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1252927
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6/21/76 - Bicentennial Television Message
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1252927
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document
title
6/21/76 - Bicentennial Television Message
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collections
President's Speeches and Statements Reading Copies (Ford Administration)
Reading Copies of Presidential Speeches and Statements
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Presidential messages
Speeches, addresses, etc.
American Revolution Bicentennial, 1776-1976
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1252927
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21
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1976-06-21
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6
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1976
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21
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1976-06-21
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6
year
1976
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The original documents are located in Box 35, "6/21/76 - Bicentennial Television Message"
of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford
Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 35 of President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
PRESIDENT'S BICENTENNIAL TELEVISION MESSAGE, 1976
-1-
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO, WE THE PEOPLE OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEGAN A GREAT ADVENTURE WHICH
STIRRED THE IMAGINATION AND QUICKENED THE HOPES OF MEN AND
WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
THE DATE WAS JULY 4, 1776 --
THE OCCASION, THE SIGNING OF OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
NO OTHER NATION IN HISTORY HAS EVER DEDICATED
ITSELF MORE SPECIFICALLY, NOR DEVOTED ITSELF MORE COMPLETELY,
TO THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY
ARE END OWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH SUCH UNALIENABLE RIGHTS
AS LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
-2-
TWO CENTURIES LATER, AS WE CELEBRATE OUR
BICENTENNIAL YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE, THE GREAT AMERICAN
ADVENTURE CONTINUES.
THE HALLMARK OF THAT ADVENTURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN
AN EAGERNESS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN -- WHETHER IT LAY ACROSS
AN OCEAN OR A CONTINENT, ACROSS THE VASTNESS OF SPACE
OR THE FRONTIERS OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.
BECAUSE WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN READY TO TRY NEW
AND UNTESTED ENTERPRISES -- IN GOVERNMENT, IN COMMERCE,
IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND IN HUMAN RELATIONS --
WE HAVE MADE UNPRECEDENTED PROGRESS IN ALL OF THESE FIELDS
-3-
WHILE REACHING FOR THE UNKNOWN, AMERICANS
HAVE ALSO KEPT THEIR FAITH IN THIS WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE OF
THE PAST
COLONISTS AND IMMIGRANTS BROUGHT WITH THEM
CHERISHED VALUES AND IDEALS -- IN RELIGION AND CULTURE,
IN LAW AND LEARNING -- WHICH, MIXED WITH THE NATIVE
AMERICAN WAYS, GAVE US OUR RICH AMERICAN HERITAGE
THE UNIQUE AMERICAN UNION OF THE KNOWN AND THE
UNKNOWN, THE TRIED AND THE UNTRIED, HAS BEEN THE FOUNDATION
FOR OUR LIBERTY AND THE SECRET OF OUR GREAT SUCCESS.
IN THIS COUNTRY INDIVIDUALS CAN BE THE MASTERS
RATHER THAN THE HELPLESS VICTIMS, OF THEIR DESTINY
WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES, AND MAKE THE MOST OF
THEM
-4-
IN THE SPACE OF TWO CENTURIES, WE HAVE NOT BEEN
ABLE TO RIGHT EVERY WRONG, TO CORRECT EVERY INJUSTICE, TO
REACH EVERY WORTHY GOAL
BUT FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS WE HAVE TRIED, AND WE
WILL CONTINUE TO STRIVE, TO MAKE THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUAL MEN
AND WOMEN -- IN THIS COUNTRY AND ON THIS EARTH -- BETTER
LIVES, MORE HOPEFUL AND HAPPY, MORE PROSPEROUS AND
PEACEFUL, MORE FULFILLING AND MORE FREE
THIS IS OUR COMMON DEDICATION -- AND IT WILL BE
OUR COMMON GLORY -- AS WE ENTER THE THIRD CENTURY OF THE
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
END OF TEXT