President Biden's Inaugural Speech (January 2021)

A story that might sound like a song that means a lot to me, it's called American Anthem.

That America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world.

So now on this hallowed ground where just a few days ago violence sought to shake the Capitol's very foundations, we come together as one nation under God - indivisible - to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

We will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era.

And I know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength, the strength of our nation, as does President Carter, who I spoke with last night who cannot be with us today, but who we salute for his lifetime of service.

Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.

The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.

This is democracy's day.

Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war and we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

The right to dissent peacefully.

It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy - unity.

In another January on New Year's Day in 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

The rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism, that we must confront and we will defeat.

To retreat into competing factions.

So now on this hallowed ground where just a few days ago violence sought to shake the Capitol's very foundations, we come together as one nation under God - indivisible - to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we're willing to stand in the other person's shoes, as my mom would say.

So now on this hallowed ground where just a few days ago violence sought to shake the Capitol's very foundations, we come together as one nation under God - indivisible - to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

We face an attack on our democracy, and on truth, a raging virus, a stinging inequity, systemic racism, a climate in crisis, America's role in the world.

Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war and we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

As we look ahead in our uniquely American way, restless, bold, optimistic, and set our sights on a nation we know we can be and must be, I thank my predecessors of both parties.

We must set aside politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation, one nation.

The battle is perennial and victory is never secure.

We need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter.

And I pledge this to you.

As we look ahead in our uniquely American way, restless, bold, optimistic, and set our sights on a nation we know we can be and must be, I thank my predecessors of both parties.

We've learned again that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and, at this hour my friends, democracy has prevailed.

In another January on New Year's Day in 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal, that we are all created equal, and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism and fear have torn us apart.

And I know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength, the strength of our nation, as does President Carter, who I spoke with last night who cannot be with us today, but who we salute for his lifetime of service.

And here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground.

We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.

The rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism, that we must confront and we will defeat.

Sustained by faith, driven by conviction and devoted to one another and the country we love with all our hearts.

We face an attack on our democracy, and on truth, a raging virus, a stinging inequity, systemic racism, a climate in crisis, America's role in the world.

The rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism, that we must confront and we will defeat.

We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we're willing to stand in the other person's shoes, as my mom would say.

Look, I understand that many of my fellow Americans view the future with fear and trepidation.

It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy - unity.

We'll press forward with speed and urgency for we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibility.

A once in a century virus that silently stalks the country has taken as many lives in one year as in all of World War Two.