US Presidency
2019

They did not know if they would grow old. But they knew that America had to prevail. Their cause was this Nation, and generations yet unborn. Why did they do it? They did it for America, they did it for us. Everything that has come since, our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science and discovery, our unrivaled progress toward equality and justice, all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tears and courage and vision of the Americans who came before. Think of this Capitol, think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empire. Here tonight, we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii; from the snowy woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona; from the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California.