US Presidency
1971

Those men who met at Philadelphia left a great heritage because they had a vision, not only of what the nation was but of what it could become. As I think of that vision, I recall that America was founded as the land of the open door, as a haven for the oppressed, a land of opportunity, a place of refuge, of hope. When the first settlers opened the door of America three and a half centuries ago, they came to escape persecution and to find opportunity, and they left wide the door of welcome for others to follow. When the 13 Colonies declared their independence almost two centuries ago, they opened the door to a new vision of liberty and of human fulfillment, not just for an elite but for all. To the generations that followed, America's was the open door that beckoned millions from the old world to the new in search of a better life, a freer life, a fuller life, and in which, by their own decisions, they could shape their own destinies.