My fellow citizens: 

At this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century, let us lift our eyes toward the challenges that 
await us in the next century. It is our great good fortune that time and chance have put us not only at the 
edge of a new century, in a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright new prospect in human affairs 
-- a moment that will define our course, and our character, for decades to come. We must keep our old 
democracy forever young. Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us set our sights upon a 
land of new promise.

The promise of America was born in the 18th century out of the bold conviction that we are all created 
equal. It was extended and preserved in the 19th century, when our nation spread across the continent,
saved the union, and abolished the awful scourge of slavery.

Then, in turmoil and triumph, that promise exploded onto the world stage to make this the American 
Century.

And what a century it has been. America became the world's mightiest industrial power; saved the world 
from tyranny in two world wars and a long cold war; and time and again, reached out across the globe 
to millions who, like us, longed for the blessings of liberty.

Along the way, Americans produced a great middle class and security in old age; built unrivaled centers 
of learning and opened public schools to all; split the atom and explored the heavens; invented the 
computer and the microchip; and deepened the wellspring of justice by making a revolution in civil 
rights for African Americans and all minorities, and extending the circle of citizenship, opportunity 
and dignity to women.

Now, for the third time, a new century is upon us, and another time to choose. We began the 19th 
century with a choice, to spread our nation from coast to coast. We began the 20th century with a 
choice, to harness the Industrial Revolution to our values of free enterprise, conservation, and 
human decency. Those choices made all the difference. At the dawn of the 21st century a free people 
must now choose to shape the forces of the Information Age and the global society, to unleash the 
limitless potential of all our people, and, yes, to form a more perfect union.

When last we gathered, our march to this new future seemed less certain than it does today. We 
vowed then to set a clear course to renew our nation.

In these four years, we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge, strengthened by 
achievement. America stands alone as the world's indispensable nation. Once again, our economy 
is the strongest on Earth. Once again, we are building stronger families, thriving communities, 
better educational opportunities, a cleaner environment. Problems that once seemed destined to 
deepen now bend to our efforts: our streets are safer and record numbers of our fellow citizens 
have moved from welfare to work.

And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government. Today 
we can declare: Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution. We -- the 
American people -- we are the solution. Our founders understood that well and gave us a democracy 
strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to face our common challenges and advance 
our common dreams in each new day.

As times change, so government must change. We need a new government for a new century -- humble 
enough not to try to solve all our problems for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to 
solve our problems for ourselves; a government that is smaller, lives within its means, and 
does more with less. Yet where it can stand up for our values and interests in the world, and 
where it can give Americans the power to make a real difference in their everyday lives, 
government should do more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to 
give all Americans an opportunity -- not a guarantee, but a real opportunity -- to build 
better lives. 

Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us. Our founders taught us that the 
preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship. And we need 
a new sense of responsibility for a new century. There is work to do, work that government 
alone cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out 
from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and 
gangs and crime; taking time out of our own lives to serve others.

Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility -- not only 
for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation. Our greatest 
responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century. For any one 
of us to succeed, we must succeed as one America.

The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future -- will we be one nation, 
one people, with one common destiny, or not? Will we all come together, or come apart?

The divide of race has been America's constant curse. And each new wave of immigrants 
gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt, cloaked in the pretense of 
religious or political conviction are no different. These forces have nearly destroyed 
our nation in the past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. And 
they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the world.

These obsessions cripple both those who hate and, of course, those who are hated, robbing 
both of what they might become. We cannot, we will not, succumb to the dark impulses that 
lurk in the far regions of the soul everywhere. We shall overcome them. And we shall 
replace them with the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another.

Our rich texture of racial, religious and political diversity will be a Godsend in the 
21st century. Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, 
work together, forge new ties that bind together.

As this new era approaches we can already see its broad outlines. Ten years ago, the 
Internet was the mystical province of physicists; today, it is a common place encyclopedia 
for millions of school children. Scientists now are decoding the blueprint of human life. 
Cures for our most feared illnesses seem close at hand.

The world is no longer divided into two hostile camps. Instead, now we are building bonds 
with nations that once were our adversaries. Growing connections of commerce and culture 
give us a chance to lift the fortunes and spirits of people the world over. And for the 
very first time in all of history, more people on this planet live under democracy than 
dictatorship. 

My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we may ask, can we 
hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the achievements of the 20th century in 
America and to avoid the awful bloodshed that stained its legacy? To that question, 
every American here and every American in our land today must answer a resounding "Yes."

This is the heart of our task. With a new vision of government, a new sense of 
responsibility, a new spirit of community, we will sustain America's journey. The 
promise we sought in a new land we will find again in a land of new promise.

In this new land, education will be every citizen's most prized possession. Our 
schools will have the highest standards in the world, igniting the spark of possibility 
in the eyes of every girl and every boy. And the doors of higher education will be open 
to all. The knowledge and power of the Information Agewill be within reach not just of 
the few, but of every classroom, every libra Our streets will echo again with the 
laughter of our children, because no one will try to shoot them or sell them drugs 
anymore. Everyone who can work, will work, with today's permanent under class part 
of tomorrow's growing middle class. New miracles of medicine at last will reach not 
only those who can claim care now, but the children and hardworking families too 
long denied.

We will stand mighty for peace and freedom, and maintain a strong defense against 
terror and destruction. Our children will sleep free from the threat of nuclear, 
chemical or biological weapons. Ports and airports, farms and factories will thrive 
with trade and innovation and ideas. And the world's greatest democracy will lead a 
whole world of democracies.

Our land of new promise will be a nation that meets its obligations -- a nation that 
balances its budget, but never loses the balance of its values. A nation where our 
grandparents have secure retirement and health care, and their grandchildren know we 
have made the reforms necessary to sustain those benefits for their time. A nation 
that fortifies the world's most productive economy even as it protects the great 
natural bounty of our water, air, and majestic land.

And in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so that the voice 
of the people will always speak louder than the din of narrow interests -- regaining 
the participation and deserving the trust of all Americans.

Fellow citizens, let us build that America, a nation ever moving forward toward 
realizing the full potential of all its citizens. Prosperity and power -- yes, they 
are important, and we must maintain them. But let us never forget: The greatest 
progress we have made, and the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the 
human heart. In the end, all the world's wealth and a thousand armies are no match 
for the strength and decency of the human spirit.

Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there, 
at the other end of this Mall, in words that moved the conscience of a nation. Like 
a prophet of old, he told of his dream that one day America would rise up and treat 
all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart. Martin Luther King's 
dream was the American Dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to 
live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and labors. And 
by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.

To that effort I pledge all my strength and every power of my office. I ask the 
members of Congress here to join in that pledge. The American people returned to 
office a President of one party and a Congress of another. Surely, they did not do 
this to advance the politics of petty bickering and extreme partisanship they plainly 
deplore. No, they call on us instead to be repairers of the breach, and to move on 
with America's mission.

America demands and deserves big things from us -- and nothing big ever came from 
being small. Let us remember the timeless wisdom of Cardinal Bernardin, when facing 
the end of his own life. He said: "It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time, 
on acrimony and division."

Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time. For all of us are 
on that same journey of our lives, and our journey, too, will come to an end. But the 
journey of our America must go on.

And so, my fellow Americans, we must be strong, for there is much to dare. The demands 
of our time are great and they are different. Let us meet them with faith and courage, 
with patience and a grateful and happy heart. Let us shape the hope of this day into 
the noblest chapter in our history. Yes, let us build our bridge.A bridge wide enough 
and strong enough for every American to cross over to a blessed land of new promise.

May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, 
say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American 
Dream alive for all her children; with the American promise of a more perfect union 
a reality for all her people; with America's bright flame of freedom spreading 
throughout all the world.

From the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go forth. 
May God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead -- and always, always
bless our America.
