Message on the Observance of Independence Day, 1979

We celebrate the Fourth of July as our Independence Day, not because we had achieved our independence on that day-years of suffering and sacrifice would pass before that was finally achieved-but because it was the day when we declared our irrevocable will for freedom.

Freedom and justice cannot be secured permanently. They must be constantly re-won in a thousand daily battles. The great heritage we received from our forefathers was not a perfected nation, but the dream of a nation dedicated to the fulfillment of the highest human ideals and aspirations and the evidence of their will and progress in making that dream a reality.

That dream has caught fire in the hearts of succeeding generations of Americans and in the hearts of people throughout the world. It is the strength behind our power, the force that unites and energizes us in the continuing struggle to bring freedom and justice to all people.

JIMMY CARTER