Fourth Inaugural Address
On January 20, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term of office as president of the United States. At that time the Battle of the Bulge was raging in Europe and the invasion of Iwo Jima was about to start. The war was far from over, and uncertainty about the future still gripped the nation. In his inaugural address Roosevelt sought to share a vision of hope and peace for the world based on his faith in God’s guidance:
As I stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of office in the presence of my fellow countrymen—in the presence of our God—I know that it is America’s purpose that we shall not fail. In the days and the years that are to come we shall work for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for a total victory in war…
We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust—or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding and the confidence and the courage which flow from conviction.
The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for our freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world.
So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly—to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.504
President Roosevelt’s comments perfectly reflect America’s situation in the present time, and his prayer remains totally relevant today. Human beings are clearly not capable of achieving peace on Earth by means of their own resources. Only in God will this sought-for state ever be found.
The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
—Psalms 33:11–12