This file contains President Barack Obama's two inaugural addresses,Tuesday, January 20, 2009 and Monday, January 21, 2013.
Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential InauguralCommittee.
OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trustyou have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. Ithank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as thegenerosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The wordshave been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still watersof peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering cloudsand raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simplybecause of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because wethe people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, andtrue to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation isat war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Oureconomy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibilityon the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hardchoices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobsshed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schoolsfail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we useenergy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence acrossour land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, andthat the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They areserious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a shortspan of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity ofpurpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances andfalse promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far toolong have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time hascome to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm ourenduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward thatprecious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation:the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve achance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatnessis never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one ofshortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for thefaint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek onlythe pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers,the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated but more often menand women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long,rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled acrossoceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lashof the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg;Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and workedt