First Inaugural Address

Ronald Wilson Reagan: First
Inaugural Address delivered 20January, 1981
Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President
Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:
重要なTo a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the平凡

な秩 序 だ ってhistory of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as
called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, andfew of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every
4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this権力移譲

tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition

process, you have shown awatching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system whichguarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your防壁people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwarkof ourRepublic.
The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an苦痛

economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst
歪める

不利益をもたらす

sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes倹

約

苦 労 し て い る

thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens toshatter the lives of millions of our people.
稼働していないIdle

industries have cast workers into unemployment, human misery, and personalindignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which
penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.
公共支出

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades we
赤字抵 当 に 入 れ る

have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the
temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee
転覆

tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

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お金を 借 り る こ と で

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited
period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound bythat same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no
misunderstanding: We are going to begin to act, beginning today.
The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go awayin days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we as
Americans have the capacity now, as we've had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done
砦to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is theproblem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become toocomplex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior togovernment for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing
himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in公平

なand out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable ,選 び 出 すwith no one group singled out to pay a higher price.
We hear much of special interest groups. Well, our concern must be for a special interest
group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic andracial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women whoraise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep ourhomes, and heal us when we're sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks,
織工種tabbies , and truck drivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed

calledAmericans.
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that偏見

provides equal opportunities for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry
差or別discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work.
暴騰Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. Allmust share in the productive work of this "new beginning," and all must share in the報奨

bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of oursystem and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America, at peace with itself
and the world.

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見直しをす

る

So, as we begin, let us take inventory . We are a nation that has a government—not theさかさまに

other w a yaround. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our

government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check andreverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consentof the governed.
削る機関

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and todemand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal
Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be remindedthat the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the FederalGovernment.
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away withgovernment. It is rather to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not窒 息 さ せ る

ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster
息の根をとめる

productivity, not s t i f l e it.
If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no解き放つother people on Earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy andindividual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom andthe dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any otherplace on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been
unwilling to pay that price.
偶然の一致～に匹敵するふさわ

しいIt is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the侵略intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growthof government. It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to
運 命 と な る

small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline.
I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that
自 由 に な る

will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin
an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength.
And let us renew our faith and our hope.
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there
are not heroes; they just don't know where to look. You can see heroes every day going inand out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of usIIIFirst Inaugural Address
and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter, and they're on both sides of企

業家that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea whocreate new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They're individuals and families whose taxes
慈 善 事 業support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and愛国主義education. Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life.
Now, I have used the words "they" and "their" in speaking of these heroes. I could say "you"and "your," because I'm addressing the heroes of whom I speak—you, the citizens of thisblessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes,
and the goals of this administration, so help me God.
同情性質

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love
our country and not love our countrymen; and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall,自 給

自 足 で き る

heal them when they're sick, and provide opportunity to make them self- sufficient so they
will be equal in fact and not just in theory?
絶対的なCan we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal
断固たるand言 葉 を 借 り る とemphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I've just taken
取 り 仕 切 る

崩壊with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.
In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy
and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between thevarious levels of government. Progress may be slow, measured in inches and feet, not miles,
but we will progress. It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back資力過酷なwithin its means , and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first妥

協priorities, and on these principles there will be no compromise.
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest
among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Congress,絶望する

said to his fellow Americans, "Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of .... On
幸運

you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions uponwhich rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to dowhat must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and ourchildren's children. And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as

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having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom
灯台and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.
To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties
and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty.
We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on
支配権

their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.
敵対者

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded
熱望that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it,
sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it, now or ever.
自制Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be意

志の弱 さ

misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security,
勝つwe will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we doso we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.
武器庫

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so手

強いformidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon ouradversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let
餌食にする

that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.
I'm told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that
I'm deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.
It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inaugural Day in future years it should bedeclared a day of prayer.
This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been held, as you've been told, on
景色

this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on
this city's special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to thegiants on whose shoulders we stand.
Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man, George Washington, father of謙譲

our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of
あ る一面で は堂々とした

revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to言 葉 の 巧 み さThomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. And then,VFirst Inaugural Addressワシントンにある長方形の人工池

品 位 の あ る

beyond the Reflecting P o o l , the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever
would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham
Lincoln.
ポ ト マ ッ ク 河

Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore theア ー リ ン ト ン

国営墓地

sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery , with its row upon row of simple white
墓標

十 字 架 を負う

ダビデの星

ユダヤ教のシンボル合 計～になる

ほ ん の 少 しmarkers bearing crosses or Stars of D a v i d . They add up to only a tiny fraction of
the price that has been paid for our freedom.
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives
ベ ロー の 森

第一次世界大戦

アルゴンヌ

第一次世界大戦

オマハ・ビーチ

第二次世界大戦

サレルノ 第二次世界大戦

ended in places called Belleau W o o d , T h e Argonne, Omaha B e a c h, S a l e r n o , andポ ー ク

チョップヒル

朝鮮戦争

halfway around the world on Guadalcanal , Tarawa , Pork

ガ ダ ル カ ナ ル

ChopHill , the Chosin

朝鮮戦

タラ

ワ

長津湖

争

Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.
Under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town
レ イ ン ボ ウ部隊

barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division . There, on the大隊

western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy
砲火artillery fire.
見返しの白紙のページ

We're told that on his body was found a diary. On the f l y l e a f under the heading, "MyPledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore I will work, I
will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, [and] I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if
the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin
Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require,
however, our best effort and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in ourcapacity to perform great deeds, to believe that together with God's help we can and will
resolve the problems which now confront us.
And after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.
God bless you, and thank you.

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