Franklin D. Roosevelt

fourth inaugural address of Franklin D. Roosevelt

saturday, january 20, 1945

mr. chief justice, mr. vice president, my friends, you will understand and, i believe, agree with my wish that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words brief.we americans of today, together with our allies, are passing through a period of supreme test. it is a test of our courage--of our resolve--of our wisdom--our essential democracy.

if we meet that test--successfully and honorably--we shall perform a service of historic importance which men and women and children will honor throughout all time.

as i stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of office in the presence of my fellow countrymen--in the presence of our god-- i know that it is america's purpose that we shall not fail.

in the days and in the years that are to come we shall work for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for total victory in war.we can and we will achieve such a peace.

we shall strive for perfection. we shall not achieve it immediately--but we still shall strive. we may make mistakes--but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle.

i remember that my old schoolmaster, dr. peabody, said, in days that seemed to us then to be secure and untroubled: "things in life will not always run smoothly. sometimes we will be rising toward the heights--then all will seem to reverse itself and start downwarD. the great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever upward; that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trenD."

our constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it is not perfect yet. but it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of democracy.

and so today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons-- at a fearful cost--and we shall profit by them.

we have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. we have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger.

we have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.

we have learned the simple truth, as emerson said, that "the only way to have a friend is to be one." we can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust or with fear.

we can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding, the confidence, and the courage which flow from conviction.

the almighty god has blessed our land in many ways. he has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. he has giv ……此处隐藏10722个字……have called for personal sacrifice, and i am assured of the willingness of almost all americans to respond to that call. a part of the sacrifice means the payment of more money in taxes. in my budget message i will recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid for from taxation than we are paying for today. no person should try, or be allowed to get rich out of the program, and the principle of tax payments in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to guide our legislation.

if the congress maintains these principles the voters, putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks, will give you their applause.

in the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

the first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the worlD.

the second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way everywhere in the worlD.

the third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the worlD.

the fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the worlD.

that is no vision of a distant millennium. it is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. that kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

to that new order we oppose the greater conception -- the moral order. a good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.

since the beginning of our american history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. the world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.

this nation has placed its destiny in the hands, heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of goD. freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. our strength is our unity of purpose.

to that high concept there can be no end save victory.

美国历史上最经典演讲 Franklin delano Roosevelt (3)

Roosevelt

a few days after Franklin delano Roosevelt was sworn into office

高中英语 测试报 unit3第一部分 背景文字Franklin Roosevelt素材 牛津译林版必修3

dwight D. eisenhower: farewell