Woodrow Wilson Inaugural Address, March 5, 1917

 Woodrow Wilson Inaugural Address, March 5, 1917

 

 

...We are being forged into a new unity amidst the fires that now blaze throughout the world [ World War I ].  In their ardent threat we shall, in God's Providence, let us hope, be purged of faction and division, purified of the errant humors of party and private interest, and shall stand forth in the days to come with a new dignity of national pride and spirit.   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 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.