30.Ronald Reagan - First Inaugural Address

Ronald Reagan First Inaugural Address

delivered20January1981

Thank you .Thank you .

Senator Hatfield .Mr .Chief Justice .Mr .President .Vice PresidentBush .Vice President Mondale Senator Baker .Speaker O Neill .Reverend Moomaw .and my fellow citizens .

To a few of us here today this is a solemn and mostmomentous occasion .And .yet .inthe history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence .The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and fewof us stop tothink howunique we really are .Inthe eyes of many in the world this every .four year ceremony we accept as normalis nothing less than a miracle

Mr .President .I want our fellow citizens toknow how muchyou did to carry onthis tradition .By your gracious cooperation in the transition process youhave shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individualliberty to a greater degree than any other .And I thank you and your people for allyour help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our republic .

The business of our nation goes forward .

These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions .We suffer from the longest and one of the worstsustained inflations in our nationalhistory .It distorts our economic decisions .penalizes thrift .and crushes the struggling young and the fixed .income elderly alike .Itthreatens toshatter thelives of millions of our people .Idle industries have cast workers intounemployment .humanmisery and personal indignity .

Those who do work are denied a fair returnfor their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity .But great as our tax burdenis .it has notkept pace with public spending For decades we have piled deficit upondeficit .mortgaging our future and our children s future for the temporary convenience of the present .To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social .cultural .political .and economic upheavals .

You and I .as individuals .can .by borrowing live beyond our means .butfor only a limited period of time .Why then should we think that collectively .as a nation .we are not bound by that same limitation

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow .And letthere be no misunderstanding --.we re going to begin to act beginning today .The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades .They willnot go away in days .weeks .or months .butthey will go away They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now .as we have had in the past .to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom .

Inthis presentcrisis .governmentis not the solution to our problem .government is the problem .From time totime we ve beentempted to believ

e that society has become toocomplex to be managed by self rule that government by an elite group is superior togovernmentfor .by .and of the people .But if no one among us is capable of governing himself .then who among us has the capacity togovernsomeone else .

All of us together --.in and out of government --.must bear the burden .The solutions we seek must be equitable withno one group singled out to pay a higher price .We hear much of specialinterest groups Well our concern must be for a special interest group that has beentoo long neglected .It knows no sectional boundaries .or ethnic and racial divisions .and itcrosses political party lines .Itis made up of men and women who raise our food .patrol our streets .man our mines and factories .teach ourchildren .keep our homes .and heal us whenwe re sick --.professionals .industrialists .shopkeepers .clerks .cabbies .and truck drivers .They are .in short .“We the People ”.This breed called Americans .

Well .this Administration s objective will be a healthy .vigorous .growing economy thatprovides equal opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination .Putting America back to work means putting allAmericans back to work .Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs .

All mustshare in the productive work of this “new beginning ”.and allmust share in the bounty of a revived economy .

Withthe idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength .we canhave a strong and prosperous America at peace withitself and the world So as we begin .letus take inventory .

We are a nation thathas a government --.not the other way around And this makes us special among the nations of the earth .Our Governmenthas no power except that granted it by the people It is time tocheck and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed

Itis my intentionto curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted tothe Federal Government and those reserved tothe states or tothe people

All of us --.all of us need tobe reminded that the FederalGovernment did notcreate the states .the states created the Federal Government

Now .so there will be nomisunderstanding it s notmy intentionto do away with government .Itis rather tomake it work --.work withus .notover us .to stand by our side .not ride on our back .Government can and must provide opportunity .notsmother it .foster productivity .notstifle it .If we look tothe answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much .prospered as no other people on earth .it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extentthan has ever been done before

Freedom and the dignity of the individual have beenmore available and assured h

ere than in any other place on earth .The price for this freedom at times has been high .but we have never beenunwilling topay that price

Itis nocoincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate tothe interventionand intrusionin our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of Government .

Itis time for us torealize that we are too greata nation tolimit ourselves to small dreams .We re not .as some would have us believe .doomed to an inevitable decline I donot believe ina fate that will fall on us nomatter what we do .I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing

So with allthe creative energy at our command .letus begin an era of nationalrenewal .Letus renew our determination .our courage .and our strength .And let us renew our faith and our hope We have every right to dream heroic dreams .

Those who say that we re in a time when thereare noheroes --.they just don t know where tolook .You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates .Others .a handfulinnumber .produce enough food to feed all of us and thenthe world beyond Youmeetheroes across a counter --.and they re on both sides of that counter .There are entrepreneurs withfaithinthemselves and faith in anidea who create new jobs new wealth and opportunity .

There are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church .charity .culture .art .and education .Their patriotism is quiet but deep Their values sustain our nationallife

Now I have used the words “they .and “their .in speaking of these heroes .I could say “you .and “your .because I m addressing the heroes of whom Ispeak --.you .the citizens of this blessed land .Your dreams .your hopes your goals are going to be the dreams .the hopes and the goals of this Administration .so help me God

We shall reflectthe compassion that is somucha part of your make up How can we love our country and notlove our countrymen --.and loving them reach out a hand whenthey fall .heal them whenthey re sick .and provide opportunity to make them self sufficient sothey will be equal in fact and not just in theory Can we solve the problems confronting us .Wellthe answer is an unequivocal and emphatic "Yes ".To paraphrase Winston Churchill .I did nottake the oath I ve just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world s strongest economy

Inthe days ahead .I will propose removing the roadblocksthat have slowed our economy and reduced productivity .Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government .Progress may be slow --.measured ininches and feet .not miles --.butwe will progress .Itis time to reawakenthis industrial giant .to get government back within its means .and tolighten our punitive tax burden .And these will be our first priorities .and on these principles there will be nocompromise .

On

the eve or our struggle for independence a man whomight ve been one of the greatestamong the Founding Fathers .Dr .JosephWarren .president of the Massachusetts Congress .said tohis fellowAmericans .

“Our country is in danger .but notto be despaired of .On you depend the fortunes of America You are todecide the important questionuponwhichrestthe happiness and the liberty of millions yetunborn .Act worthy of yourselves ”

WellI believe we the Americans of today .are ready to act worthy of ourselves .ready to dowhat must be done toinsure happiness and liberty for ourselves .our children .and our children s children .And as we renew ourselves here in our ownland .we will be seen as having greater strengththroughoutthe world We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do notnow have freedom .

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom .we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment .We will matchloyalty with loyalty .We willstrive for mutually beneficial relations .We willnot use our friendship to impose ontheir sovereignty .for our own sovereignty is notfor sale .

Asfor the enemies of freedom .those who are potential adversaries .they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people We will negotiate for it .sacrifice for it .we will not surrender for it --.now or ever .Our forbearance should never be misunderstood .Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will .Whenactionis required topreserve our national security .we will act .We will maintain sufficientstrength to prevailif need be .knowing that if we do so .we have the best chance of never having touse that strength .

Above all we mustrealize that no arsenal or noweapon in the arsenals of the world is soformidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women .It is a weapon our adversaries in today s world donot have .Itis a weapon that we as Americans do have .Letthat be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors .

I am --.I m told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day .and for thatI am deeply grateful .We are a nationunder God .and I believe God intended for us to be free .It would be fitting and good .I think .if oneach inaugural day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer

This is the first time in our history thatthis ceremony has beenheld .as you ve beentold .onthis West Front of the Capitol .

Standing here .one faces a magnificentvista .opening up onthis city s special beauty and history .Atthe end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand .Directly in front of me the monumenttoa monumental man .George Washington .father of our country .A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly .He led America out of revolutionary victory intoinfantnationhood .Off to one

side the stately memorial toThomas Jefferson .The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence .And thenbeyond the Reflecting Pool .the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial .Whoever would understand in his heartthe meaning of Americawill find itinthe life of Abraham Lincoln .

Beyond those moments --.those monuments toheroism is the Potomac River .and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery .with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom .

Each one of those markers is a monumenttothe kind of hero I spoke of earlier .Their lives endedin places called Belleau Wood the Argonne .Omaha Beach .Salerno .and halfway around the world onGuadalcanal .Tarawa .PorkChop Hill .the Chosin Reservoir .and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam .

Under one such a marker lies a young man .Martin Treptow .wholefthis job in a small townbarber shop in 1917 to go toFrance withthe famed Rainbow Division .There .on the Westernfront .he was killed trying tocarry a message between battalions under heavy fire .We re told that on his body was found a diary .Onthe flyleaf under the heading .“My Pledge ”.he hadwrittenthese words .

“America must winthis war .Therefore .I will work .I will save .I will sacrifice .I will endure .Iwill fight cheerfully and do my utmost .as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone ”

The crisis we are facing today does notrequire of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptowand somany thousands of others were called upon tomake .It does require .however .our besteffort .and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity toperform great deeds .to believe thattogether with God s help we can and will resolve the problems whichnow confrontus .

And after all .why shouldn t we believe that .We are Americans .

God bless you and thank you .Thank youvery much