 John F.  Kennedy  Inaugural Address  Delivered  January  20,  1961  AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED:  Text  version below  transcribed  directly  from  audio  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 threequarters  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 powers of  destruction  unleashed by science engulf all  humanity in planned or accidental  selfdestruction.  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 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.   2   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 depths, and  encourage the arts and commerce.  Let both  sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah to  "undo  the  heavy burdens, and [to] 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 one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one  thousand 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 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?  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.   Isaiah 58:6 (King James Version  of the Holy Bible)   Romans 12:12  (King James Version  of  the Holy Bible)   4  