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GERALD FORD, HIS WIFE BETTY, CHIEF
JUSTICE WARREN E. BURGER - 1974
Ford's Inaugural Address
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Gerald Ford.
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Ford's Inaugural Address.
It follows the full text transcript of
Gerald Ford's Inaugural Address,
delivered in the East Room of the White House, Washington DC -
August 9, 1974.
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Mr. Chief Justice,
My Dear
Friends,
My Fellow
Americans, |
The oath that I
have taken is the same oath that was taken by
George Washington and by every President under
the Constitution. But I assume the Presidency
under extraordinary circumstances never before
experienced by Americans. This is an hour of
history that troubles our minds and hurts our
hearts.
Therefore, I feel it is my first duty to make an
unprecedented compact with my countrymen. Not an
inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a
campaign speech, just a little straight talk
among friends. And I intend it to be the first
of many.
I am acutely aware that you have not elected me
as your President by your ballots, and so I ask
you to confirm me as your President with your
prayers. And I hope that such prayers will also
be the first of many.
If you have not chosen me by secret ballot,
neither have I gained office by any secret
promises. I have not campaigned either for the
Presidency or the Vice Presidency. I have not
subscribed to any partisan platform. I am
indebted to no man, and only to one woman--my
dear wife--as I begin this very difficult job.
I have not sought this enormous responsibility,
but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and
confirmed me as Vice President were my friends
and are my friends. They were of both parties,
elected by all the people and acting under the
Constitution in their name. It is only fitting
then that I should pledge to them and to you
that I will be the President of all the people.
Thomas Jefferson said the people are the only
sure reliance for the preservation of our
liberty. And down the years, Abraham Lincoln
renewed this American article of faith asking,
"Is there any better way or equal hope in the
world?"
I intend, on Monday next, to request of the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President pro tempore of the Senate the
privilege of appearing before the Congress to
share with my former colleagues and with you,
the American people, my views on the priority
business of the Nation and to solicit your views
and their views. And may I say to the Speaker
and the others, if I could meet with you right
after these remarks, I would appreciate it.
Even though this is late in an election year,
there is no way we can go forward except
together and no way anybody can win except by
serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot
stand still or slip backwards. We must go
forward now together.
To the peoples and the governments of all
friendly nations, and I hope that could
encompass the whole world, I pledge an
uninterrupted and sincere search for peace.
America will remain strong and united, but its
strength will remain dedicated to the safety and
sanity of the entire family of man, as well as
to our own precious freedom.
I believe that truth is the glue that holds
government together, not only our Government but
civilization itself. That bond, though strained,
is unbroken at home and abroad.
In all my public and private acts as your
President, I expect to follow my instincts of
openness and candor with full confidence that
honesty is always the best policy in the end.
My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare
is over.
Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a
government of laws and not of men. Here the
people rule. But there is a higher Power, by
whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only
righteousness but love, not only justice but
mercy.
As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate,
more painful and more poisonous than those of
foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to
our political process, and let brotherly love
purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate.
In the beginning, I asked you to pray for me.
Before closing, I ask again your prayers, for
Richard Nixon and for his family. May our former
President, who brought peace to millions, find
it for himself. May God bless and comfort his
wonderful wife and daughters, whose love and
loyalty will forever be a shining legacy to all
who bear the lonely burdens of the White House.
I can only guess at those burdens, although I
have witnessed at close hand the tragedies that
befell three Presidents and the lesser trials of
others.
With all the strength and all the good sense I
have gained from life, with all the confidence
my family, my friends, and my dedicated staff
impart to me, and with the good will of
countless Americans I have encountered in recent
visits to 40 States, I now solemnly reaffirm my
promise I made to you last December 6: to uphold
the Constitution, to do what is right as God
gives me to see the right, and to do the very
best I can f or America.
God helping me, I will not let you down.
Thank you.
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