INAUGURAL ADDRESSES OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
Franklin D. Roosevelt
THIRD INAUGURAL ADDRESS
MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1941
***
The only chief executive to serve more than two terms, President
Roosevelt took office for the third time as Europe and Asia
engaged in war. The oath of office was administered by Chief
Justice Charles Evans Hughes on the East Portico of the Capitol.
The Roosevelts hosted a reception for several thousand visitors at
the White House later that day.
***
On each national day of inauguration since 1789, the people have
renewed their sense of dedication to the United States.
In Washington's day the task of the people was to create and weld
together a nation.
In Lincoln's day the task of the people was to preserve that
Nation from disruption from within.
In this day the task of the people is to save that Nation and its
institutions from disruption from without.
To us there has come a time, in the midst of swift happenings, to
pause for a moment and take stock--to recall what our place in
history has been, and to rediscover what we are and what we may
be. If we do not, we risk the real peril of inaction.
Lives of nations are determined not by the count of years, but by
the lifetime of the human spirit. The life of a man is three-score
years and ten: a little more, a little less.
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