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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
FOIA Marker
This is not a textual record. This FOIA Marker indicates that material has been removed
during FOIA processing by George W. Bush Presidential Library staff.
Staff Secretary, White House Office of the
Kavanaugh, Brett - Speech Files
Location or
NARA Number:
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Hollinger ID:
W
17
13
1
3
10465
23328
6465
4008
Folder Title:
01/20/2005 - Second Inaugural Address Draft #22
Withdrawn/Redacted Material
The George W. Bush Library
DOCUMENT FORM
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002
Speech
Second Inaugural Address 01/20/2005 Draft #15
6
N.D.
P5;
003
Speech
Second Inaugural Address 01/20/2005 Draft #15
6
N.D.
P5;
T001
Speech Draft
Second Inaugural Address, Draft 22
40
01/20/2005
Transferred
T-002
Speech
[Second Inaugural Address (partial)]
8
01/19/2005
Transferred
COLLECTION TITLE:
Staff Secretary, White House Office of the
SERIES:
Kavanaugh, Brett - Speech Files
FOLDER TITLE:
01/20/2005 - Second Inaugural Address Draft #22 [769336]
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10465
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SECLOG
Staff Name:
PRESIDENT
Document Date: 1/20/2005
Correspondent:
Subject/Description: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SECOND INAUGURAL
ADDRESS, DRAFT # 22 JAN 20 05
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http://saeop82/RMS/custom/jsp/caseentry/BarcodeScanningSheet.jsp
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P
THE PRESIDENT
HAS SEEN
Second Inaugural Address
1/19-1/20/05 -
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Draft #22
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder - -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against
further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test
America's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call
of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the
existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a
3
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic work
of
helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To
give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we
will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership
society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement
savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of
life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own
destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and
fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
4
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in
good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt
the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can
feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the
victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the
captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a
chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence
because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark
places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on
5
liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner
"Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be
fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
1
THE PRESIDENT
Second Inaugural Address
1/19- 1/20/05
1/19-1/20/05
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Draft #14 22
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief
Justice, President Carter, President Bush,
President Clinton, reverend clergy,
distinguished guests, fellow citizens:
Preservation Copy - George W. Buch Handwriting
1
2
On this day, prescribed by law and
marked by ceremony, we celebrate the
durable wisdom of our Constitution, and
recall the deep commitments that unite our
country I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in
which we live, and determined to fulfill the
oath that I have sworn and you have
witnessed.
2
3
At this second gathering, our duties are
defined not by the words I use, but by the
history we have seen together.
/
For a half
century, America defended our own
freedom by standing watch on distant
borders.
/
After the shipwreck of
communism came years of relative quiet,
years of repose, years of sabbatical - and
then there came a day of fire.
3
SUB
4
We have seen our vulnerability - and
we have seen its deepest source.
I
For as
long as whole regions of the world simmer
in resentment and tyranny - prone to
ideologies that feed hatred and excuse
murder - violence will gather, and multiply
in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal
threat.
4
5
There is only one force of history that can
break the reign of hatred and resentment,
and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and
reward the hopes of the decent and
tolerant, and that is the force of human
freedom.
5
6
We are led, by events and common
sense, to one conclusion: The survival of
liberty in our land
increasingly depends
on the success of liberty in other lands.
The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
6
7
America's vital interests and our
deepest beliefs are now one.
From the day
of our Founding, we have proclaimed that
every man and woman on this earth has
rights, and dignity, and matchless value,
because they bear the image of the Maker
of Heaven and earth.
Preservation Copy - George W. Bush Handwriting
7
8
Across the generations we have proclaimed
the imperative of self-government, because
no one is fit to be a master, and no one
deserves to be a slave. I Advancing these
ideals is the mission that created our
Nation
It is the honorable achievement of
our fathers Now it is the urgent
requirement of our nation's security, and
the calling of our time.
8
S UB
9
So it is the policy of the United States to
seek and support the growth of democratic
movements and institutions in every nation
and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending
tyranny in our world.
9
10
This is not primarily the task of arms,
though we will defend ourselves and our
friends by force of arms when necessary.
-
Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen,
and defended by citizens, and sustained by
the rule of law and the protection of
minorities.
10
11
And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may
reflect customs and traditions very different
from our own America will not impose our
own style of government on the unwilling.
Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and
make their own way.
Preservation Copy - George W. Buch Handwriting
11
12
The great objective of ending tyranny is
the concentrated work of generations - The
difficulty of the task is no excuse for
avoiding itA America's influence is not
unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we
will use it confidently in freedom's cause.
12
P
13
My most solemn duty is to protect this
nation and its people against further attacks
and emerging threats.
Some have unwisely
chosen to test America's resolve, and have
found it firm.
13
SUB
14
We will persistently clarify the choice
before every ruler and every nation: The
moral choice between oppression, which is
always wrong, and freedom, which is
eternally right America will not pretend that
jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that
women welcome humiliation and servitude,
or that any human being aspires to live at
the mercy of bullies.
14
15
We will encourage reform in other
governments by making clear that success
in our relations will require the decent
treatment of their own people.
<
America's
belief in human dignity will guide our
policies, yet rights must be more than the
grudging concessions of dictators; they are
secured by free dissent and the
participation of the governed 1 In the long
run, there is no justice without freedom, and
there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
15
16
Some, I know, have questioned the global
appeal of liberty - though this time in history,
four decades defined by the swiftest advance
of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for
doubt.
Americans, of all people, should
never be surprised by the power of our
ideals.
/
Eventually, the call of freedom comes
to every mind and every soul.
We do not
accept the existence of permanent tyranny
because we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery / Liberty will come to
those who love it.
16
SUB-Z
17
Today, America speaks anew to the
peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness
can know: the United States will not ignore
your oppression, or excuse your
oppressors.
/
When you stand for your
liberty, we will stand with you.
17
SUB
18
Democratic reformers facing repression,
prison, or exile can know: America sees
you for who you are: the future leaders of
your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know
that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did:
"Those who deny freedom to others
deserve it not for themselves; and, under
the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
18
19
The leaders of governments with long
habits of control need to know: To serve
your people you must learn to trust them.
Start on this journey of progress and
justice, and America will walk at your side.
19
20
And all the allies of the United States
can know: we honor your friendship, we rely
on your counsel, and we depend on your
help
Division among free nations is a
primary goal of freedom's enemies
The
concerted effort of free nations to promote
democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Preservation Copy - George W. Buch Handwriting
20
21
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow
citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in
the hard task of securing America, which
you have granted in good measure
1
Our
country has accepted obligations that are
difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable
to abandon.
21
22
Yet because we have acted in the great
liberating tradition of this nation, tens of
millions have achieved their freedom. And
as hope kindles hope, millions more will find
it
By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well -
a fire in the minds of men. It warms those
who feel its power, it burns those who fight
its progress, and one day this untamed fire
of freedom will reach the darkest corners of
our world.
22
23
A few Americans have accepted the
hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet
work of intelligence and diplomacy
the
idealistic work of helping raise up free
governments
the dangerous and
necessary work of fighting our enemies
Some have shown their devotion to our
country in deaths that honored their whole
lives - and we will always honor their
names and their sacrifice.
23
24
All Americans have witnessed this
idealism, and some for the first time
1
I ask
our youngest citizens to believe the
evidence of your eyes You have seen duty
and allegiance in the determined faces of
our soldiers.
24
25
You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is
real, and courage triumphs Make the
choice to serve in a cause larger than your
wants, larger than yourself - and in your
days you will add not just to the wealth of
our country, but to its character.
25
26
America has need of idealism and
courage, because we have essential work
at home - the unfinished work of American
freedom
In a world moving toward liberty,
we are determined to show the meaning
and promise of liberty.
Preservation Copy = George W. Buch Handwriting
26
27
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens
find the dignity and security of economic
independence. instead of laboring on the
edge of subsistence.
I
This is the broader
definition of liberty that motivated the
Homestead Act, the Social Security Act,
and the G.I. Bill of Rights.
27
SUB
28
And now we will extend this vision by
reforming great institutions to serve the
needs of our time.
/
To give every American
a stake in the promise and future of our
country, we will bring the highest standards
to our schools, and build an ownership
society.
28
SUB
29
We will widen the ownership of homes and
businesses, retirement savings and health
insurance - preparing our people for the
challenges of life in a free society
By
making every citizen an agent of his or her
own destiny, we will give our fellow
Americans greater freedom from want and
fear, and make our society more
prosperous and just and equal.
29
30
In America's ideal of freedom, the public
interest depends on private character - on
integrity, and tolerance toward others, and
the rule of conscience in our own lives.
Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self.
30
31
That edifice of character is built in families,
supported by communities with standards,
and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount,
the words of the Koran, and the varied
faiths of our people. Americans move
forward in every generation by reaffirming
all that is good and true that came before -
ideals of justice and conduct that are the
same yesterday, today, and forever.
31
32
In America's ideal of freedom, the
exercise of rights is ennobled by service,
and mercy, and a heart for the weak
Liberty for all does not mean independence
from one another. Our nation relies on men
and women who look after a neighbor and
surround the lost with love.
32
33
Americans, at our best, value the life we
see in one another, and must always
remember that even the unwanted have
worth And our country must abandon all
the habits of racism, because we cannot
carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
33
34
From the perspective of a single day,
including this day of dedication, the issues
and questions before our country are many.
From the viewpoint of centuries, the
questions that come to us are narrowed
and few
Did our generation advance the
cause of freedom? And did our character
bring credit to that cause?
34
35
These questions that judge us also unite
us, because Americans of every party and
background, Americans by choice and by
birth, are bound to one another in the cause
of freedom. We have known divisions,
which must be healed to move forward in
great purposes - and I will strive in good
faith to heal them.
35
SUB
36
Yet those divisions do not define America
We felt the unity and fellowship of our
nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand
over a single heart 1 And we can feel that
same unity and pride whenever America
acts for good, and the victims of disaster
are given hope, and the unjust encounter
justice, and the captives are set free.
36
37
We go forward with complete
confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom.
I
Not because history runs on the
wheels of inevitability; it is human choices
that move events.
Not because we
consider ourselves a chosen nation; God
moves and chooses as He wills.
We have
confidence because freedom is the
permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in
dark places, the longing of the soul.
37
SUB
38
When our Founders declared a new order
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave
upon wave for a union based on liberty;
when citizens marched in peaceful outrage
under the banner "Freedom Now" - they
were acting on an ancient hope that is
meant to be fulfilled History has an ebb
and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the
Author of Liberty.
38
39
When the Declaration of Independence
was first read in public and the Liberty Bell
was sounded in celebration, a witness said,
"It rang as if it meant something.'
In
our
time it means something still. America,
in
this young century, proclaims liberty
throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof Renewed in our
strength - tested, but not weary - we are
ready for the greatest achievements in the
history of freedom.
39
SUB
40
May God bless you, and may He watch
over the United States of America.
Preservation Copy - George W. Bush Handwriting
40
P
THE PRESIDENT
HAS SEEN
Second Inaugural Address
1/19- 1/20/05
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Draft #2122
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against
further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test
America's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of our own ideals. Eventually, the
call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the
existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery. Eventually, the soul will not be chained, and the mind
will not be bound. Eventually, liberty Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
3
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic work of helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To
give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we
will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership
society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement
savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of
life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own
destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and
fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
4
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in
good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt
the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can
feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the
victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the
captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a
chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence
because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark
places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order
5
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on
liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner
"Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be
fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
Second Inaugural Address
Thursday, January 20, 2005
THE PRESIDENT 1/19/25 SEEN
Draft #1516
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land
increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
We will protect this nation and its people against further attacks and
emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test our resolve, and
have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. We do not accept the
existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind
and every soul. Eventually, liberty comes to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
3
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic
work
of
helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision beyond their imagining, by reforming great institutions to serve
the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and
future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools,
and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and
businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our
people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen
an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans
greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more
prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
4
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive to heal
them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and
fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our
response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that
same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of
disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives
are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
thehuman choices of free people that move events. Not because we
consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills.
We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind,
the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders
declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave
5
for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage
under the banner "Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope
that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but
history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
Second Inaugural Address
THE PRESIDENT 1/9/25
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Draft #21
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against
further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test
America's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of our own ideals. We do not
accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the
possibility of permanent slavery. Eventually, the soul will not be chained,
and the mind will not be bound. Eventually, liberty will come to those who
love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
3
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy
the idealistic work of helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizensi to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To
give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we
will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership
society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement
savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of
life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own
destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and
fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
4
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in
good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt
the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can
feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the
victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the
captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a
chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence
because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark
places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order
5
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on
liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner
"Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be
fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
Second Inaugural Address
THE PRESIDENT 1/19/25 HAS SEEN
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Draft #1621
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
We will My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people
against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen
to test ourAmerica's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of our own ideals. We do not
accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the
possibility of permanent slavery. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to
every mind and every soul Eventually, the soul will not be chained, and the
mind will not be bound. Eventually, liberty comeswill come to those who
love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
3
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well a
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic work of helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
character. and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision beyond their imagining, by reforming great institutions to serve
the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and
future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools,
and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and
businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our
people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen
an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans
greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more
prosperous and just and equal.
4
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in
good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt
the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can
feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the
victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the
captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a
chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence
5
because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark
places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on
liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner
"Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be
fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
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Speech
Second Inaugural Address 01/20/2005 Draft #15
6
N.D.
P5;
This marker identifies the original location of the withdrawn item listed above.
For a complete list of items withdrawn from this folder, see the
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet at the front of the folder.
COLLECTION:
Staff Secretary, White House Office of the
SERIES:
Kavanaugh, Brett - Speech Files
FOLDER TITLE:
01/20/2005 - Second Inaugural Address Draft #22 [769336]
FRC ID:
FOIA IDs and Segments:
10465
OA Num.:
4008
NARA Num.:
6465
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
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an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
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financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advise between the President
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and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
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P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
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purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
2201(3).
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
Deed of Gift Restrictions
concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA]
A. Closed by Executive Order 13526 governing access to national
security information.
B. Closed by statute or by the agency which originated the document.
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
This Document was withdrawn on 2/14/2014 by DRS
BG
Second Inaugural Address
Thursday, January 20, 2005
THE 1/19/05 PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
Draft #1621
Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President
Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow
citizens:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we
celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep
commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this
hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined
to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I
use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America
defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the
shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose,
years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability - - and we have seen its deepest
source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment
and tyranny - - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder -
violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most
defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of
history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the
pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant,
and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The
survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of
liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the
expansion of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From
the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman
on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they
bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations
we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is
fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these
1
ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable
achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's
security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth
of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with
the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves
and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature,
must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law
and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally
speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very
different from our own. America will not impose our own style of
government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their
own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of
generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it.
America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed,
America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in
freedom's cause.
We will most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people
against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen
to test ourAmerica's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every
nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and
freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed
dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and
servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that
success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own
people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights
must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured
by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there
is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without
human liberty.
2
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though
this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of
freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people,
should never be surprised by the power of our own ideals. We do not
accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the
possibility of permanent slavery. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to
every mind and every soul. Eventually, the soul will not be chained, and the
mind will not be bound. Eventually, liberty comeswill come to those who
love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States
will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you
stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know:
America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as
Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know:
To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of
progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your
friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division
among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted
effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies'
defeat.
Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing
America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has
accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to
abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this
3
nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles
hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a
fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those
who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach
the darkest corners of our world.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in
the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy the idealistic work of helping
raise up free governments the dangerous and necessary work of fighting
our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths
that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and
their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first
time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You
have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You
have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make
the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself -
and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its
character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have
essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a
world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and
promise of liberty.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of
economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence.
This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act,
the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend
this vision beyond their imagining by reforming great institutions to serve
the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and
future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools,
and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and
businesses, retirement savings and health insurance preparing our
people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen
an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans
greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more
prosperous and just and equal.
4
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation
by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice
and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by
service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean
independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women
who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at
our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember
that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the
habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the
baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication,
the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint
of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our
generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring
credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of
every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound
to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which
must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in
good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt
the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack,
and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can
feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the
victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the
captives are set free.
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is
human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a
chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence
5
because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark
places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order
of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on
liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner
"Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be
fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a
visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and
the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it
meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this
young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the
inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - - tested, but not weary - we
are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of
America.
6
3
THE PRESIDENT 1/19/23 HAS SEEN
At this second gathering, our duties are
defined not by the words I use, but by the
history we have seen together. For a half
century, America defended
our own
freedom by standing watch
on distant
borders
1
After the shipwreck of
communism came years of relative quiet,
years of repose, years of sabbatical ------------------------- and
then there came a day of fire.
Receised 1
Replaced.
I
Selee
3
Preservation Copy as George W. Bush Handwriting
13
We will protect this nation and its people
against further attacks and emerging
threats Some have unwisely chosen to
test our resolve, and have found it firm.
13
Preservation Copy SR George W. Bush Handwriting
16
Some, I know, have questioned the
global appeal of liberty - though this time in
history, four decades defined by the swiftest
advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd
time for doubt.
We do not accept the
existence of permanent tyranny because
we do not accept the possibility of
permanent slavery Eventually, the call of
freedom comes to every mind and every
soul
Eventually, liberty comes to those
who love it.
16
Preservation Copy © George W. Bush Handwriting
16
Some, I know, have questioned the global
appeal of liberty - though this time in history,
four decades defined by the swiftest advance
of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for
doubt
Americans, of all people, should
never be surprised by the power of our own
ideals.
We do not accept the existence of
permanent tyranny because we do not
accept the possibility of permanent slavery
Eventually, the soul will not be chained, and
the mind will not be bound
Eventually,
liberty will come to those who love it.
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Today, America speaks anew to the
peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness
can know: the United States will not ignore
your oppression, or excuse your
oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we
will stand with you.
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And now we will extend this vision beyond
their imagining, by reforming great
institutions to serve the needs of our time
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To give every American a stake in the
promise and future of our country, we will
bring the highest standards to our schools,
and build an ownership society.
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These questions that judge us also unite
us, because Americans of every party and
background, Americans by choice and by
birth, are bound to one another in the cause
of freedom.
I
We have known divisions,
which must be healed to move forward in
great purposes - and I will strive to heal
them.
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We go forward with complete
confidence in the eventual triumph of
freedom
Not because history runs on the
wheels of inevitability; it is the choices of
free people that move events
Not because
we consider ourselves a chosen nation;
God moves and chooses as He wills
We
have confidence because freedom is the
permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in
dark places, the longing of the soul.
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