Under one such marker lies a young man—­Martin Treptow—­who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.  There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary.  On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words:  “America must win this war.  Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.  It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.

And, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that?  We are Americans.  God bless you, and thank you.

***

Ronald Reagan
Second Inaugural Address
Monday, January 21, 1985

Senator Mathias, Chief Justice Burger, Vice President Bush, Speaker O’Neill, Senator Dole, Reverend Clergy, members of my family and friends, and my fellow citizens: 

This day has been made brighter with the presence here of one who, for a time, has been absent—­Senator John Stennis.

God bless you and welcome back.

There is, however, one who is not with us today:  Representative Gillis Long of Louisiana left us last night.  I wonder if we could all join in a moment of silent prayer. (Moment of silent prayer.) Amen.

There are no words adequate to express my thanks for the great honor that you have bestowed on me.  I will do my utmost to be deserving of your trust.

This is, as Senator Mathias told us, the 50th time that we the people have celebrated this historic occasion.  When the first President, George Washington, placed his hand upon the Bible, he stood less than a single day’s journey by horseback from raw, untamed wilderness.  There were 4 million Americans in a union of 13 States.  Today we are 60 times as many in a union of 50 States.  We have lighted the world with our inventions, gone to the aid of mankind wherever in the world there was a cry for help, journeyed to the Moon and safely returned.  So much has changed.  And yet we stand together as we did two centuries ago.

When I took this oath four years ago, I did so in a time of economic stress.  Voices were raised saying we had to look to our past for the greatness and glory.  But we, the present-day Americans, are not given to looking backward.  In this blessed land, there is always a better tomorrow.

Four years ago, I spoke to you of a new beginning and we have accomplished that.  But in another sense, our new beginning is a continuation of that beginning created two centuries ago when, for the first time in history, government, the people said, was not our master, it is our servant; its only power that which we the people allow it to have.