Inaugural Adress of JFK

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.