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The election of 1972 consolidated the gains that the
President had made with the electorate in 1968. Although the
Democratic Party maintained majorities in the Congress, the
presidential ambitions of South Dakota Senator George McGovern were
unsuccessful. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice
Warren Burger on a pavilion erected on the East Front of the
Capitol.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice,
Senator Cook, Mrs. Eisenhower, and my fellow citizens of
this great and good country we share together: When we met here 4 years ago, America was bleak in
spirit, depressed by the prospect of seemingly endless war
abroad and of destructive conflict at home. As we meet here today, we stand on the threshold of a new
era of peace in the world. The central question before us is: How shall we use that
peace? Let us resolve that this era we are about to enter will
not be what other postwar periods have so often been: a time
of retreat and isolation that leads to stagnation at home
and invites new danger abroad. Let us resolve that this will be what it can become: a
time of great responsibilities greatly borne, in which we
renew the spirit and the promise of America as we enter our
third century as a nation. This past year saw far-reaching results from our new
policies for peace. By continuing to revitalize our
traditional friendships, and by our missions to Peking and
to Moscow, we were able to establish the base for a new and
more durable pattern of relationships among the nations of
the world. Because of America's bold initiatives, 1972 will
be long remembered as the year of the greatest progress
since the end of World War II toward a lasting peace in the
world. The peace we seek in the world is not the flimsy peace
which is merely an interlude between wars, but a peace which
can endure for generations to come. It is important that we understand both the necessity and
the limitations of America's role in maintaining that peace.
Unless we in America work to preserve the peace, there
will be no peace. Unless we in America work to preserve freedom, there will
be no freedom. But let us clearly understand the new nature of America's
role, as a result of the new policies we have adopted over
these past 4 years. We shall respect our treaty commitments. We shall support vigorously the principle that no country
has the right to impose its will or rule on another by
force. We shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work
for the limitation of nuclear arms and to reduce the danger
of confrontation between the great powers. We shall do our share in defending peace and freedom in
the world. But we shall expect others to do their share.
The time has passed when America will make every other
nation's conflict our own, or make every other nation's
future our responsibility, or presume to tell the people of
other nations how to manage their own affairs. Just as we respect the right of each nation to determine
its own future, we also recognize the responsibility of each
nation to secure its own future. Just as America's role is indispensable in preserving the
world's peace, so is each nation's role indispensable in
preserving its own peace. Together with the rest of the world, let us resolve to
move forward from the beginnings we have made. Let us
continue to bring down the walls of hostility which have
divided the world for too long, and to build in their place
bridges of understanding--so that despite profound
differences between systems of government, the people of the
world can be friends. Let us build a structure of peace in the world in which
the weak are as safe as the strong, in which each respects
the right of the other to live by a different system, in
which those who would influence others will do so by the
strength of their ideas and not by the force of their arms.
Let us accept that high responsibility not as a burden,
but gladly--gladly because the chance to build such a peace
is the noblest endeavor in which a nation can engage; gladly
also because only if we act greatly in meeting our
responsibilities abroad will we remain a great nation, and
only if we remain a great nation will we act greatly in
meeting our challenges at home. We have the chance today to do more than ever before in
our history to make life better in America--to ensure better
education, better health, better housing, better
transportation, a cleaner environment-to restore respect for
law, to make our communities more livable--and to ensure the
God-given right of every American to full and equal
opportunity. Because the range of our needs is so great, because the
reach of our opportunities is so great, let us be bold in
our determination to meet those needs in new ways. Just as building a structure of peace abroad has required
turning away from old policies that have failed, so building
a new era of progress at home requires turning away from old
policies that have failed. Abroad, the shift from old policies to new has not been a
retreat from our responsibilities, but a better way to
peace. And at home, the shift from old policies to new will not
be a retreat from our responsibilities, but a better way to
progress. Abroad and at home, the key to those new responsibilities
lies in the placing and the division of responsibility. We
have lived too long with the consequences of attempting to
gather all power and responsibility in Washington. Abroad and at home, the time has come to turn away from
the condescending policies of paternalism---of "Washington
knows best." A person can be expected to act responsibly only if he
has responsibility. This is human nature. So let us
encourage individuals at home and nations abroad to do more
for themselves, to decide more for themselves. Let us locate
responsibility in more places. And let us measure what we
will do for others by what they will do for themselves. That is why today I offer no promise of a purely
governmental solution for every problem. We have lived too
long with that false promise. In trusting too much in
government, we have asked of it more than it can deliver.
This leads only to inflated expectations, to reduced
individual effort, and to a disappointment and frustration
that erode confidence both in what government can do and in
what people can do. Government must learn to take less from people so that
people can do more for themselves. Let us remember that America was built not by government,
but by people; not by welfare, but by work; not by shirking
responsibility, but by seeking responsibility. In our own lives, let each of us ask-not just what will
government do for me, but what can I do for myself? In the challenges we face together, let each of us
ask--not just how can government help, but how can I help?
Your National Government has a great and vital role to
play. And I pledge to you that where this Government should
act, we will act boldly and we will lead boldly. But just as
important is the role that each and every one of us must
play, as an individual and as a member of his own community.
From this day forward, let each of us make a solemn
commitment in his own heart: to bear his responsibility, to
do his part, to live his ideals--so that together we can see
the dawn of a new age of progress for America, and together,
as we celebrate our 200th anniversary as a nation, we can do
so proud in the fulfillment of our promise to ourselves and
to the world. As America's longest and most difficult war comes to an
end, let us again learn to debate our differences with
civility and decency. And let each of us reach out for that
one precious quality government cannot provide--a new level
of respect for the rights and feelings of one another, a new
level of respect for the individual human dignity which is
the cherished birthright of every American. Above all else, the time has come for us to renew our
faith in ourselves and in America. In recent years, that faith has been challenged. Our children have been taught to be ashamed of their
country, ashamed of their parents, ashamed of America's
record at home and its role in the world. At every turn we have been beset by those who find
everything wrong with America and little that is right. But
I am confident that this will not be the judgment of history
on these remarkable times in which we are privileged to
live. America's record in this century has been unparalleled in
the world's h!story for its responsibility, for its
generosity, for its creativity, and for its progress. Let us be proud that our system has produced and provided
more freedom and more abundance, more widely shared, than
any system in the history of the world. Let us be proud that in each of the four wars in which we
have been engaged in this century, including the one we are
now bringing to an end, we have fought not for our selfish
advantage, but to help others resist aggression. And let us be proud that by our bold, new initiatives, by
our steadfastness for peace with honor, we have made a
breakthrough toward creating in the world what the world has
not known before--a structure of peace that can last, not
merely for our time, but for generations to come. We are
embarking here today on an era that presents challenges as
great as those any nation, or any generation, has ever
faced. We shall answer to God, to history, and to our conscience
for the way in which we use these years. As I stand in this place, so hallowed by history, I think
of others who have stood here before me. I think of the
dreams they had for America and I think of how each
recognized that he needed help far beyond himself in order
to make those dreams come true. Today I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may
have God's help in making decisions that are right for
America, and I pray for your help so that together we may be
worthy of our challenge. Let us pledge together to make these next 4 years the
best 4 years in America's history, so that on its 200th
birthday America will be as young and as vital as when it
began, and as bright a beacon of hope for all the world.
Let us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in
our faith in one another, sustained by our faith in God who
created us, and striving always to serve His purpose."
Jan. 20, 1973