Remarks at the 83d Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Madam President General,¹ all of our distinguished guests this morning in Constitution Hall:

¹Mrs. Donald Spicer was president general of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Mrs. Nixon and I are very grateful for the very warm welcome you have given us on this occasion, and I want you to know that there are several reasons I am happy that we could be here for this final General Session of your 83d Congress.

First, because your president general is our neighbor in California. We are very proud of Mrs. Spicer. We are glad that she has served so well. And we would like to show our gratitude to this organization in the very, shall we say perhaps, small way, but one that may be something to all of you who have such a sense of history.

Mrs. Spicer has told me that your White House tour is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. And Mrs. Nixon is going to arrange to be away from the family quarters on that occasion--she will be in the vicinity, but not in the family quarters-- and I am going to arrange to do my office work over in the Executive Office Building. And so, for this group, when you come to the White House, we are opening up not only the public floors, the ground floor and the first floor, but the whole second floor where the family lives.

The White House Rose Garden will be open. It now has tulips in it, incidentally, but you will enjoy seeing that. But perhaps you will also enjoy going into the Cabinet Room, which will be open for your inspection, and also the President's Oval Office. So, that is our offer to you.

I wish that we could give each of you a little memento when you come there, but there are just a few too many, I think, scheduled for the tour. Just don't take anything that is nailed down, that is all we ask.

This 83d Congress is, it seems to me, a very appropriate occasion on which to address an event that will occur in just o years. I refer, of course, to the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution.

That will be a great year, the year 1976, for America--a great year, particularly, for those who are interested in its history and for those also who are interested in its future. I know that this organization has been doing a great deal of thinking about how it could contribute to the success of that Bicentennial celebration, and I express the thanks of the Nation for what you have done for Independence Hall, your gift to the Nation, the second floor of that historic building that has been restored by reason of the contributions you have made. And also, I express appreciation for what you are doing and are going to do in each of your States and each of your communities in seeing that we have not just a celebration in Independence Hall, where it all began, but throughout the Nation.

Incidentally, I should not say in Independence Hall where it all began, because there are people from Virginia and Boston and other places here who think it began there.

But we know that this organization, among all the great organizations of America, will have its heart in this celebration, will have its heart, and you will give of your funds, of your time, of your energy, and of your spirit to make it one that all Americans will appreciate and, particularly, young Americans will find inspiration in.

I would like to address this morning perhaps the more profound subject of what the American Revolution was really all about, and this, of course, could be a long dissertation, but I think I can summarize what most observers believe the American Revolution was about in a very few words.

First, it had a distinct quality in one respect. The American Revolution was not something that just occurred in 1776 and then ended. It was not an event that you look back to and say, on that day the American Revolution started, it was finished when Yorktown came, and then it was all over. America was independent. That, of course, was a great event. But the American Revolution is distinct because it has been a continuing revolution, a continuing revolution throughout the 200-year history of our Nation.

Americans are not a people that are ever satisfied with things as they are. Americans are a people that want progress. They want more opportunity, more freedom, more progress, more prosperity for their children than they had for themselves. And so our Revolution began, it is true, in 1776, but it is continuing throughout our whole history and will continue in the future, and this is one thing we must remember as we celebrate that great day of the past.

There is another thought that occurs to anyone who observes the American Revolution--and any revolution for that matter--and it is a very troubling thought in a sense, because when you read through the pages of history, you will find that governments, civilizations have a tendency to be weakest when they appear to be richest.

I know many of you have been to Rome and to Athens. Perhaps at night you have walked, as I have, through the Forum. You have seen that all that remains of the great Roman civilization; all that remains of the great Athenian civilization of ancient Greece are those magnificent columns, glistening in the night. And when you read the history of what happened to Athens and Rome--and others, for that matter, could be used as examples but when you read that history, you find that those civilizations came down not because they were poor and not when they were poor, but when they were very rich; not because they were weak materially, from a military standpoint, because at that time they were quite strong.

It was because they had lost something within; they had lost their sense of mission, their sense of destiny, their sense of character. They turned inward. They were thinking only selfishly of themselves, and as a result, other peoples, not as civilized, not as rich, not apparently as strong, overran them. And all that is left are the columns.

Drive through Washington today. It is a magnificent city. You helped to make it magnificent with this building. You see the Archives Building with its columns and the Capitol and the White House, and you wonder, how will it be 2-300 years from now? Will they simply be shells? Probably not. But even as troublesome, will they simply be buildings in which people work and so forth, but in which the sense of greatness that now inspires this Nation is gone, has disappeared, and at a time that we were strong and rich, we became weak.

That is something we should think about as we celebrate our 200th anniversary. And we should think about it because we must remember that the additional characteristic about the American Revolution--in addition to the fact that it was not simply a single event that occurred and stopped 200 years ago, or 195 years ago, that it was a continuing revolution-the other characteristic is that from the beginning, Americans, their leaders, have spoken of our Revolution having meaning not only to ourselves but to others as well.

And from the beginning, that meaning in terms of the Revolution having meaning to others as well was not in terms of conquest, but having meaning in terms instead of destroying freedom, of defending freedom; instead of destroying peace, of defending the peace.

That was the American ideal. It is a strain that runs through American history from the beginning. Jefferson said it, you remember, at the time of the Declaration of Independence. He said we act not just for ourselves but for the whole human race.

Now, imagine what a statement that was. Thirteen colonies, they were weak, they were poor, they could mean nothing in terms of the balance of power in the world. But Jefferson and those who signed the Declaration and later the Constitution believed in their hearts that they were acting not only for themselves, the 3 million who lived on the Atlantic seaboard, but for generations to come in America and for the whole human race. And so, that gave them a sense of greatness within, which inspired people throughout the world.

Go down to the Lincoln Memorial. You will see the immortal words from his great speeches, and you will see one phrase to the effect that we will seek a just and lasting peace, not only among ourselves but between all nations.

Now, for Lincoln to say that or for some leader of the South to say that at a time that America was just completing a terrible civil war, was highly unrealistic; that America, weak as it was after such a war, could play a role, not only for peace among ourselves but between all nations, was unthinkable to any pragmatic observer of the international scene. But Lincoln believed it, and Lee believed it, and those who got together after that terrible strife all continued to believe it.

Woodrow Wilson said it quite eloquently, I thought, when he spoke at Independence Hall on July 4, 1912 [1914]. He said a patriotic American is never so proud of the flag under which he lives as when it becomes for others as well as for himself a symbol of hope and liberty.

When Wilson said that, that did have, from an international standpoint, more meaning because America was stronger then, and what happened in America and what America did abroad would have made and did make a very great difference in the world.

So, now we come to today, 2 years from the 200th anniversary.

America has just finished a very difficult war, the longest in our history, one which divided Americans at home, one which, however, we can be proud we saw through to the end and, as a result, that millions who would otherwise be under a government imposed upon them against their will are now choosing their own way.

And I would only suggest at a time when so much attention is directed to those who deserted America, let's give honor to the 2 1/2 million who served America in Vietnam, because at this time, the future of America's own security and the future of peace in the world is going to depend upon a number of factors, and one of them is the strength of America militarily.

Should we allow those voices to prevail who want America to reduce its strength so that we become the second strongest nation in the world, then America no longer can play the great role of peacemaker in the world, which is our destiny.

So, as far as that strength is concerned, let us also remember it is not simply in ships and in guns and in tanks and all the instruments of warfare that we hear and read so much about, but it is in the men and the women who serve in the Armed Forces. It is a volunteer Armed Forces, and I say, honor them, respect them, because that is why they will go in.

And Mrs. Spicer, who has in her family--I just can't understand why she discriminated against the Army, but the Marines and the Navy are all there--let's honor them all for their volunteer service.

It would be easy to stop there, but that wouldn't be enough because that comes back to the original theme. When America was poor and when it was weak, it nevertheless captured the imagination of the world, because it stood for something other than material strength and wealth. And when America is strong and when it is rich, it will not have meaning for the world unless it stands for something else than material strength and wealth. And that is where this great celebration can serve this Nation with your help.

We must maintain our strength militarily. We must continue our revolution which will increase the opportunity, the freedom, the progress for all of the people within this country.

These are great goals, but we must also be reminded of the fact that whenever a nation--as is the case with an individual--but whenever a nation ceases to have a goal greater than itself, it ceases to be a great nation.

I often recall what President de Gaulle said to me in 1963. He said France is never her true self unless she is engaged in a great enterprise.

Now, great enterprises can mean things that are bad---conquest, for example---but great enterprises can also mean things that are very good, peace for all people and the opportunity for all people to choose their own way. That is what America's great enterprise is.

Why did we come into the world? Oh, there are many answers to that. We came into the world because we were a haven for those who were oppressed from the nations of Europe and other nations, perhaps, in the world. We came into the world because here was a land where people could get a new start and build a new nation with new ideals.

But I believe, as Jefferson believed and as Lincoln believed and as Wilson believed , that America came into the world not just for ourselves but for the contribution that we as Americans could make to all of mankind, not in terms of what we could give to them materially, but more important, in terms of the leadership we could provide to those forces in the world which are essential if we are to have and to enjoy a world of peace, true peace, peace meaning more than absence of war.

Now of course, I know there are those who would suggest, why us? Haven't we done enough? We had World War I, and then the sons of those who fought in World War I fought in World War II. And after we had the United Nations in San Francisco, we thought, that is the end of it all. And then within a few years, the brothers of those, the younger ones who had fought in World War II, were fighting in Korea. And then, after that was ended in 1953, their younger brothers and their sons were fighting in Vietnam.

We have been in this century and seen four wars, and we have never had a generation without a war. And so now the great test is, can America, as we approach our 200th anniversary, can we meet the challenge that is ours of trying to provide the leadership so that the next generation can be the first generation in a century to be one that will not have war.

Well, I firmly believe that is the case. I know that it is not easy. I know from having dealt with and met the leaders of the world, those who have ideologies completely different from ours and antagonistic to ours as well as those who are friendly to ours, I know that the seeds of conflict and confrontation are always there, ready to grow again, unless there is in the world a great nation ready to assume the responsibility to be sure that we can avoid confrontations and bring about that consultation which can lead to a peaceful settlement of differences.

And so, it comes down then to this: On this 200th anniversary, let us dedicate ourselves to a strong America militarily, let us dedicate ourselves to a prosperous America with opportunity and freedom such as even we have not enjoyed. But above all, let us dedicate ourselves to a renewal of America's sense of mission, America's sense of patriotism, America's sense of destiny, because it is only with that that we will be able to provide that leadership which can only come from here; because as you look around the world today, there is no other nation in the free world among the great industrial powers that can assume that leadership.

And so, I say to you in conclusion of this great conference, the peace of the world is in our hands. We do not say that in an arrogant sense. We do not say that because we wanted it there. We say that because it is a fact of history. It is there.

And what we do or fail to do will determine the fate of 210 million Americans, but also of 3 billion people on this Earth, for not only a generation but perhaps for generations and even centuries to come. That is what the facts are. That is the challenge.

And so, on this 200th anniversary, let us look back and be proud. Let us look at where we are and be thankful, but let us look to the future and say, America was great in the beginning because we realized then that we meant something bigger than ourselves. We were willing to sacrifice for a cause which went beyond ourselves. And America today will meet the challenge of world leadership, and we will leave a legacy, a legacy that Jefferson dreamed about, Lincoln, Wilson, the Presidents, the common people, all the peoples throughout our history.

We, on the 200th anniversary of our Nation, at a time that a civilization has the danger of going downward because it is rich, of becoming weak because it is rich, of tearing itself apart with internal strife because of its wealth, rather, not because it does not have it, that at this time there will be a renewal of America's sense of destiny, so that we can leave a legacy such as no generation has left in any nation in this century, a legacy of peace for all mankind, of real peace, that not only Americans can enjoy but that others as well can enjoy.

There is a great goal. And as we dedicate ourselves to that great goal, that American Revolution that you represent so well here in this great hall will get a new sense of life, a new sense of vigor, a new sense of destiny that will make it live for another 200 years and long after that, I am sure.

Thank you.