第一篇：1797年美國總統約翰·亞當斯就職演說

有識之士當年第一次認識到，美利堅在對某一外國立法機關完全俯首稱臣和徹底獨立之間，并無任何中間道路可走；那時他們并不怎么懼怕必須下決心加以抗擊的令人生畏的強大艦船和軍隊，他們更為擔心的是，在這個疆域遼闊的國家應當建立何種形式的全國和州政府之一問題，必然會引起種種斗爭和分歧。然而無論怎樣，這個國家當時人數僅為現在一半的代表們，憑藉自己出發點的純潔和自己事業的正義，依靠人民的團結和智慧，在從一開始就格外庇佑這個國家的上帝的指引之下，不僅砸碎了正在鍛造的鐐銬和向他們舉起的鋼鞭，而且毅然斬斷了曾把他們聯結為一體的紐帶，駛入一片起伏不定的海洋。

人民在革命戰爭期間所表現出來的熱情和奮發賦予了政府一席之地，保持了一種至少使社會得以暫時維持的秩序。人民起初感到甚為必要的聯邦，在籌建時參照了巴達維亞和海爾維希邦聯模式，這是歷史上具體而明確地保存至今的聯邦制的唯一樣板，也肯定是廣大人民曾經加以考慮的唯一例子。但是美國幅員廣大，而這些國家則地域狹小，郵差從政府所在地到達邊陲僅需一天，兩者之間有著無數具體的鮮明差異。有鑒于此，大陸會議中那些幫助建立聯邦制的人，當時肯定即已預見到聯邦是不能持久的。

果不其然，很快就出現了個人和各州均無視聯邦規定和不聽聯邦勸告的現象，這即便不算違背聯邦權威，但也帶來了令人憂郁的后果：人們普遍消沉懶散，各州之間妒忌傾軋，航運和商業衰落不堪，必需品的生產萎靡不振，土地和農產品的價值普遍下跌，個人和公共信念遭到蔑視，國外交往也有欠審慎以致信譽掃地，這一切終于招致人心不滿、遍生仇隙、拉幫結派、偏激集會和騷亂蜂起，預示著一場全國性的災難就要來臨。

值此危難之際，美國人民慣有的良知、鎮定、決斷和正直誠實的品質并未消失。人們獻計獻策，努力建立一個更為完善的聯盟，以匡扶正義，確保國內安寧，提供共同防御，增進公眾幸福，爭取自由的賜福。人們經過探索、討論和深思熟慮，最終制定了目前這部令人滿意的政府憲章。

在這一轉折的整個過程中，我都在國外執行公務，因而我第一次見到憲法也是在國外。我滿懷喜悅地讀過這部憲法，既沒有被圍繞憲法措辭的爭吵而弄得憤怒難當，也未為公開辯論而熱血沸騰，更沒有因為黨派仇恨而情緒激昂。我認為，憲法出自心懷善良愿望的有志之士之手，較之人們提出或建議實行的其他任何實驗，均更加切合美國及美國人民的智慧、特性、環境和各種關系。這部憲法就一般原則和大綱而言，與我曾經服膺的政體相一致，有一些州，尤其是我出生的州，曾為這種政體的建立作出了貢獻，對于這部憲法，不僅我的同胞們及其子孫必須服從，我和我的后代也必須服從，因而我同樣有權表示是否接受，在公開或私下各種場合，我都毫不含糊地表示擁護這部憲法。我當時對憲法就毫無異議，自此以后以后也是一樣。我并不認為行政部門和參議院的存在不能較為持久。我也從未想到要提出修改憲法，除非人民從自身經驗出發，認為確有必要或者時機相宜，從而通過自己在國會和各州議會的代表，根據憲法本身的規定，采取修改憲法的行動，并且制定有關的修正案。

我與祖國在痛苦分離達十年以后，又重新回來了它的懷抱，并有幸在一種新氣象中當選副總統，因而我一直不斷把擁護憲法作為自己至為莊嚴的職責，憲法得以很好地實施，滿足了其擁護者的樂觀愿望。我時常關注憲法，對它的執行情況感到滿意，為它在國家的和平、秩序和繁榮、幸福方面所顯示的成效感到高興，并由此對它產生了一種習慣性的依戀和崇敬之情。的確，除此之外，世界上難道還有其他政府形式值得我們如此尊敬和熱愛嗎？

古代有人認為，用最超邁的智慧來看，人類聚居而形成眾多城市和國家乃是令人至為欣悅的事情，這種觀點或許不甚可靠；但有一點乃是確切無疑的：對人類善良寬厚的心靈來說，我們國會兩院的政府經常舉行的集會所展現的景象，不僅令人至為欣悅，而且顯得十分崇高、莊嚴和堂皇，這是任何國家都無法比擬的，而且在我們的政府中，行政權力和立法機關各部門的權力一樣，都由經過其同胞定期選舉產生的公民來行使，他們或制定法律，或執行法律，全都是為了人民的普遍利益。官服和鉆石除了純粹裝點門面之外，難道還能為此增添任何實質性的東西嗎？那種由偶然繼承所得或出自遠古時代確立的制度的權威，難道會比這種從誠實而具有遠見卓識的人民的內心和判斷中生龍活虎般產生的權威更為可親可敬嗎？后一種權威所唯一代表的乃是人民，它的每一合法機構，無論以什么形式出現，都是人民力量和尊嚴的反映，都只是為了人民的利益。像我們這樣一種政府，不論存在多久，都是知識和美德在全人類傳播的鮮明標志。在人類的心靈中，難道還存在比這個令人更為欣喜的目標和想法嗎？如果民族自豪感乃是合情合理的，那么只有當它源于對國民的純真、知識和仁慈所抱的信心時才能如此，倘若源于詮釋或財富、奢華或榮耀則不然。

但是，我們自由、公正、誠實和獨立的選舉的純潔性，一旦為一些片面和無關宏旨的事情所玷污，我們的自由就會陷于危險之中；如果我們對此竟視而不見，一味耽溺于這些美妙的想法，那我們就未免淪為自欺欺人。一次選舉如果竟以一票只差決定勝負，而一個政黨又可能借助陰謀詭計和腐敗行徑來弄到這一張選票，因之這個政府就可能時某一政黨為了一己之私，而不是全國人民為了全國的利益而作出的選擇。如果外國政府可以通過諸如奉承或威脅、欺騙或暴力、陰謀或收買、以及恐怖之類的手段，來獲取這張單獨的選票，那么所選出的政府就不是美國人民的選擇，而是其他國家的選擇。那樣就有可能導致外國人統治我們，而不是我們人民自己統治自己。因而坦率的人就會承認，在這種情況下，選擇勝于命運和機會的優勢，也就無可夸耀了。

這就是我們那親切可愛而饒有趣味的政府體制，以及它可能遇到的一些流弊。八年來，美國人民在一位公民的領導下，向各國的明智仁德之士展示了這一體制，激起他們的贊賞和熱望。這位公民在一系列偉大行動的過程中，表現出謹慎、公正、克制和堅定的品德，指引著一個為同樣的美德所鼓舞、為同樣的愛國熱情和熱愛自由的精神所激勵的民族走向獨立與和平，踏上增進財富與空前繁榮之路。他贏得了同胞們的感戴，博得了世界各國的高度贊揚，而且他的英名將傳之后世而百代流芳！

他自愿選擇了退休。祝愿他頤養天年，從對自己供職生涯的甜美追憶和人類對他的感激之中獲得快樂，享受他來給全人類、也帶給他自己的日漸增多的幸福之果，欣慰地展望這個國家逐年明朗的未來命運的光輝前景。他的名字仍將時一道防線，他的長壽仍將是一座堡壘，可以抗擊一切危害美國和平的公開或隱蔽的敵人。他自愿引退的范例得到國會參眾兩院、各州立法機構以及全國人民的一致推崇，將為他的繼任者所效法。

在下述問題上，我也許最好保持沉默，或者說話謹慎一些。但人總是抱有某種希望的，因而我希望在這個場合大膽發表我見解，而不致于冒天下之大不韙。我認為，人們經過長期而嚴肅的思考，經過對真理不懈而無私的追求，并且根據原則而作出選擇，應對自由的共和政體產生熱愛之情；人民根據自己的判斷和意愿，按照憲法本身所規定的方式，可以對憲法作出變更，但在此之前，應對憲法抱有一種依戀，并自覺自愿地加以堅決擁護；應當尊重各

州憲法，對各州政府也要時時予以慎重對待和小心愛護；聯邦內部各州的權利、利益、榮譽和幸福應當得到公正無私的待遇，不要因為它們在我國東西南北處于不同的位置，也不要因為各州人民在無關宏旨的問題上持有不同的政治見解和抱有不同的個人愛好，而給與偏袒或不同待遇；品德高尚的人士，無論屬于何黨何派，都應當受到人們的愛戴；我們要熱愛科學和文藝，愿意贊助一切合理的努力，以扶持學校、學院、大學、研究院和向各階層人民宣傳知識、美德和宗教的所有機構，這樣做的原因不僅在于，這些機構對不同年齡、不同階層的人們的幸福和所有形式的社團的幸福有著良好的影響，而且這是維護我們憲法的唯一手段，可以使它免受諸如巧舌詭辯、黨派精神、陰謀詭計、腐敗墮落和外來影響的時疫這類天敵的侵害，而這些都是民選政府的災星；我們在內政上要熱愛平等的法律，崇尚公正和奉行人道；我們要推動農業、商業和制造業的發展，從而滿足人們的生活所需，為人們提供便利，保障我們的國防；我們要公允而人道地對待美洲的土著部落，使他們對我們更為友好，也使我們的公民對我們更為友好，從而改善他們的處境；我們要堅定不移地與世界各國維持和平和嚴守信義，對于歐洲交戰各方，我國政府向來奉行中立和不偏不倚的方針，這種方針獲得國會兩院的莊嚴批準，受到各州議會和輿論的一致擁護，除非國會另作規定，我們不得加以改變；我有七年時間主要生活在法國，因而對法國人民產生了一種個人敬意，我衷心希望維持與法國的友誼，這對兩國人民的榮譽與利益一直有著極大的好處；美國人民強烈的榮譽感和誠實正直之心，以及他們有關自己的權力和力量的內在情感固然應當加以維護，但同時應當對每一正當的事業竭力進行認真審議，以杜絕各種刻意渲染的抱怨借口；我國公民在商務活動中不論受到哪一個國家的損害，我們應首先通過友好談判尋求補償，只有在談判沒有效果時，才將情況陳述于立法部門，由它根據政府和當事人的榮譽與利益要求，決定采取何種新的措施；只要我能做到，我就要下定決心，在任何時候對任何國家都力求公允，并且與世界各國保持和平、友好和仁愛的關系；應當對美國人民的榮譽、精神和力量抱有不可動搖的信心，我向來經常把自己的一切都寄托在這上面，而且從未失望；我要對祖國崇高命運以及我自己對此應盡何種義務的崇高觀念加以深刻領會，這種領會乃是以我早年即已銘心鏤骨的關于人民道德準則和智性改善的知識為基礎的，并且非但不會因為閱歷的豐富和年齡的增長而黯然失色，反而會不斷升華；最后，我懷著謙卑而虔誠的心情，覺得由必要再補充一點，即一個宣稱信仰上帝并自稱為基督徒的民族，應當對宗教懷有一種崇敬的心情，在推薦最佳公職人選時，必須堅定不移地適當考慮其是否敬重基督教，這種對宗教的敬意將使我能夠最大限度的滿足諸位的愿望。如果上述條件均能達到，我當奮發努力，俾使國會兩院做出的這一深謀遠慮的決斷，不至于毫無效果。

在我面前已經有了一位偉大的表率，而當初立誓要擁護美國憲法的美國人民，仍然抱有同樣的思想和精神、同樣的信念和榮譽、同樣的責任和興趣，因而我毫不懷疑憲法將永葆全部活力，而我則已做好思想準備，打算毫不猶豫地承擔至為神圣的義務，竭盡全力擁護憲法。

上帝乃是至高無上的主宰，秩序的守護神，正義的源泉和所有時代里美好的自由世界的保護者，愿他繼續賜福我國人民和他們的政府，按照它的神圣意旨，保佑這個政府諸事順遂，永世長存！

第二篇：1797年約翰·亞當斯總統就職演說

美國歷屆總統就職演講辭

Inaugural Address of John Adams

INAUGURAL ADDRESS IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1797

When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature and a total independence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehensive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist than from those contests and dissensions which would certainly arise concerning the forms of government to be instituted over the whole and over the parts of this extensive country.Relying, however, on the purity of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and the integrity and intelligence of the people, under an overruling Providence which had so signally protected this country from the first, the representatives of this nation, then consisting of little more than half its present number, not only broke to pieces the chains which were forging and the rod of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder the ties which had bound them, and launched into an ocean of uncertainty.The zeal and ardor of the people during the Revolutionary war, supplying the place of government, commanded a degree of order sufficient at least for the temporary preservation of society.The Confederation which was early felt to be necessary was prepared from the models of the Batavian and Helvetic confederacies, the only examples which remain with any detail and precision in history, and certainly the only ones which the people at large had ever considered.But reflecting on the striking difference in so many particulars between this country and those where a courier may go from the seat of government to the frontier in a single day, it was then certainly foreseen by some who assisted in Congress at the formation of it that it could not be durable.Negligence of its regulations, inattention to its recommendations, if not disobedience to its authority, not only in individuals but in States, soon appeared with their melancholy consequences--universal languor, jealousies and rivalries of States, decline of navigation and commerce, discouragement of necessary manufactures, universal fall in the value of lands and their produce, contempt of public and private faith, loss of consideration and credit with foreign nations, and at length in discontents, animosities, combinations, partial conventions, and insurrection, threatening some great national calamity.In this dangerous crisis the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity.Measures were pursued to concert a plan to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.The public disquisitions, discussions, and deliberations issued in the present happy Constitution of Government.Employed in the service of my country abroad during the whole course of these transactions, I first saw the Constitution of the United States in a foreign country.Irritated by no literary altercation, animated by no public debate, heated by no party animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as the result of good heads prompted by good hearts, as an experiment better adapted to the genius, character, situation, and relations of this nation and country than any which had ever been proposed or suggested.In its general principles and great outlines it was conformable to such a system of government as I had ever most esteemed, and in some States, my own native State in particular, had contributed to establish.Claiming a right of suffrage, in common with my fellow-citizens, in the adoption or rejection of a constitution which was to rule me and my

posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not hesitate to express my approbation of it on all occasions, in public and in private.It was not then, nor has been since, any objection to it in my mind that the Executive and Senate were not more permanent.Nor have I ever entertained a thought of promoting any alteration in it but such as the people themselves, in the course of their experience, should see and feel to be necessary or expedient, and by their representatives in Congress and the State legislatures, according to the Constitution itself, adopt and ordain.Returning to the bosom of my country after a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the honor to be elected to a station under the new order of things, and I have repeatedly laid myself under the most serious obligations to support the Constitution.The operation of it has equaled the most sanguine expectations of its friends, and from an habitual attention to it, satisfaction in its administration, and delight in its effects upon the peace, order, prosperity, and happiness of the nation I have acquired an habitual attachment to it and veneration for it.What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love?

There may be little solidity in an ancient idea that congregations of men into cities and nations are the most pleasing objects in the sight of superior intelligences, but this is very certain, that to a benevolent human mind there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than an assembly like that which has so often been seen in this and the other Chamber of Congress, of a Government in which the Executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by citizens selected at regular periods by their neighbors to make and execute laws for the general good.Can anything essential, anything more than mere ornament and decoration, be added to this by robes and diamonds? Can authority be more amiable and respectable when it descends from accidents or institutions established in remote antiquity than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people? For it is the people only that are represented.It is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only for their good, in every legitimate government, under whatever form it may appear.The existence of such a government as ours for any length of time is a full proof of a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body of the people.And what object or consideration more pleasing than this can be presented to the human mind? If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable it is when it springs, not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence.In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good.If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations.It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves;and candid men will acknowledge that in such cases choice would have little advantage to boast of over lot or chance.Such is the amiable and interesting system of government(and such are some of the abuses to which it may be exposed)which the people of America have exhibited to the admiration and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations for eight years under the administration of a citizen who, by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude,conducting a people inspired with the same virtues and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity.In that retirement which is his voluntary choice may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his services, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of this country which is opening from year to year.His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives a bulwark, against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace.This example has been recommended to the imitation of his successors by both Houses of Congress and by the voice of the legislatures and the people throughout the nation.On this subject it might become me better to be silent or to speak with diffidence;but as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that if a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth;if an attachment to the Constitution of the United States, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it;if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual States and a constant caution and delicacy toward the State governments;if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the States in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western, position, their various political opinions on unessential points or their personal attachments;if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations;if a love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments;if a love of equal laws, of justice, and humanity in the interior administration;if an inclination to improve agriculture, commerce, and manufacturers for necessity, convenience, and defense;if a spirit of equity and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them;if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this Government and so solemnly sanctioned by both Houses of Congress and applauded by the legislatures of the States and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress;if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations;if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause and remove every colorable pretense of complaint;if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the

Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the Government and its constituents demand;if a resolution to do justice as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world;if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all and never been deceived;if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age;and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect.With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power.And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.-John Adams

約翰?亞當斯

就職演講

費城

星期六,1797年3月4日

美國的政體與喬治?華盛頓

確實，還有其他什么形式的政體，值得我們如此尊敬和熱愛呢？

古代有一種很不嚴密的觀念認為，人類聚集而形成城市和國家，是最令具有卓越見識的人感到愉悅的目標，但無可置疑的是，在善良的人們看來，任何國家所顯示的情景，都比不上這里和另一議院所經常見到的集會更令人喜悅，更高尚莊嚴，或者說更令人敬畏；政府的行政權和國會各個機構的立法權，是由同胞們定期選出的公民來行使的，其目的是為公眾利益而制定和執行法律。難道官袍和鉆石能為此增添實質性的東西嗎？難道它們不就是一些裝飾品嗎？難道因運而生或通過遠古制反而繼承的權力，會比誠實而卓識的人民按自己的意愿和判斷而產生的權力更可親可敬嗎？因為這樣的政府唯一代表的是人民。它的各個合法機構，無論表現為何種形式，反映的都是人民的權利和尊嚴，并且只為人民謀利益。像我們這樣的政府，不論其將存在多久，都是對知識和美德在全人類傳播的充分證明。難道還有比這更令人喜悅的目標或構想能奉獻給人類觀念嗎？如果說民族自豪感歷來無可非議和情有可原，那么，這種自豪感必定不是來自權勢和財富，不是來自豪華和榮耀，而是來自堅信民族的純真、識見和仁愛。

當我們沉浸在這些愉快的想法時，如果任何片面或無關緊要的因素影響到自由、公平、高尚和獨立的選舉，使選舉失去了純潔性，使我們忽視自由所面臨的危險，我們就會自欺欺人。如果選舉需由一人一票的多數票來決定勝負，而一個政黨可以通過欺騙和腐蝕來達到目的，那么這個政府就有可能是政黨為自身目的而作出的選擇，而下是國家為全國利益而作出的選擇；如果其他國家有可能通過奉承或脅迫，欺詐或暴力，通過恐怖、陰謀或收買等伎倆控制了這次選舉，那么這個政府就可能不是美國人民作出的選擇，而是其他國家作出的選擇。那樣，就可能是外國統治我們，而不是我們——人民——來管理自已，那樣，公正的人士就會認識到，選擇較之命運或機遇就未必更有優越性而下值得夸耀了。

這就是使人感到親切和興趣的政治體制（及其可能暴露的某些弊端）。8年來，美國人民在一位公民的領導下展現了這種政治體制，引起了各國賢達的贊賞或掛慮。這位公民為人謹慎、公正、節制、堅韌，長期以來，他以一系列偉大的行動，領導著一個為共同的美德所鼓舞、強烈的愛國心所激勵的和熱愛自由的民族，走向獨立、和平、富強和空前鱉榮。他值得同胞們感恩戴德，他博得了世界各國的最高贊揚，他必將名垂千古。他自愿選擇了隱退，愿他在隱退后長壽，愉快地回憶他供職時的情景，并享受人類對他的感激，享受他所作出的奉獻給他本人和全世界帶來的與日俱增的幸福果實，享受這個國家的未來命運決定的、正在逐年展開的光明前景。他的名字仍將是一道防線，他的長壽仍將是一座堡壘，抵御著一切危害國家安定的、公開的或暗藏的敵人。他的這一舉動已得到國會兩院、各州立法機構和全國人民的一致贊揚，并將成為繼任者效法的榜樣。

第三篇：美國總統就職演說

奧巴馬

Hello, Chicago.If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.We are, and always will be, the United States of America.It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen.McCain.Sen.McCain fought long and hard in this campaign.And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves.He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine.We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.I congratulate him;I congratulate Gov.Palin for all that they've achieved.And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine.And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am.I miss them tonight.I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me.I am grateful to them.1 And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best--the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to.It belongs to you.It belongs to you.I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.We didn't start with much money or many endorsements.Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington.It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.This is your victory.And I know you didn't do this just to win an election.And I know you didn't do it for me.You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime--two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.The road ahead will be long.Our climb will be steep.We may not get there in one year or even in one term.But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.I promise you, we as a people will get there.There will be setbacks and false starts.There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president.And we know the government can't solve 2 every problem.But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years--block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.This victory alone is not the change we seek.It is only the chance for us to make that change.And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.Those are values that we all share.And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends.Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices.I need your help.And I will be your president, too.And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand

To those--to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you.To those who seek peace and security: We support you.And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.3 That's the true genius of America: that America can change.Our union can be perfected.What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta.She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.She was born just a generation past slavery;a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky;when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons--because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America--the heartache and the hope;the struggle and the progress;the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot.Yes we can.When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose.Yes we can.When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved.Yes we can.She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.。

Yes we can.America, we have come so far.We have seen so much.But there is so much more to do.So tonight, let us ask ourselves--if our children should live to see the next century;if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call.This is our moment.This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids;to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace;to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one;that while we breathe, we hope.And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and 4 those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.Thank you.God bless you.And may God bless the United States of America.美國是一個任何事情都有可能發生的國家,對于這一點如果還有任何人心存懷疑,對民主的力量還表示疑慮的話,今晚就是對這一問題的最好回答。

這個答案早已經印在了到處懸掛在學校和教堂的競選條幅上,人們隨處可見;這些人們已經等待了三四個小時,對于他們當中的大多數,這是有生以來第一次經歷這樣的過程,因為他們堅信這一時刻注定與眾不同,而這種不同便有可能源自他們所發出的聲音。

這個答案出自這些人之口,無論是青年還是老年,窮人還是富人,民主黨還是共和黨,黑人還是白人,拉丁裔、亞裔還是美國本土人,同性戀者還是異性戀者,殘疾人還是非殘疾人——他們向世界發出了這樣的信息——我們從來不分紅色之州和藍色之州,我們永遠都是美利堅合眾國。

這個答案告訴了那些一直以來充滿焦慮、恐懼和懷疑的人們,我們可以將雙手放在歷史的轉折點上,將它再次帶向充滿希望的美好明天。

這一刻我們已經等待了太久,但是今晚,由于我們在這一決定性的時刻所作出的選擇,美國便迎來了它嶄新的一刻。

我剛剛接到了來自麥凱恩議員的電話。他在這場漫長而艱難的選舉中一直努力著,而他為他所熱愛的國家所付出的努力甚至更加艱辛而久遠。可能我們當中的很多人甚至都無法想象,麥凱恩議員從何時便開始為我們的國家奉獻自己,而我們卻早已享受到了這位勇敢無私的領導者為國家所做出的貢獻。對于他和佩林所付出的努力,我表示衷心的感謝,同時我也期待著,能夠和他們一同努力,共同實現我們這幾個月來所做出的承諾。

我要感謝我的競選伙伴,新當選的美國副總統喬·拜登,這一路走來,他始終遵循著自己內心深處的那個聲音,他始終代表著那些和他一起在斯克蘭頓街邊長大,一起坐著火車回到故鄉特拉華州的人們的聲音。

如果沒有過去這16年來摯友的支持,沒有穩定的家庭和對生活的愛,沒有我們國家的下一位第一夫人,米歇爾·奧巴馬,今晚我將不可能站在這里。薩莎和瑪麗亞,我愛你們,你們已經得到了一只新的小狗,它將和我們一起入住白宮。還有我的祖母,雖然她已經不能和我們一起分享這一刻,但是我知道,她正和我的家人一起,注視著我,陪我經歷著這一刻。我不會忘記,是他們養育我成人,今晚我是如此的想念他們,我知道,我所虧欠他們的,是永遠無法報答的恩情。

對我的競選負責人大衛·普羅菲,我的首席戰略家大衛·亞克瑟羅德以及有史以來最優秀的競選團隊,我想對你們說的是——是你們成就了今天的一切,我將永遠感激你們所付出的這一切。

但是,最重要的是,我將永遠不會忘記,這個勝利是真正屬于你們的!我一直都不是最有希望的那個候選人,一開始的時候我們便沒有那么多的資金或支持。我們的競選之路并不是從華盛頓的高樓禮堂中開始的,它從德梅因的后院、協和酒店的客廳以及查爾斯頓的門廊中邁出了第一步。

它由那些需要從自己有限的存款中拿出5美元、10美元和20美元的工人們建立起來;那些摒棄了他們那一代人冷漠神話的年輕人,那些遠離家鄉親人在外打拼卻只能賺得微薄工資的人們,那些抵抗著刺骨的寒冷和灼人的炎熱敲響了陌生人家大門的人們,是你們給了它 成長的力量;數以百萬計的美國人民自愿組織起來,他們想要去證明兩個多世紀之后,一個由人民組成的政府,一個屬于人民的政府,一個為了人民的政府是不會從地球上消亡的,這就是屬于你們的勝利!我知道,你們這樣做并不只是想贏得一場選舉,我也知道,你們這樣做并不是為我一個人。你們這樣做,是因為你們了解前方的任務是如何的艱巨。甚至就在我們慶祝的同時,我們也清楚地明白,明天將要面臨的挑戰是多么巨大——兩大戰爭,一個處于危險中的星球,本世紀最嚴重的經濟危機。就在我們站在這里的同時,我們清楚地知道,還有許多勇敢的美國人正在伊拉克的沙漠和阿富汗的群山中醒來,為了我們而冒著生命的危險。還有許許多多的父母們,只有在自己的孩子入睡后才能躺下,他們為房子的貸款和醫院的賬單還有孩子們的學費而發愁。放心,我們會注入新的能量,創造新的就業機會,建設新的學校,面對威脅與挑戰,修復我們的聯盟。

前方的道路還很漫長。我們所面臨的山峰是險峻的。或許一年甚至很長一段時間我們都無法攀上峰頂,但是美國——我從來沒有像今晚這樣堅信,我們最終一定會到達。我向你保證——我們的民族最終會到達山頂的。

也許會有挫折坎坷,作為總統我所做出的決定和政策必定會遭到一些人的反對,而我們也知道政府不能夠解決所有問題。但是我將會誠實地告訴你們我們所面對的挑戰。我會耐心傾聽你們的心聲,尤其是在遇到分歧的時候。而最重要的是,我將會讓你們加入到重建我們國家的隊伍當中來,沿著美國這221年來一直所走的那條道路——一塊塊磚瓦,一雙雙手,一點點堆砌出我們的家園。

21個月之前的那個冬天所開始的,不會在這個秋天的夜晚結束。這個勝利本身并不是我們所要找尋的改變——這只是一個改變的機會。如果我們回到老路上,那么一切都不會得到改變。沒有你們,這一切也不會得到改變。

那么,就讓我們重新召喚起愛國主義、公仆之心以及國家責任的精神來,每個人都參與其中,一起努力,不單只是關心自身,而是互相照顧。讓我們記住這場經濟危機所教會我們的一點,如果主街道遭受了打擊,那么華爾街也不可能幸免——在這個國家,我們作為一個民族,一個整體,同存亡共榮辱。

讓我們摒棄掉那些長久以來一直危害我們的政治生活的那些幼稚瑣碎的黨派之爭。讓我們記住,是這個國家的人第一次將共和黨的橫幅掛在了白宮之上,而共和黨的建立便是基于對自力更生、獨立自由和國家統一價值的肯定。這一價值是我們所共享的,即便民主黨今晚贏得了大選,我們也會懷著謙虛的心態,去消除這一分歧和隔膜。在面臨著比今天更嚴重的國家分裂時,林肯說過,“我們不是敵人,而是朋友。。我們友情的紐帶,或會因情緒激動而繃緊,但決不可折斷。”而對于那些我還沒有贏得支持的選民們——也許我還沒有贏得你們的選票,但是我聽到了你們聲音,我需要你們的幫助,而我也同樣是你們的總統。

對于那些遠在大洋彼岸的,在國會和皇宮中,在我們這個世界被遺忘的角落中圍在收音機旁關注著大選之夜的人們——我們的故事是不同的,但是我們的命運卻是緊緊連在一起的,美國領袖新的一天的黎明即將到來。對于那些會將世界四分五裂的人們,我們將打敗你們,對于那些渴求和平和安全的人們,我們將支持你們。而對于所有那些想知道,自由女神像手中的火炬是否還會依舊閃耀光芒的人們,今晚我們再次證明了,我們民族的真正實力并不只是來自于武力和財富,而是來自于我們理想的力量:民主,自由,機遇以及永不屈服的希望。美國真正的天賦在于,它懂得改變。我們的聯盟會不斷完善自己。而我們已經取得的成就給了我們希望,讓我們堅信我們能夠并且即將取得成功。

這次選舉擁有許多故事和數不清的第一次,它們將被世世代代流傳。但是今晚在我腦海中一直浮現的,是亞特蘭大一位女性選民。她就像成千上萬的其他選民一樣,排在隊伍中喊出自己的心聲,唯一不同的是——安·尼克松·庫伯已經106歲了。她出生的時候正是奴隸制度解除之后;那時候還沒有汽車和飛機;像她一樣的人那個時候是沒有選舉權的,因為她是女人,還因為她皮膚的顏色。

但是今晚,我思考著她所經歷的這一個世紀的美國——心痛和希望;斗爭與進步;我們被告知我們不能做什么的時代,以及美國人的信條:是的,我們可以!在那個女性不能發出聲音的時代,在那個女性的希望被剝奪的時代,她看著她們站了起來,大聲說出自己的想法,投出了自己的選票。是的,我們可以!當絕望和大蕭條襲來的時候,她看到了一個民族通過新政、新的工作和新的共同目的感戰勝了恐懼。是的,我們可以!當炸彈在珍珠港爆炸,當暴政威脅這個世界的時候,她見證了一代人的強大,見證了民主得到了捍衛。是的,我們可以!她見證了蒙哥馬利汽車暴動,見證了塞爾瑪大橋事件,遇到了那位來自亞特蘭大的牧師,他告訴人們“我們終將會克服一切。”是的,我們可以!人類登上了月球,柏林墻倒塌了,世界由于我們自身的科學和想象力被連接到了一起。而在這一年,在這次選舉中,她的手指觸摸到了屏幕,她投出了自己的一票,因為在美國經歷了106年的變遷,經歷了最好的與最壞的時代后,她了解美國是如何變化的。是的,我們可以!美國,我們已經走了這么遠,我們已經看到了這么多,但是仍然有許多事情等待著我們去做。那么今晚,讓我們捫心自問——如果我們的孩子看到了下一個世紀;如果我的女兒也能夠和安·尼克松·庫伯一樣幸運地活到了106歲,那么他們將會看到怎樣的變化？我們又將會取得什么樣的進步？

對于我們來說,這正是一個對這一疑問給出回答的機會。這是我們的時刻,這是我們的時代——讓我們的人民重新回去工作,為我們的孩子打開機會的大門;積累財富,促進和平;重拾美國夢,重申基本的真象——相對于大多數而言,我們是獨一無二的;當我們呼吸時,我們希望,在我們面對譏笑、懷疑以及別人對我們說我們不能的時候,我們將會用凝聚了人類精神的永恒信條作出回應: 是的,我們可以!謝謝你們,愿上帝保佑你們,愿上帝保佑美利堅合眾國。喬治布什

January 20, 2001

President Clinton, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens:

The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country.With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation;and I thank Vice President Gore for a contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace.I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.We have a place, all of us, in a long story.A story we continue, but whose end we will not see.It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.It is the American story.A story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born.Americans are called upon to enact this promise in our lives and in our laws;and though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea.Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations.Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along;and even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country.The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth;and sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country.We do not accept this, and we will not allow it.Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation;and this is my solemn pledge, “I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.” I know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image and we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.America has never been united by blood or birth or soil.We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.Every child must be taught these principles.Every citizen must uphold them;and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.Today, we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility.A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small.But the stakes for America are never small.If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led.If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism.If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most.We must live up to the calling we share.Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment.It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.This commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.America, at its best, is also courageous.Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defending common dangers defined our common good.Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us.We must show courage in a time of blessing by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.Together, we will reclaim America's schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives;we will reform Social Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent;we will reduce taxes, to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans;we will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge;and we will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake, America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom.We will defend our allies and our interests;we will show purpose without arrogance;we will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength;and to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.America, at its best, is compassionate.In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise.Whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault.Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love.The proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.Where there is suffering, there is duty.Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities, and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.Government has great responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools.Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government.Some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer.Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws.Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do.I can pledge our nation to a goal, “When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.”

America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected.Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience.Though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment.We find the fullness of life not only in options, but in commitments.We find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.Sometimes in life we are called to do great things.But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love.The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone.I will live and lead by these principles, “to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.” In all of these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.What you do is as important as anything government does.I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort;to defend needed reforms against easy attacks;to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor.I ask you to be citizens.Citizens, not spectators;citizens, not subjects;responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves.When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it.When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson, “We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong.Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?” Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inauguration.The years and changes accumulate, but the themes of this day he would know, “our nation's grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.”

We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose.Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today;to make our country more just and generous;to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.This work continues.This story goes on.And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.God bless you all, and God bless America.謝謝大家！

尊敬的芮恩奎斯特大法官，卡特總統，布什總統，克林頓總統，尊敬的來賓們，我的同胞們，這次權利的和平過渡在歷史上是罕見的，但在美國是平常的。我們以樸素的宣誓莊嚴地維護了古老的傳統，同時開始了新的歷程。

首先，我要感謝克林頓總統為這個國家作出的貢獻，也感謝副總統戈爾在競選過程中的熱情與風度。

站在這里，我很榮幸，也有點受寵若驚。在我之前，許多美國領導人從這里起步；在我之后，也會有許多領導人從這里繼續前進。

在美國悠久的歷史中，我們每個人都有自己的位置；我們還在繼續推動著歷史前進，但是我們不可能看到它的盡頭。這是一部新世界的發展史，是一部后浪推前浪的歷史。這是一部美國由奴隸制社會發展成為崇尚自由的社會的歷史。這是一個強國保護而不是占有世界的歷史，是捍衛而不是征服世界的歷史。這就是美國史。它不是一部十全十美的民族發展史，但它是一部在偉大和永恒理想指導下幾代人團結奮斗的歷史。

這些理想中最偉大的是正在慢慢實現的美國的承諾，這就是：每個人都有自身的價值，每個人都有成功的機會，每個人天生都會有所作為的。美國人民肩負著一種使命，那就是要竭力將這個諾言變成生活中和法律上的現實。雖然我們的國家過去在追求實現這個承諾的途中停滯不前甚至倒退，但我們仍將堅定不移地完成這一使命。

在上個世紀的大部分時間里，美國自由民主的信念猶如洶涌大海中的巖石。現在它更像風中的種子，把自由帶給每個民族。在我們的國家，民主不僅僅是一種信念，而是全人類的希望。民主，我們不會獨占，而會竭力讓大家分享。民主，我們將銘記于心并且不斷傳播。225年過去了，我們仍有很長的路要走。

有很多公民取得了成功，但也有人開始懷疑，懷疑我們自己的國家所許下的諾言，甚至懷疑它的公正。失敗的教育，潛在的偏見和出身的環境限制了一些美國人的雄心。有時，我們的分歧是如此之深，似乎我們雖身處同一個大陸，但不屬于同一個國家。我們不能接受這種分歧，也無法容許它的存在。我們的團結和統一，是每一代領導人和每一個公民的嚴肅使命。在此，我鄭重宣誓：我將竭力建設一個公正、充滿機會的統一國家。我知道這是我們的目標，因為上帝按自己的身形創造了我們，上帝高于一切的力量將引導我們前進。

對這些將我們團結起來并指引我們向前的原則，我們充滿信心。血緣、出身或地域從未將美國聯合起來。只有理想，才能使我們心系一處，超越自己，放棄個人利益，并逐步領會何謂公民。每個孩子都必須學習這些原則。每個公民都必須堅持這些原則。每個移民，只有接受這些原則，才能使我們的國家不喪失而更具美國特色今天，我們在這里重申一個新的信念，即通過發揚謙恭、勇氣、同情心和個性的精神來實現我們國家的理想。美國在它最鼎盛時也沒忘記遵循謙遜有禮的原則。一個文明的社會需要我們每個人品質優良，尊重他人，為人公平和寬宏大量。

有人認為我們的政治制度是如此的微不足道，因為在和平年代，我們所爭論的話題都是無關緊要的。但是，對我們美國來說，我們所討論的問題從來都不是什么小事。如果我們不領導和平事業，那么和平將無人來領導；如果我們不引導我們的孩子們真心地熱愛知識、發揮個性，他們的天分將得不到發揮，理想將難以實現。如果我們不采取適當措施，任憑經濟衰退，最大的受害者將是平民百姓。

我們應該時刻聽取時代的呼喚。謙遜有禮不是戰術也不是感情用事。這是我們最堅定的選擇--在批評聲中贏得信任；在混亂中尋求統一。如果遵循這樣的承諾，我們將會享有共同的成就。

美國有強大的國力作后盾，將會勇往直前。

在大蕭條和戰爭時期，我們的人民在困難面前表現得無比英勇，克服我們共同的困難體現了我們共同的優秀品質。現在，我們正面臨著選擇，如果我們作出正確的選擇，祖輩一定會激勵我們；如果我們的選擇是錯誤的，祖輩會譴責我們的。上帝正眷顧著這個國家，我們必須顯示出我們的勇氣，敢于面對問題，而不是將它們遺留給我們的后代。

我們要共同努力，健全美國的學校教育，不能讓無知和冷漠吞噬更多的年輕生命。我們要改革社會醫療和保險制度，在力所能及的范圍內拯救我們的孩子。我們要減低稅收，恢復經濟，酬勞辛勤工作的美國人民。我們要防患于未然，懈怠會帶來麻煩。我們還要阻止武器泛濫，使新的世紀擺脫恐怖的威脅。

反對自由和反對我們國家的人應該明白：美國仍將積極參與國際事務，力求世界力量的均衡，讓自由的力量遍及全球。這是歷史的選擇。我們會保護我們的盟國，捍衛我們的利益。我們將謙遜地向世界人民表示我們的目標。我們將堅決反擊各種侵略和不守信用的行徑。我們要向全世界宣傳孕育了我們偉大民族的價值觀。

正處在鼎盛時期的美國也不缺乏同情心。

當我們靜心思考，我們就會明了根深蒂固的貧窮根本不值得我國作出承諾。無論我們如何看待貧窮的原因，我們都必須承認，孩子敢于冒險不等于在犯錯誤。放縱與濫用都為上帝所不容。這些都是缺乏愛的結果。監獄數量的增長雖然看起來是有必要的，但并不能代替我們心中的希望-人人遵紀守法。

哪里有痛苦，我們的義務就在哪里。對我們來說，需要幫助的美國人不是陌生人，而是我們的公民；不是負擔，而是急需救助的對象。當有人陷入絕望時，我們大家都會因此變得渺小。

對公共安全和大眾健康，對民權和學校教育，政府都應負有極大的責任。然而，同情心不只是政府的職責，更是整個國家的義務。有些需要是如此的迫切，有些傷痕是如此的深刻，只有導師的愛撫、牧師的祈禱才能有所感觸。不論是教堂還是慈善機構、猶太會堂還是清真寺，都賦予了我們的社會它們特有的人性，因此它們理應在我們的建設和法律上受到尊重。

我們國家的許多人都不知道貧窮的痛苦。但我們可以聽到那些感觸頗深的人們的傾訴。我發誓我們的國家要達到一種境界：當我們看見受傷的行人倒在遠行的路上，我們決不會袖手旁觀。

正處于鼎盛期的美國重視并期待每個人擔負起自己的責任。

鼓勵人們勇于承擔責任不是讓人們充當替罪羊，而是對人的良知的呼喚。雖然承擔責任意味著犧牲個人利益，但是你能從中體會到一種更加深刻的成就感。

我們實現人生的完整不單是通過擺在我們面前的選擇，而且是通過我們的實踐來實現。我們知道，通過對整個社會和我們的孩子們盡我們的義務，我們將得到最終自由。

我們的公共利益依賴于我們獨立的個性；依賴于我們的公民義務，家庭紐帶和基本的公正；依賴于我們無數的、默默無聞的體面行動，正是它們指引我們走向自由。

在生活中，有時我們被召喚著去做一些驚天動地的事情。但是，正如我們時代的一位圣人所言，每一天我們都被召喚帶著摯愛去做一些小事情。一個民主制度最重要的任務是由大家每一個人來完成的。

我為人處事的原則包括：堅信自己而不強加于人，為公眾的利益勇往直前，追求正義而不乏同情心，勇擔責任而決不推卸。我要通過這一切，用我們歷史上傳統價值觀來哺育我們的時代。

(同胞們)，你們所做的一切和政府的工作同樣重要。我希望你們不要僅僅追求個人享受而忽略公眾的利益；要捍衛既定的改革措施，使其不會輕易被攻擊；要從身邊小事做起，為我們的國家效力。我希望你們成為真正的公民，而不是旁觀者，更不是臣民。你們應成為有責任心的公民，共同來建設一個互幫互助的社會和有特色的國家。

美國人民慷慨、強大、體面，這并非因為我們信任我們自己，而是因為我們擁有超越我們自己的信念。一旦這種公民精神喪失了，無論何種政府計劃都無法彌補它。一旦這種精神出現了，無論任何錯誤都無法抗衡它。

在《獨立宣言》簽署之后，弗吉尼亞州的政治家約翰?佩齊曾給托馬斯?杰弗遜寫信說：“我們知道，身手敏捷不一定就能贏得比賽，力量強大不一定就能贏得戰爭。難道這一切不都是上帝安排的嗎？”

杰斐遜就任總統的那個年代離我們已經很遠了。時光飛逝，美國發生了翻天覆地的變化。但是有一點他肯定能夠預知，即我們這個時代的主題仍然是：我們國家無畏向前的恢宏故事和它追求尊嚴的純樸夢想。

我們不是這個故事的作者，是杰斐遜作者本人的偉大理想穿越時空，并通過我們每天的努力在變為現實。我們正在通過大家的努力在履行著各自的職責。

帶著永不疲憊、永不氣餒、永不完竭的信念，今天我們重樹這樣的目標：使我們的國家變得更加公正、更加慷慨，去驗證我們每個人和所有人生命的尊嚴。

這項工作必須繼續下去。這個故事必須延續下去。上帝會駕馭我們航行的。

愿上帝保佑大家！愿上帝保佑美國！

克林頓

January 20, 1993

My fellow citizens :

Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.This ceremony is held in the depth of winter.But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring.A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change.Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals;life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.Though we march to the music of our time, our mission is timeless.Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his half-century of service to America.And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat.Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.Communications and commerce are global;investment is mobile;technology is almost magical;and ambition for a better life is now universal.We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it.But when most people are working harder for less;when others cannot work at all;when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small;when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom;and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend.We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps.But we have not done so.Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths.And Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people.We must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time.Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time.Let us embrace it.Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal.There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift;a new season of American renewal has begun.To renew America, we must be bold.We must do what no generation has had to do before.We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt.And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity.It will not be easy;it will require sacrifice.But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake.We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children.Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity.We can do no less.Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is.Posterity is the world to come;the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility.We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other.Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country.To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation.Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who want to do better.And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people.Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America.Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called “bold, persistent experimentation,” a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays.Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home.There is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic;the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race;they affect us all.Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable.Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers.Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world.Together with our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act;with peaceful diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary.The brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands.Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice.Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom.Their cause is America's cause.The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today.You have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus.You have cast your votes in historic numbers.And you have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself.Yes, you, my fellow Americans have forced the spring.Now, we must do the work the season demands.To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office.I ask the Congress to join with me.But no president, no Congress, no government, can undertake this mission alone.My fellow Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal.I challenge a new generation of young Americans to a season of service;to act on your idealism by helping troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our torn communities.There is so much to be done;enough indeed for millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves in service, too.In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth, we need each other.And we must care for one another.Today, we do more than celebrate America;we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.An idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge.An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate we, the fortunate and the unfortunate, might have been each other.An idea ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity.An idea infused with the conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done.The scripture says, “And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.”

From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service in the valley.We have heard the trumpets.We have changed the guard.And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.Thank you, and God bless you all.比爾?克林頓 第一次就職演講

星期三,1993年1月20日

同胞們：

今天，我們慶祝美國復興的奇跡。這個儀式雖在隆冬舉行，然而，我們通過自己的言語和向世界展示的面容、卻促使春回大地--回到了世界上這個最古老的民主國家，并帶來了重新創造美國的遠見和勇氣。

當我國的締造者勇敢地向世界宣布美國獨立，并向上帝表明自 己的目的時，他們知道，美國若要永存，就必須變革。不是為變革而變革，而是為了維護美國的理想--為了生命、自由和追求幸福而變革。盡管我們隨著當今時代 的節拍前進，但我們的使命永恒不變。每一代美國人，部必須為作為一個美國人意味著什么下定義。今天，在冷戰陰影下成長起來的一代人，在世界上負起了新的責 任。這個世界雖然沐浴著自由的陽光，但仍受到舊仇宿怨和新的禍患的威脅。

我們在無與倫比的繁榮中長大，繼承了仍然是世界上最強大的經濟。但由于企業倒閉，工資增長停滯、不平等狀況加劇，人民的分歧加深，我們的經濟已經削弱。

當喬治?華盛頓第一次宣讀我剛才宜讀的誓言時，人們騎馬把 那個信息緩慢地傳遍大地，繼而又來船把它傳過海洋。而現在，這個儀式的情景和聲音即刻向全球幾十億人播放。通信和商務具有全球性，投資具有流動性；技術幾 乎具有魔力；改善生活的理想現在具有 17 普遍性。今天，我們美國人通過同世界各地人民進行和平競爭來謀求生存。各種深遠而強大的力量正在震撼和改造我們的世 界，當今時代的當務之急是我們能否使變革成為我們的朋友，而不是成為我們的敵人。

這個新世界已經使幾百萬能夠參與競爭并且取勝的美國人過上 了富裕的生活。但是，當多數人干得越多反而掙得越少的時候，當有些人根本不可能工作的時候，當保健費用的重負使眾多家庭不堪承受、使大大小小的企業瀕臨破 產的時候，當犯罪活動的恐懼使守法公民不能自由行動的時候，當千百萬貧窮兒童甚至不能想象我們呼喚他們過的那種生活的時候，我們就沒有使變革成為我們的朋 友。我們知道，我們必須面對嚴酷的事實真相，并采取強有力的步驟。但我們沒有這樣做，而是聽之任之，以致損耗了我們的資源，破壞了我們的經濟，動搖了我們 的信心。

我們面臨驚人的挑戰，但我們同樣具有驚人的力量，美國人歷來是不安現狀、不斷追求和充滿希望的民族，今天，我們必須把前人的遠見卓識和堅強意志帶到我們的任務中去。從革命，內戰，大蕭條，直到民權運動，我國人民總是下定決心，從歷次危機中構筑我國歷史的支柱。

托馬斯?杰斐遜認為，為了維護我國的根基，我們需要時常進行激動人心的變革。美國同胞們，我們的時代就是變革的時代，讓我們擁抱這個時代吧！

我們的民主制度不僅要成為舉世稱羨的目標，而且要成為舉國復興的動力。美國沒有任何錯誤的東西不能被正確的東西所糾正。因此，我們今天立下誓言，要結束這個僵持停頓、放任自流的時代，一個復興美國的新時代已經開始。

我們要復興美國，就必須鼓足勇氣。我們必須做前人無需做的 事情。我們必須更多地投資于人民，投資于他們的工作和未來，與此同時，我們必須減少巨額債務。而且，我們必須在一個需要為每個機會而競爭的世界上做到這一 切。這樣做并不容易：這樣做要求作出犧牲。但是，這是做得到的，而且能做得公平合理。我們不是為犧牲而犧牲，我們必須像家庭供養子女那樣供養自己的國家。

我國的締造者是用子孫后代的眼光來審視自己的。我們也必須 這樣做。凡是注意過孩子蒙?o人睡的人，都知道后代意味著什么，后代就是將要到來的世界--我們為之堅持自己的理想，我們向之借用這個星球，我們對之負有 神圣的責任。我們必須做美國最拿手的事情：為所有的人提供更多的機會，要所有的人負起更多的責任。

現在是破除只求向政府和別人免費索取的惡習的時候了。讓我們大家不僅為自己和家庭，而且為社區和國家擔負起更多的責任吧。

我們要復興美國，就必須恢復我們民主制度的活力。這個美麗的首都，就像文明的曙光出現以來的每一個首都一樣，常常是爾虞我詐、明爭暗斗之地。大腕人物爭權奪勢，沒完沒了地為官員的更替升降而煩神，卻忘記了那些用辛勤和汗水把我們送到這里來，并養活了我們的人。

美國人理應得到更好的回報。在這個城市里，今天有人想把事 情辦得更好一些。因此，我要時所有在場的人說：讓我們下定決心改革政治，使權力和特權的喧囂不再壓倒人民的呼 聲。讓我們撇開個人利益。這樣我們就能覺察美 國的病痛，并看到官的希望。讓我們下定決心，使政府成為富蘭克林?羅斯福所說的進行“大膽而持久試驗”的地方，成為一個面向未來而不是留戀過去的政府。讓 我們把這個首都歸還給它所屬于的人民。

我們要復興美國，就必須迎接國內外的種種挑戰。國外和國內事務之間已不再有明確的界限--世界經濟，世界環境，世界艾滋病危機，世界軍備競賽，這一切都在影響著我們大家。

我們在國內進行重建的同時，面對這個新世界的挑戰不會退縮不前，也下會坐失良機。我們將同盟友一起努力進行變革，以免被變革所吞沒。當我們的重要利益受到挑戰，或者，當國際社會的意志和良知受到蔑視，我們將采取行動--可能時就采用和平外交手段，必要時就使用武力。

今天，在波斯灣、索馬里和任何其他地方為國效力的勇敢的美國人，都證明了我們的決心。

但是，我們最偉大的力量是我們思想的威力。這些思想在許多國家仍然處于萌芽階段。看到這些思想在世界各地被接受，我們感到歡欣鼓舞。我們的希望，我們的心，與每一個大陸正在建立民主和自由的人們是連在一起的。他們的事業也是美國的事業。

美國人民喚來了我們今天所慶祝的變革。你們毫不含糊地齊聲疾呼。你們以前所未有的人數參加了投票。你們使國會、總統職務和政治進程本身全都面目一新。是的，是你們，我的美國同胞們，促使春回大地。

現在，我們必須做這個季節需要做的工作。現在，我就運用我的全部職權轉向這項工作。我請求國會同我一道做這項工作。任何總統、任何國會、任何政府都不能單獨完成這一使命。同胞們，在我國復興的過程中，你們也必須發揮作用。

我向新一代美國年輕人挑戰，要求你們投入這一奉獻的季節--按照你們的理想主義行動起來，使不幸的兒童得到幫助，使貧困的人們得到關懷，使四分五裂的社區恢復聯系。要做的事情很多--確實夠多的，以至幾百萬在精神上仍然年輕的人也可作出奉獻。

在奉獻過程中，我們認識到相互需要這一簡單而又強大的真 理。我們必須相互關心.今天，我們不僅是在贊頌美國，我們再一次把自己奉獻給美國的理想：這個理想在革命中誕生，在兩個世紀的挑戰中更新；這個理想經受了 認識的考驗，大家認識到，若不是命運的安排，幸運者或不幸者有可能互換位置；這個理想由于一種信念而變得崇高，即我國能夠從紛繁的多佯性中實現最深刻的統 一性，這個理想洋溢著一種信：美國漫長而英勇的旅程必將永遠繼續。同胞們，在我惻即將跨入21世紀之際，讓我們以旺盛的精力和滿腔的希望，以堅定的信心和 嚴明的紀律開始工作，直到把工作完成。《圣經》說：“我們行善，不可喪志，若不灰心，到了時候，就要收成。”

在這個歡樂的山巔，我們聽見山谷里傳來了要我們作出奉獻的召喚。我們聽到了號角聲。我們已經換崗。現在，我們必須以各自的方式，在上帝的幫助下響應這一召喚。

謝謝大家。上帝保佑大家。

里根

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1981

Senator Hatfield, Mr.Chief Justice, Mr.President, Vice President Bush, 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 most momentous occasion;and yet, in the 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 few of us stop to think how unique we really are.In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.Mr.President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition.By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your 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 worst sustained inflations in our national history.It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike.It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity.Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, 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, but for 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 let there be no misunderstanding--we are going to begin to act, beginning today.The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades.They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they 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.In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.We hear much of special interest groups.Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines.It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick--professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers.They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work.Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs.All must share in the productive work of this “new beginning” and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy.With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.So, as we begin, let us take inventory.We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around.And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth.Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people.It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States;the States created the Federal Government.Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government.It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us;to stand by our side, not ride on our back.Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it;foster productivity, not stifle it.If we look to the 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 extent than has ever been done before.Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline.I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do.I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal.Let us 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 are in a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look.You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates.Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond.You meet heroes across a counter--and they are on both sides of that counter.There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.They 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 national life.I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes.I could say “you” and “your” because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak--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 reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic “yes.” To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that 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 in inches and feet, not miles--but we will progress.Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden.And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr.Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of....On you depend the fortunes of America.You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn.Act worthy of yourselves.”

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children's children.And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world.We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now 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 match loyalty with loyalty.We will strive for mutually beneficial relations.We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.As for 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.When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.It is a weapon that we as Americans do have.Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful.We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.23

This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol.Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history.At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country.A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly.He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood.Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson.The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial.Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on 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 monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier.Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.Under one such marker lies a young man--Martin Treptow--who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.We are told that on his body was found a diary.On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words: “America must win this war.Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will 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 not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds;to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.God bless you, and thank you.羅納德-里根 第一次就職演說

第40任總統(1981年-1989年)

議員海特菲爾德先生、法官先生、總統先生、副總統布什、蒙代爾先生、議員貝克先生、發言人奧尼爾先生、尊敬的摩麥先生，以及廣大支持我的美國同胞們：今天對于我們中間的一些人來說，是一個非常莊嚴隆重的時刻。當然，對于這個國家的歷史來說，卻是一件普通的事情。按照憲法要求，政府權利正在有序地移交，我們已經如此“例行公事”了兩個世紀，很少有人覺得這有什么特別的。但在世界上更多人看來，這個我們已經習以為常的四年一次的儀式，卻實在是一個奇跡。

總統先生，我希望我們的同胞們都能知道你為了這個傳承而付出的努力。通過移交程序中的通力合作，你向觀察者展示了這么一個事實：我們是發誓要團結起來維護這樣一個政治體制的團體，這樣的體制保證了我們能夠得到比其他政體更為廣泛的個人自由。同時我也要感謝你和你的伙伴們的幫助，因為你們堅持了這樣的傳承，而這恰恰是我們共和國的根基。

我們國家的事業在繼續前進。合眾國正面臨巨大的經濟困難。我們遭遇到我國歷史上歷時最長、最嚴重之一的通貨膨脹，它擾亂著我們的經濟決策，打擊著節儉的風氣，壓迫著正在掙扎謀生的青年人和收入固定的中年人，威脅著要摧毀我國千百萬人民的生計。

停滯的工業使工人失業、蒙受痛苦并失去了個人尊嚴。即使那些有工作的人，也因稅收制度的緣故而得不到公正的勞動報酬，因為這種稅收制度使我們無法在事業上取得成就，使我們無法保持充分的生產力。

盡管我們的納稅負擔相當沉重，但還是跟不上公共開支的增長。數十年來，我們的赤字額屢屢上升，我們為圖目前暫時的方便，把自己的前途和子孫的前途抵押出去了。這一趨勢如果長此以往，必然引起社會、文化、政治和經濟等方面的大動蕩。

作為個人，你們和我可以靠借貸過一種人不敷出的生活，然而只能維持一段有限的時期，我們怎么可以認為，作為一個國家整體，我們就不應受到同樣的約束呢？為了保住明天，我們今天就必須行動起來。大家都要明白無誤地懂得--我們從今天起就要采取行動。

我們深受其害的經濟弊病，幾十年來一直襲擊著我們。這些弊病不會在幾天、幾星期或幾個月內消失，但它們終將消失。它們之所以終將消失，是因為我們作為現在的美國人，一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情，以保存這個最后而又最偉大的自由堡壘。

在當前這場危機中，政府的管理不能解決我們面臨的問題。政府的管理就是問題所在。

我們時常誤以為，社會已經越來越復雜，已經不可能憑借自治方式加以管理，而一個由杰出人物組成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是，假如我們之中誰也管理不了自己，那么，我們之中誰還能去管理他人呢。

我們大家--不論政府官員還是平民百姓--必須共同肩負起這個責任，我們謀求的解決辦法必須是公平的，不要使任何一個群體付出較高的代價。

我們聽到許多關于特殊利益集團的談論，然而。我們必須關心一個被忽視了大久的特殊利益集團。這個集團沒有區域之分，沒有人種之分，沒有民族之分，沒有 政黨之分，這個 25 集團由許許多多的男人與女人組成，他們生產糧食，巡邏街頭，管理廠礦，教育兒童，照料家務和治療疾病。他們是專業人員、實業家、店主、職 員、出租汽車司機和貨車駕駛員，總而言之，他們就是“我們人民”--這個稱之為美國人的民族。

本屆政府的日標是必須建立一種健全的、生氣勃勃的和不斷發展的經濟，為全體美國人民提供一種不因偏執或歧視而造成障礙的均等機會，讓美國重新工作起 來，意味著讓全體美國人重新工作起來。制止通貨膨脹，意味著讓全體美國人從失控的生活費用所造成的恐懼中解脫出來。人人都應分擔“新開端”的富有成效的工 作，人人都應分享經濟復蘇的碩果。我國制度和力量的核心是理想主義和公正態度，有了這些，我們就能建立起強大、繁榮、國內穩定并同全世界和平相處的美國。

因此，在我們開始之際，讓我們看看實際情況。我們是一個擁有政府的國家--而不是一個擁有國家的政府。這一點使我們在世界合國中獨樹一幟，我們的政府 除了人民授予的權力，沒有任何別的權力。目前，政府權力的膨脹已顯示出超過被統治者同意的跡象，制止并扭轉這種狀況的時候到了。

我打算壓縮聯邦機構的規模和權力，并要求大家承認聯邦政府被授予的權力同各州或人民保留的權利這兩者之間的區別。我們大家都需要提醒：不是聯邦政府創 立了各州，而是各州創立了聯邦政府。因此，請不要誤會，我的意思不是要取消政府，而是要它發揮作用--同我們一起合作，而不是凌駕于我們之上；同我們并肩 而立，而不是騎在我們的背上。政府能夠而且必須提供機會，而不是扼殺機會，它能夠而且必須促進生產力，而不是抑制生產力。

如果我們要探究這么多年來我們為什么能取得這么大成就，并獲得了世界上任何一個民族未曾獲得的繁榮昌盛，其原因是在這片土地上，我們使人類的能力和個 人的才智得到了前所未有的發揮。在這里，個人所享有并得以確保的自由和尊嚴超過了世界上任何其他地方。為這種自由所付出的代價有時相當高昂，但我們從來沒 有不愿意付出這代價。

我們目前的困難，與政府機構因為不必要的過度膨脹而干預、侵擾我們的生活同步增加，這決不是偶然的巧合。我們是一個泱泱大國，不能自囿于小小的夢想，現在正是認識到這一點的時候。我們并非注定走向衰落，盡管有些人想讓我們相信這一點。我不相信，無論我們做些什么，我們都將命該如此，但我相信，如果我們 什么也不做，我們將的確命該如此。

為此，讓我們以掌握的一切創造力來開創一個國家復興的時代吧。讓我們重新拿出決心、勇氣和力量，讓我們重新建立起我們的信念和希望吧。我們完全有權去做英雄夢。

有人告訴我們在他的身上發現一本日記。扉頁上寫著這樣的標題：“我的誓言”。他寫下了這樣的話語：“美國必須贏得這場戰爭。為此，我會奮斗，我會拯救，我會犧牲，我會忍受，我會并將盡我最大的努力英勇奮戰，就好比所有的戰爭問題都將由我一個人來肩負。”

第四篇：美國總統就職演說名言

美國歷任總統就職演說名句

（一）*我對我祖國的召喚，永遠只能敬奉如儀。

I was summoned by my country ,whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love.——喬治·華盛頓首任就職演說(1789.4.30)*同胞們：我再度奉人民之召執行總統職務.只要適當時機一到,我將會盡力表現出我心中對這份殊榮及美利堅人民對我的信任所懷有的崇高的感受。憲法規定總統在執行公務之前,需先行宣誓就職。現在我在你們面前宣誓:在我執掌政府期間，若企圖故意觸犯法律,除承受憲法懲罰外,還接受在現在這個莊嚴的儀式中所有見證人的嚴厲譴責。

Fellow Citizens:

I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate.When the occasion proper for it shall arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me by the people of united America.Previous to the execution of any official act of the President the Constitution requires an oath of office.This oath I am now about to take, and in your presence: That if it shall be found during my administration of the Government I have in any instance violated willingly or knowingly the injunctions thereof, I may(besides incurring constitutional punishment)be subject to the upbraidings of all who are now witnesses of the present solemn ceremony.——喬治·華盛頓連任就職演說(1789.4.30)*像我們這樣的政府,不論存在多久，都是全人類知識與道德普遍傳播的證明。

The existence of such a government as ours for any length of time is a full proof of a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body of the people.——約翰·亞當斯首任就職演說(1797.3.4)*當一個并非盡善盡奏的人從這個職位卸任時，很少能像就任時那樣深浮眾望。

I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation and the favor which bring him into it.*讓我們恢復社會的和諧與友愛，因為沒有它們，自由甚至生活本身，就將成為枯燥而無味的事情。

Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.*與各國和平相處，加強商業往來，并保持真誠的友誼,但不與任何國家結盟。Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.——托馬斯·杰斐遜首任就職演說(1801.3.4)*在寶貴的新聞自由與敗壞新聞道德之間，并無一條明確的界限。

No other definite line can be drawn between the inestimable liberty of the press and its demoralizing licentiousness.——托馬斯·杰斐遜連任就職演說(1805.3.4)

*如果世界還有公正可言，這些論斷的真實性將不會受到懷疑，至少子孫后代對此會給予公正的評價。

If there be candor in the world, the truth of these assertions will not be questioned;posterity at least will do justice to them.——詹姆斯·麥迪遜首任就職演說(1809.3.4)

*如果我們能繼續堅持目前已完成的事業,而且堅定地走已經開辟的路,我們一定會勝利。If we persevere in the career in which we have advanced so far and in the path already traced , we can not fail.——詹姆斯·門羅首任就職演說(1817.3.4)

*在調解現存的或可能發生的爭端和沖突時，應表現出一個強國所具有的寬容而不能以一個英雄民族所固有的感情用事。

In the adjustment of may differences that may exist or arise to exhibit the forbearance becoming a powerful nation rather the sensibility belonging to a gallant people.——安德魯·杰克遜首任就職演說(1829.3.4)

*人民不會拋棄一個堅守崗位、誠實盡力的公仆。

The kindness of a people who never yet deserted a public servant honestly laboring in their cause.——馬丁·范布倫首任就職演說(1837.3.4)

*真正的自由精神是奉獻、堅定、勇敢、不妥協，但實行自由權利必須小心、溫和、寬容。The true spirit of liberty, although devoted, persevering, bold, and uncompromising in the principle , that secured is mild and tolerant and scrupulous as to the means it employs.——威廉·哈里遜首任就職演說(1841.3.4)

*我們的制度可以穩固地把我們的領土拓展到所能及的范圍。

Our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits.——詹姆斯·波爾克首任就職演說(1845.3.4)

*這一職位雖然可滿足一種極高的奢望,但它所賦予的責任卻是可畏的。

The position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities.——扎克里·泰勒首任就職演說(1849.3.4)

*雖然我們的歷史有限,然而未來卻是無窮的。If your past is limited , your future is boundless

——富蘭克林·皮爾斯首任就職演說(1853.3.4)

*我們必須以公正的態度對待所有國家,也要求它門以相同的態度對待我們。

We ought to do justice in a kindly spirit to all nations and require justice from them in return

——詹姆斯·布坎南首任就職演說(185.3.4)

從自然狀態來說，我們是不可分的。我們不能相互分開，也不能在中間修筑道不可逾越的隔離墻。一對夫妻可以離婚，彼此不再見面，不再來往，但是我們國家的各個地區不能這樣。它們仍得相互面對，并繼續交往。

Physically speaking, we can not separate.We can not remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them.A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our country can not do this.They can not but remain face to face , and intercourse , either amicable or hostile，must continue between them.——亞伯拉罕·林肯（1861.3.4）

*我們對任何人也不懷惡意，我們對所有的人都寬大為懷，堅持正義；上帝既使我們認識正義，讓我們繼續努力向前，完成我們正在進行的事業；包扎起國家的創傷，關心那些為戰爭作出犧牲的人，關心他們的遺孀和孤兒——盡一切力量，以求在我們自己之間，以及我們和所有的國家之間實現并維護一個公正和持久的和平。

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the might, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.——亞伯拉罕·林肯（1865.3.4）

*我將公正地與其他各國友好相處，像平等地對待個人一樣。

I Would deal with nations as equitable law requires individuals to deal with each other.*我希望全國上下相互寬容，下定決心,為建立一個幸福聯邦貢獻自己的力量。

I ask patient forbearance one toward another throughout the land, and a determined effort on the part of every citizen to do his share toward cementing a happy union.——尤利塞斯·辛普森·格蘭特（1869.3.4）

*我們不論在文化上還是在軍事上都占有絕對優勢.因此，我們應該寬厚地對待印第安人。過去不善待他們是應好好考慮的,應取得他們的信任。

Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization should make us lenient toward the Indian.The wrong inflicted upon him should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit.——尤利塞斯·辛普森·格蘭特（1873.3.4）

*總統職位之爭應本著友好、平和的原則予以調節,而且一旦這種調節、疏導的工作完成,全國上下就應該一致遵從。

Conflicting claims to the Presidency must be amicably and peaceably adjusted, and that when so adjusted the general acquiescence of the nation ought surely to fellow.——拉什福德·伯查德·海斯（1877.3.5）

*問題懸而未決，萬邦不得安寧

It has been said that unsettled questions have no pity for the repose of nations.——詹姆斯·艾布拉姆·加菲爾德（1881.3.5）

*通過以身作則,當然也要不失官事活動之莊重,來引導同胞們采取一種有助于廉正,并促進節儉和繁榮的簡樸的生活方式。

May do much by their example to encourage, consistently with the dignity of their official functions, that plain way of life which among their fellow-citizens aids integrity and promotes thrift and prosperity.——格羅弗·克利夫蘭（1885.3.4）

*我們還沒有達到理想的境界。并非所有的人都幸福富足，也非所有的人都行善守法。

We have not attained and ideal condition.Not all of our people are happy and prosperous;not all of them are virtuous and law-abiding.*我并不懷疑未來，在我們的道路上曾危機四伏，但我們已經發現并完全克服了它們。

I do not mistrust the future.Dangers have been in frequent ambush along our path, but we have uncovered and vanquished them all.——本杰明·哈利森（1889.3.4）

*即使一個強壯的人,具有堅強的體魄,對生活有堅定而積極的追求,并敢于承受持久的勞動,也可能存在潛在的、不易發現的致命的疾病，從而使他突然倒下。

The strong man who in the confidence of sturdy health courts the sternest activities of life and rejoices in the hardihood of constant labor may still have lurking near his vitals the unheeded disease that dooms him to sudden collapse.*如果對于我們的力量和資源不要太過于自信的話,會使,我們更明智。

We will be wise if we temper our confidence and faith in our national strength and resources with the frank concession.*我們的任務不是懲罰，而是糾正錯誤.如果為了解除人民日常生活的負擔,我們減少那些長期享有的、不正常的、不合理的待遇，這是基于正義和公正而采取的必要措施。

Our mission is not punishment, but the rectification of wrong.If in lifting burdens from the daily life of our people we reduce inordinate and unequal advantages too long enjoyed, this is but a necessary incident of our return to right and justice.——格羅弗·克利夫蘭（1893.3.4）

*我們應該同時具備“觀念的正確”和“行動的穩健”。

We must be both “sure wee right” and “make haste slowly”.*節約是政府個部門任何時候都應遵守的原則.在目前工商業蕭條、民心沮喪之際，尤其要強調這一原則。

Economy is demanded in every branch of the Government at all times.But especially in periods, like the present, of depression in business and distress among the people.*值此入不敷出之時，舉債之風,實不可長。

It will suffice while it lasts, but it can not last long while the outlays of the Government are greater than its receipts.*有利于生產者的立法，便是對全國有利的立法。Legislation helpful to producers is beneficial to all.——威廉·麥金萊（1897.3.4）

*誠實、才華和勤勞是公職人員最應具備的條件。

Honesty, capacity, and industry are nowhere more indispensable than in public employment.*“懷有希望并不可恥”。預言厄運的人并不是共和國建造者。

“Hope make

not ashamed” The prophets of evil were not the builders of the Republic.——威廉·麥金萊（1901.3.4）

*我們享受了很多的給予，因此也完全有理由被期望承受很多的付出。Much has been given us, and much will rightfully be expected from us.*不論是國家或個人,公正和寬厚都強者而不是弱者的表現。

But justice and generosity in a nation, as in individual, count most when shown not by the weak but the strong.*我們希望和平，但這一和平必須是公正的和平，正義的。是因為我們認為那是正當的，而不是因為我們膽怯。

We wish peace, but we wish the peace of justice, the peace of righteousness.We wish it because we think it is right and not because we are afraid.*我們不再遇到先輩們曾遇過的危險,但卻正面臨先輩們所未能預知的危險。

Our forefathers faced certain perils which we have outgrown.We now face other perils, the very existence of which it was impossible that they should foresee.*我們沒有理由懼怕未來，卻有足夠的理由嚴肅地面對未來。

There is not good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why we should face it seriously.——西奧多·羅斯福（1905.3.4）

在美國44任、56屆總統的就職演說中,留下了不少傳誦后世的名篇。其中某些經典名言更是揚名天下,下面是筆者摘錄其中的部分名句與網友資源共享。1月24日已經發布了(一)現在發布

（二）,奧巴馬就職演說全文已發于1月21日。

*我們一直對自己工業上的成就感到驕傲，但至今為止，卻從未冷靜地計算一下這一切所花費的社會代價；人的代價，生活所毀滅的代價，以及精力由于負擔過重而崩潰的代價。----伍德羅·威爾遜首任就職演說（1913.3.4）

*我們的政策是對最卑微的人和最強有力的人一視同仁,并一心一意維護這一正義而公道的標準,我們為此而感到自豪.但我們對這一政策在實行中的不足之處,卻非常粗心大意,而急于求成。

----伍德羅·威爾遜首任就職演說（1913.3.4）

*公正，只有公正，才永遠是我們的座右銘。----伍德羅·威爾遜首任就職演說（1913.3.4）

*我們已經完成的工作并不值得太驕傲，共同福祉才是我們努力的目標。

----沃倫·哈丁首任就職演說（1921.3.4）

*我們深信只有做一個開放的、坦率的、執著的和謹慎的美國人,我們才能最好地服務于國家,并成功地履行我們對全人類的各種義務。----卡爾文·柯立芝就職演說（1925.3.4）

*我們國家所面臨的問題是向更高水平邁進的問題,而不是衰退的問題。----赫伯特·胡佛就職演說（1929.3.4）

*我們唯一值得恐懼的就是恐懼本身----會使我們由后退轉而前進所需的努力限于癱瘓的那種無名的、沒有道理的、毫無根據的害怕。”

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福首任就職演說(1933.3.4)

*幸福并不建筑在僅僅擁有金錢上；它建筑在有所成就引起的歡樂，創造性工作所激發出的快感。一定不要在瘋狂地追求瞬間即逝的利潤中再去忘記勞動給我們帶來的歡樂和精神上的鼓舞。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福首任就職演說(1933.3.4)

*復興并不僅僅要求改變道德觀念，祖國要求行動起來，現在就行動起來。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福首任就職演說(1933.3.4)

*我們的首要任務是給人民工作。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福首任就職演說(1933.3.4)

*使科學由人類的無情的主人轉化成有用的奴仆。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第二次就任就職演說(1937.1.20)

*我們不承認自己不能找到一條應付經濟恐慌的對策，??我們拒絕把關系到自己共同福祉的問題留給機遇或災難的狂飆來解決。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第二次就任就職演說(1937.1.20)

*麻木不仁、不負責任以及無情的自私已再度出現。這種繁榮的象征有可能變成災難的預兆。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第二次就任就職演說(1937.1.20)

*對我們進步的檢驗不在于我們是否為那些已經擁有了許多東西的人錦上添花。而在于我們是否為那些擁有甚少的人提供富足。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第二次就任就職演說(1937.1.20)

*國家的壽命并不取決于年代的久遠,而是取決于人們的精神的生命力。

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第三次就任就職演說(1941.1.20)

*我們已經知道了一個樸素的真理，正如愛默生所說:“想要擁有一個朋友的唯一辦法就是自己成為別人的朋友。”

——富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福第四次就任就職演說(1945.1.20)

*更大量的生產是帶來繁榮與和平的關鍵,而更大量生產的關鍵是對現代科技知識的一個更廣闊、更富有活力的應用。只有通過幫助的那些最不幸的人去自助，人類大家庭中所有人才能都享有公平和富足的生活。

——哈里·杜魯門就職演說(1949.1.20)

*我們美國人知道而且也看到世界之領導地位與帝國主義之間的不同。

——德懷特·艾森豪威爾首次就職演說(1953.1.20)

*我們要尊重世界上每一個國家的認同精神以及特有的傳統,且永遠不會以我們的力量試圖把我們所珍視的政治和經濟制度強加于其他民族。

——德懷特·艾森豪威爾首次就職演說(1953.1.20)

*世界上還有如此多的地方存在著貧困、不和諧和危險。

——德懷特·艾森豪威爾連任就職演說(1957.1.20)

*我們事業的最后成功或者失敗是掌握在你們手里,而不是我的手里。

——約翰·F·肯尼迪就職演說(1961.1.20)

*這是一場反對人類共同的敵人：專制、貧困、疾病和戰爭本身的斗爭。

——約翰·F·肯尼迪就職演說(1961.1.20)

* 我的美國同胞們，不要問你們的國家能為你做些什么，而要問你能為你的國家做些什么。全世界的公民們，不要問美國將為你們做些什么，問問我們共同能為人類的自由做些什么。

——約翰·F·肯尼迪就職演說(1961.1.20)

*那種不公正地待人和浪費資源是我們真正的敵人。----林頓·約翰遜就職演說（1965年1月20日）

*我們必須努力提供那種能增加每個公民成功機會的知識和環境。----林頓·約翰遜就職演說（1965年1月20日）

*總有一個世界足以讓人們以自己的方式找到幸福和快樂。

----林頓·約翰遜就職演說（1965年1月20日）

*歷史所賜予我們的最大榮譽,就是和平的締造者這一桂冠。----理查德·尼克松首次就職演說（1969.1.20.）

*正是我們協力相助使這個世界成為人類的安居之地。----理查德·尼克松首次就職演說（1969.1.20.）

*今天我們的危機正好相反。我們的物質充裕，但精神上卻感到貧乏；我們能極其準確地登上月球,但地球上卻仍是一片紊亂和沖突。

----理查德·尼克松首次就職演說（1969.1.20.）

*對于精神的危機,我們需要用精神來解答。

要尋找到答案，我們唯一的辦法就是從我們自身上尋找。----理查德·尼克松首次就職演說（1969.1.20.）

*當一個人的鄰居不能享有自由時,他就不能算是真正地享有自由。要前進，就要大家一起前進。

----理查德·尼克松首次就職演說（1969.1.20.）

*在我們自己的生活中,不能只問政府能為我們做什么,而是要問我能為自己做寫什么?在我們共同面對挑戰時,不能只是問政府能夠提供什么幫助,而是要問我能提供怎樣的幫助?----理查德·尼克松連任就職演說（1973.1.20）

*現在是恢復我們對自己、對美國的信心的時候了。----理查德·尼克松連任就職演說（1973.1.20）

*我們已經知道“更多” 并不一定就是“更好”。----吉米·卡特就任就職演說（1977.1.20）

*促進其他國家自由的最好方法,就是在這里證實我們的民主制度是值得仿效的榜樣。----吉米·卡特就任就職演說（1977.1.20）

*令我們深受其害的經濟弊端，是由幾十年累積而來的,這些弊病雖不會在幾天、幾星期或幾個月之內消失，但它們終將會消失。

----羅納德·里根首任就職演說（1981.1.20）

*在目前這場危機中，政府的管理并不是解決問題的答案，而是問題本身。----羅納德·里根首任就職演說（1981.1.20）

*我們當前所面臨的困難,以及由于政府不必要的過度膨脹所造成的對我們的生活的干預，兩者絕非巧合。

----羅納德·里根首任就職演說（1981.1.20）

*政府不是我們的主人,它是我們的公仆。----羅納德·里根連任就職演說（1985.1.20）

*歷史是一幅不斷展開的緞帶;歷史也是一次旅程。當我們繼續行進的時候，我們一定會想到行走在我們前面的人。

----羅納德·里根連任就職演說（1985.1.20）

* 我的座右銘：關鍵的時候要團結一心;重要關頭要博采眾議；對一切事情要寬宏大量。----喬治·布什就職演說（1989.1.20）

*我們的意志總比我們擁有的資金更強大，意志總是我們最為需要的。----喬治·布什就職演說（1989.1.20）

*“我把歷史看作是一本有許多頁碼的書籍，每一頁都記錄了心想事成的每一天。微風吹過，翻開了新的一頁，新的故事開始了----喬治·布什就職演說（1989.1.20）

*美國要世世代代存在下去,就必須改革。----比爾·克林頓首任就職演說（1993.1.20）

*不是為變革而變革，而是為了保持美國的理想----生活方式、自由和對幸福的追求。----比爾·克林頓首任就職演說（1993.1.20）

*美國沒有任何錯誤之處是無法被其正確之處糾正的。----比爾·克林頓首任就職演說（1993.1.20）

*我們保證結束這個僵持停頓和放任自流的時代--開始一個美國振興的新時期。----比爾·克林頓首任就職演說（1993.1.20）

*我們還看不到我們的后代的面孔，也永遠不會知道他們的名字，但是當他們談論到我們的時候，希望他們會說我們把祖國領進了新的世紀，把有活力的美國夢留給了所有的子孫。----比爾·克林頓連任就職演說（1997.1.20）

*一個文明社會要求每個人懷有善意，彼此尊重、行事公平，懂得寬恕。

----喬治·W.布什首任就職演說（2001.1.20）

*如果我們的國家不領導爭取自由的事業，這個事業就沒有領袖。----喬治·W.布什首任就職演說（2001.1.20）

*一個民主制度中的最重要的使命是靠每一個人完成的。----喬治·W.布什首任就職演說（2001.1.20）

*永不疲憊、永不氣餒、永不完竭，今天我們重樹這樣的目標：使我們的國家變得更加公正、更加慷慨，去體現我們每個人和所有人生命的尊嚴。----喬治·W.布什首任就職演說（2001.1.20）

*自由在我們的國土上的生存，越來越有賴于它在其他國土上的勝利。在我們的世界里，和平的最大希望，寄托于自由在全世界的擴展。----喬治·W.布什連任就職演說（2005.1.20）

第五篇：歷屆美國總統就職演說

美國歷屆總統就職演說——克林頓（第一次）

作 者：study_lvdao 發表時間：2005-9-2

已瀏覽：1178次

First Inaugural Address of William J.Clinton;January 20, 1993

My fellow citizens : Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.This ceremony is held in the depth of winter.But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring.A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change.Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals;life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.Though we march to the music of our time, our

mission is timeless.Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his half-century of service to America.And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, fascism and Communism.Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat.Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.Communications and commerce are global;investment is mobile;technology is almost magical;and ambition for a better life is now universal.We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it.But when most people are working harder for less;when others cannot work at all;when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small;when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom;and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend.We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps.But we have not done so.Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has er ‘].;khfzsdfdhxkl;j

‘[oded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths.And Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people.We must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time.Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time.Let us embrace it.Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal.There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift;a new season of American renewal has begun.To renew America, we must be bold.We must do what no generation has had to do before.We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt.And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity.It will not be easy;it will require sacrifice.But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake.We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children.Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity.We can do no less.Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is.Posterity is the world to come;the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility.We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other.Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country.To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation.Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who want to do better.And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people.Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America.Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called “bold, persistent experimentation,” a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays.Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home.There is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic;the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race;they affect us all.Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable.Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers.Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world.Together with our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act;with peaceful diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary.The brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands.Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice.Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom.Their cause is America's cause.The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today.You have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus.You have cast your votes in historic numbers.And you have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself.Yes, you, my fellow Americans have forced the spring.Now, we must do the work the season demands.To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office.I ask the Congress to join with me.But no president, no Congress, no government, can undertake this mission alone.My fellow Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal.I challenge a new generation of young Americans to a season of service;to act on your idealism by helping troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our torn communities.There is so much to be done;enough indeed for millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves in service, too.In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth, we need each other.And we must care for one another.Today, we do more than celebrate America;we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.An idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge.An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate we, the fortunate and the unfortunate, might have been each other.An idea ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity.An idea infused with the conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done.The scripture says, “And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.” From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service in the valley.We have heard the trumpets.We have changed the guard.And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.Thank you, and God bless you all.美國歷屆總統就職演說——克林頓（第二次）

作 者：study_lvdao 發表時間：2005-9-2

已瀏覽：2381次

Second Inaugural Address of William J.Clinton;January 20, 1997

My fellow citizens : At this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century, let us lift our eyes toward the challenges that await us in the next century.It is our great good fortune that time and chance have put us not only at the edge of a new century, in a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright new prospect in human affairs, a moment that will define our course, and our character, for decades to come.We must keep our old democracy forever young.Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us set our sights upon a land of new promise.The promise of America was born in the 18th century out of the bold conviction that we are all created equal.It was extended and preserved in the 19th century, when our nation spread across the continent, saved the union, and abolished the awful scourge of slavery.Then, in turmoil and triumph, that promise exploded onto the world stage to make this the American Century.And what a century it has been.America became the world's mightiest industrial power;saved the world from tyranny in two world wars and a long cold war;and time and again, reached out across the globe to millions who, like us, longed for the blessings of liberty.Along the way, Americans produced a great middle class and security in old age;built unrivaled centers of learning and opened public schools to all;split the atom and explored the heavens;invented the computer and the microchip;and deepened the wellspring of justice by making a revolution in civil rights for African Americans and all minorities, and extending the circle of citizenship, opportunity and dignity to women.Now, for the third time, a new century is upon us, and another time to choose.We began the 19th century with a choice, to spread our nation from coast to coast.We began the 20th century with a choice, to harness the Industrial Revolution to our values of free enterprise, conservation, and human decency.Those choices made all the difference.At the dawn of the 21st century a free people must now choose to shape the forces of the Information Age and the global society, to unleash the limitless potential of all our people, and, yes, to form a more perfect union.When last we gathered, our march to this new future seemed less certain than it does today.We vowed then to set a clear course to renew our nation.In these four years, we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge, strengthened by achievement.America stands alone as the world's indispensable nation.Once again, our economy is the strongest on Earth.Once again, we are building stronger families, thriving communities, better educational opportunities, a cleaner environment.Problems that once seemed destined to deepen now bend to our efforts: our streets are safer and record numbers of our fellow citizens have moved from welfare to work.And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government.Today we can declare: Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution.We,-the American people, we are the solution.Our founders understood that well and gave us a democracy strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to face our common challenges and advance our common dreams in each new day.As times change, so government must change.We need a new government for a new century-humble enough not to try to solve all our problems for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to solve our problems for ourselves;a government that is smaller, lives within its means, and does more with less.Yet where it can stand up for our values and interests in the world, and where it can give Americans the power to make a real difference in their everyday lives, government should do more, not less.The preeminent mission of our new government is to give all Americans an opportunity,-not a guarantee, but a real opportunity to build better lives.Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us.Our founders taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship.And we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century.There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do: teaching children to read;hiring people off welfare rolls;coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime;taking time out of our own lives to serve others.Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation.Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century.For any one of us to succeed, we must succeed as one America.The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future, will we be one nation, one people, with one common destiny, or not? Will we all come together, or come apart? The divide of race has been America's constant curse.And each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices.Prejudice and contempt, cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction are no different.These forces have nearly destroyed our nation in the past.They plague us still.They fuel the fanaticism of terror.And they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the world.These obsessions cripple both those who hate and, of course, those who are hated, robbing both of what they might become.We cannot, we will not, succumb to the dark impulses that lurk in the far regions of the soul everywhere.We shall overcome them.And we shall replace them with the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another.Our rich texture of racial, religious and political diversity will be a Godsend in the 21st century.Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together.As this new era approaches we can already see its broad outlines.Ten years ago, the Internet was the mystical province of physicists;today, it is a commonplace encyclopedia for millions of schoolchildren.Scientists now are decoding the blueprint of human life.Cures for our most feared illnesses seem close at hand.The world is no longer divided into two hostile camps.Instead, now we are building bonds with nations that once were our adversaries.Growing connections of commerce and culture give us a chance to lift the fortunes and spirits of people the world over.And for the very first time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy than dictatorship.My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we may ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the achievements of the 20th century in America and to avoid the awful bloodshed that stained its legacy? To that question, every American here and every American in our land today must answer a resounding “Yes.” This is the heart of our task.With a new vision of government, a new sense of responsibility, a new spirit of community, we will sustain America's journey.The promise we sought in a new land we will find again in a land of new promise.In this new land, education will be every citizen's most prized possession.Our schools will have the highest standards in the world, igniting the spark of possibility in the eyes of every girl and every boy.And the doors of higher education will be open to all.The knowledge and power of the Information Age will be within reach not just of the few, but of every classroom, every library, every child.Parents and children will have time not only to work, but to read and play together.And the plans they make at their kitchen table will be those of a better home, a better job, the certain chance to go to college.Our streets will echo again with the laughter of our children, because no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs anymore.Everyone who can work, will work, with today's permanent under class part of tomorrow's growing middle class.New miracles of medicine at last will reach not only those who can claim care now, but the children and hardworking families too long denied.We will stand mighty for peace and freedom, and maintain a strong defense against terror and destruction.Our children will sleep free from the threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.Ports and airports, farms and factories will thrive with trade and innovation and ideas.And the world's greatest democracy will lead a whole world of democracies.Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations, a nation that balances its budget, but never loses the balance of its values.A nation where our grandparents have secure retirement and health care, and their grandchildren know we have made the reforms necessary to sustain those benefits for their time.A nation that fortifies the world's most productive economy even as it protects the great natural bounty of our water, air, and majestic land.And in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so that the voice of the people will always speak louder than the din of narrow interests, regaining the participation and deserving the trust of all Americans.Fellow citizens, let us build that America, a nation ever moving forward toward realizing the full potential of all its citizens.Prosperity and power, yes, they are important, and we must maintain them.But let us never forget: The greatest progress we have made, and the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the human heart.In the end, all the world's wealth and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of the human spirit.Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there, at the other end of this Mall, in words that moved the conscience of a nation.Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart.Martin Luther King's dream was the American Dream.His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed.Our history has been built on such dreams and labors.And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.To that effort I pledge all my strength and every power of my office.I ask the members of Congress here to join in that pledge.The American people returned to office a President of one party and a Congress of another.Surely, they did not do this to advance the politics of petty bickering and extreme partisanship they plainly deplore.No, they call on us instead to be repairers of the breach, and to move on with America's mission.America demands and deserves big things from us,-and nothing big ever came from being small.Let us remember the timeless wisdom of Cardinal Bernardin, when facing the end of his own life.He said, “It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time, on acrimony and division.” Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time.For all of us are on that same journey of our lives, and our journey, too, will come to an end.But the journey of our America must go on.And so, my fellow Americans, we must be strong, for there is much to dare.The demands of our time are great and they are different.Let us meet them with faith and courage, with patience and a grateful and happy heart.Let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest chapter in our history.Yes, let us build our bridge.A bridge wide enough and strong enough for every American to cross over to a blessed land of new promise.May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American Dream alive for all her children;with the American promise of a more perfect union a reality for all her people;with America's bright flame of freedom spreading throughout all the world.From the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go forth.May God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead, and always, always bless our America.