Inaugural Address of President John F. KennedyWashington D.C.January 20, 1961We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom - symbolizing an end aswell as a beginning - signifying renewal as well as change.For I have sworn before you andAlmighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century andthree-quarters ago.The world is very different now.For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish allforms of human poverty and all forms of human life.And yet the same revolutionary beliefs forwhich our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of mancome not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or will, that we shall pay any price, bear anyburden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and thesuccess of liberty.This much we pledge - and more.To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that oneform of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more irontyranny.We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view.
