatest cooperative economic program in history. The purposeof that unprecedented effort is to invigorate and strengthen democracy inEurope, so that the free people of that continent can resume their rightfulplace in the forefront of civilization and can contribute once more to thesecurity and welfare of the world. | 28 |
| Our efforts have brought new hope to all mankind. We have beatenback despair and defeatism. We have saved a number of countries from losingtheir liberty. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world now agreewith us, that we need not have war—that we can have peace. | 29 |
| The initiative is ours. | 30 |
| We are moving on with other nations to build an even strongerstructure of international order and justice. We shall have as our partnerscountries which, no longer solely concerned with the problem of nationalsurvival, are now working to improve the standards of living of all theirpeople. We are ready to undertake new projects to strengthen the free world. | 31 |
| In the coming years, our program for peace and freedom willemphasize four major courses of action. | 32 |
| First, we will continue to give unfaltering support to the UnitedNations and related agencies, and we will continue to search for ways tostrengthen their authority and increase their effectiveness. We believethat the United Nations will be strengthened by the new nations which arebeing formed in lands now advancing toward self-government under democraticprinciples. | 33 |
| Second, we will continue our programs for world economic recovery. | 34 |
| This means, first of all, that we must keep our full weightbehind the European recovery program. We are confident of the success ofthis major venture in world recovery. We believe that our partners in thiseffort will achieve the status of self-supporting nations once again. | 35 |
| In addition, we must carry out our plans for reducing the barriersto world trade and increasing its volume. Economic recovery and peace itselfdepend on increased world trade. | 36 |
| Third, we will strengthen freedom-loving nations against thedangers of aggression. | 37 |
| We are now working out with a number of countries a joint agreementdesigned to strengthen the security of the North Atlantic area. Such anagreement would take the form of a collective defense arrangement withinthe terms of the United Nations Charter. | 38 |
| We have already established such a defense pact for the WesternHemisphere by the treaty of Rio de Janeiro. | 39 |
| The primary purpose of these agreements is to provide unmistakableproof of the joint determination of the free countries to resist armed attackfrom any quarter. Each country participating in these arrangements mustcontribute all it can to the common defense. | 40 |
| If we can make it sufficiently clear, in advance, that any armedattack affecting our national security would be met with overwhelming force,the armed attack might never occur. | 41 |
| I hope soon to send to the Senate a treaty respecting the NorthAtlantic security plan. | 42 |
| In addition, we will provide military advice and equipment tofree nations which will cooperate with us in the maintenance of peace andsecurity. | 43 |
| Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making thebenefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available forthe improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas. | 44 |
| More than half the people of the world are living in conditionsapproaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease.Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicapand a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. | 45 |
| For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledgeand the skill to relieve the suffering of these people. | 46 |
| The United States is pre-eminent among nations in the developmentof industrial and scientific techniques. The material resources which wecan afford to use for the assistance of other peoples are limited. But ourimponderable resources in technical knowledge are constantly growing andare inexhaustible. | 47 |
| I believe that we should make available to peace-loving peoplesthe benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them realizetheir aspirations for a better life. And, in cooperation with other nations,we should foster capital investment in areas needing development. | 48 |
| Our aim should be to help the free peoples of the world, throughtheir own efforts, to produce more food, more clothing, more materials forhousing, and more mechanical power to lighten their burdens. | 49 |
| We invite other countries to pool their technological resourcesin this undertaking. Their contributions will be warmly welcomed. This shouldbe a cooperative enterprise in which all nations work together through theUnited Nations and its specialized agencies wherever practicable. It mustbe a worldwide effort for the achievement of peace, plenty, and freedom. | 50 |
| With the cooperation of business, private capital, agriculture,and labor in this country, this program can greatly increase the industrialactivity in other nations and can raise substantially their standards ofliving. | 51 |
| Such new economic developments must be devised and controlledto benefit the peoples of the areas in which they are established. Guaranteesto the investor must be balanced by guarantees in the interest of the peoplewhose resources and whose labor go into these developments. | 52 |
| The old imperialism—exploitation for foreign profit—hasno place in our plans. What we envisage is a program of development basedon the concepts of democratic fair-dealing. | 53 |
| All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit froma constructive program for the better use of the world's human and naturalresources. Experience shows that our commerce with other countries expandsas they progress industrially and economically. | 54 |
| Greater production is the key to prosperity and peace. And thekey to greater production is a wider and more vigorous application of modernscientific and technical knowledge. | 55 |
| Only by helping the least fortunate of its members to help themselvescan the human family achieve the decent, satisfying life that is the rightof all people. | 56 |
| Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir thepeoples of the world into triumphant action, not only against their humanoppressors, but also against their ancient enemies—hunger, misery,and despair. | 57 |
| On the basis of these four major courses of action we hope tohelp create the conditions that will lead eventually to personal freedomand happiness for all mankind. | 58 |
| If we are to be successful in carrying out these policies, itis clear that we must have continued prosperity in this country and we mustkeep ourselves strong. | 59 |
| Slowly but surely we are weaving a world fabric of internationalsecurity and growing prosperity. | 60 |
| We are aided by all who wish to live in freedom from fear—evenby those who live today in fear under their own governments. | 61 |
| We are aided by all who want relief from the lies of propaganda—whodesire truth and sincerity. | 62 |
| We are aided by all who desire self-government and a voice indeciding their own affairs. | 63 |
| We are aided by all who long for economic security—forthe security and abundance that men in free societies can enjoy. | 64 |
| We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom ofreligion, and freedom to live their own lives for useful ends. | 65 |
| Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness. | 66 |
| In due time, as our stability becomes manifest, as more andmore nations come to know the benefits of democracy and to participate ingrowing abundance, I believe that those countries which now oppose us willabandon their delusions and join with the free nations of the world in ajust settlement of international differences. | 67 |
| Events have brought our American democracy to new influenceand new responsibilities. They will test our courage, our devotion to duty,and our concept of liberty. | 68 |
| But I say to all men, what we have achieved in liberty, we willsurpass in greater liberty. | 69 |
| Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, we will advance towarda world where man's freedom is secure. | 70 |
| To that end we will devote our strength, our resources, andour firmness of resolve. With God's help, the future of mankind will beassured in a world of justice, harmony, and peace. | 71 |