On 20 January 1961 the newly elected US president, John F Kennedy, gave an inaugural address, he told America:
"We observe today not a victory of a party but the celebration of freedom – symbolising an end as well as a beginning – signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and almighty god the same solemn oath our forefathers prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago, The world is very different now, for man hold in his hands the power to abolish all forms of poverty and to abolish all forms of human life. And yet there same revolutionary beliefs our forbearers fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of god…
Finally, whether you are citizens of America of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice that we shall ask of you, with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, lets us go forth and lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth, gods work must truly be our own".