Let each man see to it that
the dedication is in his own heart, the high purpose of the Nation in
his own mind, ruler of his own will and desire.
I stand here and have taken the high and solemn oath to which you have
been audience because the people of the United States have chosen me for
this august delegation of power and have by their gracious judgment
named me their leader in affairs. I know now what the task means. I
realize to the full the responsibility which it involves. I pray God I
may be given the wisdom and the prudence to do my duty in the true
spirit of this great people. I am their servant and can succeed only as
they sustain and guide me by their confidence and their counsel. The
thing I shall count upon, the thing without which neither counsel nor
action will avail, is the unity of America,--an America united in
feeling, in purpose, and in its vision of duty, of opportunity, and of
service. We are to beware of all men who would turn the tasks and the
necessities of the Nation to their own private profit or use them for
the building up of private power; beware that no faction or disloyal
intrigue break the harmony or embarrass the spirit of our people; beware
that our Government be kept pure and incorrupt in all its parts.
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