36 - Thomas Jefferson, Part 1: Inaugural Speech
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ANNOUNCER:
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.
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Thomas Jefferson, on March Fourth, Eighteen-Oh-One, walked to the Capitol to be inaugurated as the third president of the United States. As Jefferson entered the Capitol, there was the thunder of cannon. All the senators and representatives stood until Jefferson sat down. A few moments later, the newly-elected president rose and began to read his inaugural speech. This is what Jefferson said:
JEFFERSON:
Friends and fellow citizens: I have been called to the position of chief executive of our country. I must tell you how honored and thankful I am. But I must tell you, too, of my fears.
Yes, I must tell you that the duties of your president are too much for any one man. However, I tell myself that I am not alone. When I see all your faces, I understand the wisdom of those who wrote our Constitution. For in you, the members of Congress, and in the judicial branch of our government, I know that I shall find the strength, the honesty, the courage that I shall need.
We have passed through a hard year of bitter struggle between two political parties. We have shown the world that in America all can speak, write, and think freely. The debate is over. The people have decided. Now is the time for all of us to unite for the good of all.
The majority of the people have won the contest. But we must always remember that there is a minority. True, the majority must rule. But the rule of the majority must be just. The rights of the minority are equal to the rights of the majority, and must be protected with equal laws.
Let us unite with hearts and minds. Let us have peace and love in our relations with each other. For without peace and love, liberty and life are sad things indeed. Let us remember that the religious freedom which we have in the United States is nothing if we do not have political freedom, if we permit men to be punished because they do not agree with the majority.
For hundreds of years in Europe, men have killed and have been killed in the name of liberty. It is not surprising, then, that even here -- in our peaceful land -- all cannot agree. But it is possible to have different ideas without forgetting our common wish.
We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists. Most of us love our country. Most of us want it to grow. There may be among us those who want to end the union of the states, or to end our republican government. Well then, let those men speak freely, without fear. They are wrong. But America is strong enough to let them say what they wish.
When men can think and speak freely, there is no danger to the nation. For those who do not agree with them also have the right to think and speak freely.
There are some honest Americans who are afraid that a republican government cannot be strong. But I ask these good men one question. Do they want us to destroy a government which has kept us strong and free for ten years? I hope not.
We have here in the United States the best and strongest government in the world. This is the only nation on the Earth whose citizens know that the government belongs to them.
Then there are some who say that men cannot govern themselves. What do they offer us instead? Government by kings? Are kings men, or are they angels? I will let history answer this question.
Let us keep our union and our government by the people through their elected representatives. We are very fortunate here in the New World.
Three-thousand miles of ocean separate us from the wars and the dictatorships of Europe. Here we do not suffer as the people of Europe do. Here we have a great and rich land, with room for a hundred, perhaps a thousand generations of Americans yet to be born.
We -- and the American children who will come after us -- all have equal rights. We honor a man not because of his father, but for what the man is. We do not care what religion a man follows. In this country, men practice religion in many ways. Yet all our religions teach honesty, truth, and the love of man. All worship one God who rules the universe, who wants men to be happy in life.