Alexandre Dumas, Pere - "Louise de la Valliere"

Franklin K. Lane - "The Letters of Franklin K. Lane"

Ludovico Ariosto - "Orlando Furioso"

J.B. Bury - "The Idea of Progress"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses

V >> Various >> U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses




For action has been taken within the three-way framework of the
Constitution of the United States. The coordinate branches of the
Government continue freely to function. The Bill of Rights remains
inviolate. The freedom of elections is wholly maintained. Prophets of
the downfall of American democracy have seen their dire predictions come
to naught.

Democracy is not dying.

We know it because we have seen it revive--and grow.

We know it cannot die--because it is built on the unhampered initiative
of individual men and women joined together in a common enterprise--an
enterprise undertaken and carried through by the free expression of a
free majority.

We know it because democracy alone, of all forms of government, enlists
the full force of men's enlightened will.

We know it because democracy alone has constructed an unlimited
civilization capable of infinite progress in the improvement of human
life.

We know it because, if we look below the surface, we sense it still
spreading on every continent--for it is the most humane, the most
advanced, and in the end the most unconquerable of all forms of human
society.

A nation, like a person, has a body--a body that must be fed and clothed
and housed, invigorated and rested, in a manner that measures up to the
objectives of our time.

A nation, like a person, has a mind--a mind that must be kept informed
and alert, that must know itself, that understands the hopes and the
needs of its neighbors--all the other nations that live within the
narrowing circle of the world.

And a nation, like a person, has something deeper, something more
permanent, something larger than the sum of all its parts. It is that
something which matters most to its future--which calls forth the most
sacred guarding of its present.

It is a thing for which we find it difficult--even impossible--to hit
upon a single, simple word.

And yet we all understand what it is--the spirit--the faith of America.
It is the product of centuries. It was born in the multitudes of those
who came from many lands--some of high degree, but mostly plain people,
who sought here, early and late, to find freedom more freely.

The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history. It
is human history. It permeated the ancient life of early peoples. It
blazed anew in the middle ages. It was written in Magna Charta.

In the Americas its impact has been irresistible. America has been the
New World in all tongues, to all peoples, not because this continent was
a new-found land, but because all those who came here believed they
could create upon this continent a new life--a life that should be new
in freedom.

Its vitality was written into our own Mayflower Compact, into the
Declaration of Independence, into the Constitution of the United States,
into the Gettysburg Address.

Those who first came here to carry out the longings of their spirit, and
the millions who followed, and the stock that sprang from them--all have
moved forward constantly and consistently toward an ideal which in
itself has gained stature and clarity with each generation.

The hopes of the Republic cannot forever tolerate either undeserved
poverty or self-serving wealth.

We know that we still have far to go; that we must more greatly build
the security and the opportunity and the knowledge of every citizen, in
the measure justified by the resources and the capacity of the land.

But it is not enough to achieve these purposes alone. It is not enough
to clothe and feed the body of this Nation, and instruct and inform its
mind. For there is also the spirit. And of the three, the greatest is
the spirit.

Without the body and the mind, as all men know, the Nation could not
live.

But if the spirit of America were killed, even though the Nation's body
and mind, constricted in an alien world, lived on, the America we know
would have perished.

That spirit--that faith--speaks to us in our daily lives in ways often
unnoticed, because they seem so obvious. It speaks to us here in the
Capital of the Nation. It speaks to us through the processes of
governing in the sovereignties of 48 States. It speaks to us in our
counties, in our cities, in our towns, and in our villages. It speaks to
us from the other nations of the hemisphere, and from those across the
seas--the enslaved, as well as the free. Sometimes we fail to hear or
heed these voices of freedom because to us the privilege of our freedom
is such an old, old story.

The destiny of America was proclaimed in words of prophecy spoken by our
first President in his first inaugural in 1789--words almost directed,
it would seem, to this year of 1941: "The preservation of the sacred
fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government
are justly considered. . .deeply,. . .finally, staked on the experiment
intrusted to the hands of the American people."

If we lose that sacred fire--if we let it be smothered with doubt and
fear--then we shall 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 all
races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of
democracy.

And so today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons--at a
fearful cost--and we shall profit by them.

We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own
well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. We
have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, nor as dogs in
the manger.

We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human
community.

We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that "The only way to
have a friend is to be one."

We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and
mistrust or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the
understanding, the confidence, and the courage which flow from
conviction.

The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our
people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows
for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has
become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world.

So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly--to see the
way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow
men--to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.


***

Harry S. Truman
Inaugural Address
Thursday, January 20, 1949

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, and fellow citizens, I accept
with humility the honor which the American people have conferred upon
me. I accept it with a deep resolve to do all that I can for the welfare
of this Nation and for the peace of the world.

In performing the duties of my office, I need the help and prayers of
every one of you. I ask for your encouragement and your support. The
tasks we face are difficult, and we can accomplish them only if we work
together.

Each period of our national history has had its special challenges.
Those that confront us now are as momentous as any in the past. Today
marks the beginning not only of a new administration, but of a period
that will be eventful, perhaps decisive, for us and for the world.

It may be our lot to experience, and in large measure to bring about, a
major turning point in the long history of the human race. The first
half of this century has been marked by unprecedented and brutal attacks
on the rights of man, and by the two most frightful wars in history. The
supreme need of our time is for men to learn to live together in peace
and harmony.

The peoples of the earth face the future with grave uncertainty,
composed almost equally of great hopes and great fears. In this time of
doubt, they look to the United States as never before for good will,
strength, and wise leadership.

It is fitting, therefore, that we take this occasion to proclaim to the
world the essential principles of the faith by which we live, and to
declare our aims to all peoples.

The American people stand firm in the faith which has inspired this
Nation from the beginning. We believe that all men have a right to equal
justice under law and equal opportunity to share in the common good. We
believe that all men have the right to freedom of thought and
expression. We believe that all men are created equal because they are
created in the image of God.

From this faith we will not be moved.

The American people desire, and are determined to work for, a world in
which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves as they
see fit, and to achieve a decent and satisfying life. Above all else,
our people desire, and are determined to work for, peace on earth--a
just and lasting peace--based on genuine agreement freely arrived at by
equals.

In the pursuit of these aims, the United States and other like-minded
nations find themselves directly opposed by a regime with contrary aims
and a totally different concept of life.

That regime adheres to a false philosophy which purports to offer
freedom, security, and greater opportunity to mankind. Misled by this
philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn
to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their
reward.

That false philosophy is communism.

Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequate that
he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule of
strong masters.

Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and
intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern
himself with reason and justice.

Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause,
punishment without trial, and forced labor as the chattel of the state.
It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce,
what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think.

Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of
the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the
rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of his
abilities.

Communism maintains that social wrongs can be corrected only by
violence.

Democracy has proved that social justice can be achieved through
peaceful change.

Communism holds that the world is so deeply divided into opposing
classes that war is inevitable.

Democracy holds that free nations can settle differences justly and
maintain lasting peace.

These differences between communism and democracy do not concern the
United States alone. People everywhere are coming to realize that what
is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to
believe in and worship God.

I state these differences, not to draw issues of belief as such, but
because the actions resulting from the Communist philosophy are a threat
to the efforts of free nations to bring about world recovery and lasting
peace.

Since the end of hostilities, the United States has invested its
substance and its energy in a great constructive effort to restore
peace, stability, and freedom to the world.

We have sought no territory and we have imposed our will on none. We
have asked for no privileges we would not extend to others.

We have constantly and vigorously supported the United Nations and
related agencies as a means of applying democratic principles to
international relations. We have consistently advocated and relied upon
peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.

We have made every effort to secure agreement on effective international
control of our most powerful weapon, and we have worked steadily for the
limitation and control of all armaments.

We have encouraged, by precept and example, the expansion of world trade
on a sound and fair basis.

Almost a year ago, in company with 16 free nations of Europe, we
launched the greatest cooperative economic program in history. The
purpose of that unprecedented effort is to invigorate and strengthen
democracy in Europe, so that the free people of that continent can
resume their rightful place in the forefront of civilization and can
contribute once more to the security and welfare of the world.

Our efforts have brought new hope to all mankind. We have beaten back
despair and defeatism. We have saved a number of countries from losing
their liberty. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world now
agree with us, that we need not have war--that we can have peace.

The initiative is ours.

We are moving on with other nations to build an even stronger structure
of international order and justice. We shall have as our partners
countries which, no longer solely concerned with the problem of national
survival, are now working to improve the standards of living of all
their people. We are ready to undertake new projects to strengthen the
free world.

In the coming years, our program for peace and freedom will emphasize
four major courses of action.

First, we will continue to give unfaltering support to the United
Nations and related agencies, and we will continue to search for ways to
strengthen their authority and increase their effectiveness. We believe
that the United Nations will be strengthened by the new nations which
are being formed in lands now advancing toward self-government under
democratic principles.

Second, we will continue our programs for world economic recovery.

This means, first of all, that we must keep our full weight behind the
European recovery program. We are confident of the success of this major
venture in world recovery. We believe that our partners in this effort
will achieve the status of self-supporting nations once again.

In addition, we must carry out our plans for reducing the barriers to
world trade and increasing its volume. Economic recovery and peace
itself depend on increased world trade.

Third, we will strengthen freedom-loving nations against the dangers of
aggression.

We are now working out with a number of countries a joint agreement
designed to strengthen the security of the North Atlantic area. Such an
agreement would take the form of a collective defense arrangement within
the terms of the United Nations Charter.

We have already established such a defense pact for the Western
Hemisphere by the treaty of Rio de Janeiro.

The primary purpose of these agreements is to provide unmistakable proof
of the joint determination of the free countries to resist armed attack
from any quarter. Each country participating in these arrangements must
contribute all it can to the common defense.

If we can make it sufficiently clear, in advance, that any armed attack
affecting our national security would be met with overwhelming force,
the armed attack might never occur.

I hope soon to send to the Senate a treaty respecting the North Atlantic
security plan.

In addition, we will provide military advice and equipment to free
nations which will cooperate with us in the maintenance of peace and
security.

Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of
our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the
improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.

More than half the people of the world are living in conditions
approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of
disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is
a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas.

For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and the
skill to relieve the suffering of these people.

The United States is pre-eminent among nations in the development of
industrial and scientific techniques. The material resources which we
can afford to use for the assistance of other peoples are limited. But
our imponderable resources in technical knowledge are constantly growing
and are inexhaustible.

I believe that we should make available to peace-loving peoples the
benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them
realize their aspirations for a better life. And, in cooperation with
other nations, we should foster capital investment in areas needing
development.

Our aim should be to help the free peoples of the world, through their
own efforts, to produce more food, more clothing, more materials for
housing, and more mechanical power to lighten their burdens.

We invite other countries to pool their technological resources in this
undertaking. Their contributions will be warmly welcomed. This should be
a cooperative enterprise in which all nations work together through the
United Nations and its specialized agencies wherever practicable. It
must be a worldwide effort for the achievement of peace, plenty, and
freedom.

With the cooperation of business, private capital, agriculture, and
labor in this country, this program can greatly increase the industrial
activity in other nations and can raise substantially their standards of
living.

Such new economic developments must be devised and controlled to benefit
the peoples of the areas in which they are established. Guarantees to
the investor must be balanced by guarantees in the interest of the
people whose resources and whose labor go into these developments.

The old imperialism--exploitation for foreign profit--has no place in
our plans. What we envisage is a program of development based on the
concepts of democratic fair-dealing.

All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit from a
constructive program for the better use of the world's human and natural
resources. Experience shows that our commerce with other countries
expands as they progress industrially and economically.

Greater production is the key to prosperity and peace. And the key to
greater production is a wider and more vigorous application of modern
scientific and technical knowledge.

Only by helping the least fortunate of its members to help themselves
can the human family achieve the decent, satisfying life that is the
right of all people.

Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of
the world into triumphant action, not only against their human
oppressors, but also against their ancient enemies--hunger, misery, and
despair.

On the basis of these four major courses of action we hope to help
create the conditions that will lead eventually to personal freedom and
happiness for all mankind.

If we are to be successful in carrying out these policies, it is clear
that we must have continued prosperity in this country and we must keep
ourselves strong.

Slowly but surely we are weaving a world fabric of international
security and growing prosperity.

We are aided by all who wish to live in freedom from fear--even by those
who live today in fear under their own governments.

We are aided by all who want relief from the lies of propaganda--who
desire truth and sincerity.

We are aided by all who desire self-government and a voice in deciding
their own affairs.

We are aided by all who long for economic security--for the security and
abundance that men in free societies can enjoy.

We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
and freedom to live their own lives for useful ends.

Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

In due time, as our stability becomes manifest, as more and more nations
come to know the benefits of democracy and to participate in growing
abundance, I believe that those countries which now oppose us will
abandon their delusions and join with the free nations of the world in a
just settlement of international differences.

Events have brought our American democracy to new influence and new
responsibilities. They will test our courage, our devotion to duty, and
our concept of liberty.

But I say to all men, what we have achieved in liberty, we will surpass
in greater liberty.

Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, we will advance toward a world
where man's freedom is secure.

To that end we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness
of resolve. With God's help, the future of mankind will be assured in a
world of justice, harmony, and peace.


***

Dwight D. Eisenhower
First Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 1953

MY friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem
appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of
uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your
heads:

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in
the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will
make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in
this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.

Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and
allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws
of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the
people regardless of station, race, or calling.

May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under
the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so
that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory.
Amen.

My fellow citizens:

The world and we have passed the midway point of a century of continuing
challenge. We sense with all our faculties that forces of good and evil
are massed and armed and opposed as rarely before in history.

This fact defines the meaning of this day. We are summoned by this
honored and historic ceremony to witness more than the act of one
citizen swearing his oath of service, in the presence of God. We are
called as a people to give testimony in the sight of the world to our
faith that the future shall belong to the free.

Since this century's beginning, a time of tempest has seemed to come
upon the continents of the earth. Masses of Asia have awakened to strike
off shackles of the past. Great nations of Europe have fought their
bloodiest wars. Thrones have toppled and their vast empires have
disappeared. New nations have been born.

For our own country, it has been a time of recurring trial. We have
grown in power and in responsibility. We have passed through the
anxieties of depression and of war to a summit unmatched in man's
history. Seeking to secure peace in the world, we have had to fight
through the forests of the Argonne, to the shores of Iwo Jima, and to
the cold mountains of Korea.

In the swift rush of great events, we find ourselves groping to know the
full sense and meaning of these times in which we live. In our quest of
understanding, we beseech God's guidance. We summon all our knowledge of
the past and we scan all signs of the future. We bring all our wit and
all our will to meet the question:

How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward
light? Are we nearing the light--a day of freedom and of peace for all
mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us?