Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the oath of office
for the fifth time. The President addressed the large crowd from a
pavilion on the East Front of the Capitol. The address was
televised by satellite around the world.
***
Senator Dirksen, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, President
Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, my fellow Americans--and my fellow
citizens of the world community:
I ask you to share with me today the majesty of this moment. In
the orderly transfer of power, we celebrate the unity that keeps
us free.
Each moment in history is a fleeting time, precious and unique.
But some stand out as moments of beginning, in which courses are
set that shape decades or centuries.
This can be such a moment.
Forces now are converging that make possible, for the first time,
the hope that many of man's deepest aspirations can at last be
realized. The spiraling pace of change allows us to contemplate,
within our own lifetime, advances that once would have taken
centuries.
In throwing wide the horizons of space, we have discovered new
horizons on earth.
For the first time, because the people of the world want peace,
and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on
the side of peace.
Eight years from now America will celebrate its 200th anniversary
as a nation.
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