reject the destiny which Washington strove so
valiantly and so triumphantly to establish. The preservation of the
spirit and faith of the Nation does, and will, furnish the highest
justification for every sacrifice that we may make in the cause of
national defense.

In the face of great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose
is to protect and to perpetuate the integrity of democracy.

For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America.

We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still. As Americans, we
go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.

*****

Franklin D. Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Address Saturday, January 20,
1945

MR. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, my friends, you will understand
and, I believe, agree with my wish that the form of this inauguration be
simple and its words brief.

We Americans of today, together with our allies, are passing through a
period of supreme test. It is a test of our courage--of our resolve--of
our wisdom--our essential democracy.

If we meet that test--successfully and honorably--we shall perform a
service of historic importance which men and women and children will
honor throughout all time.

As I stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of office in the
presence of my fellow countrymen--in the presence of our God--I know
that it is America's purpose that we shall not fail.

In the days and in the years that are to come we shall work for a just
and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for
total victory in war.

We can and we will achieve such a peace.

We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it immediately--but
we still shall strive. We may make mistakes--but they must never be
mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral
principle.

I remember that my old schoolmaster, Dr. Peabody, said, in days that
seemed to us then to be secure and untroubled: "Things in life will
not always run smoothly. Sometimes we will be rising toward the
heights--then all will seem to reverse itself and start downward. The
great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is
forever upward; that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and
the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trend."

Our Constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it is not perfect
yet. But it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of
al