Let me say first that i accept the nomination of the Democratic Party. I accept it without reservation. And with only one obligation. The obligation to devote every effort of my mind and soul to lead our party back to victory and our nation to greatness. I am grateful that you have with a platform to run on. This is essential to the Human Dignity of all men. And our first principle. This is a platform on which i can run. I am grateful that i will rely on the many others. They bring unity and strength to our platform and articulate. One of the most articulate men of modern times, at least even sin. A great fighter for our needs and our people, stuart symington. [applause] and my traveling companion in wisconsin and west virginia, senator hubert humphrey. [applause] on paul butler, our devoted and courageous chairman, and on that fighting campaigner whose support i welcome, president harry truman. [applause] i feel a lot safer with all of them on my side. And i am proud of the contrast of our republican competitors. For their ranks are so thin that not one challenger has dared to put his head up in the last 12 months. [applause] i am fully aware of the fact that the Democratic Party, by nominating someone of my faith, has taken on what many regard as a new and hazardous risk, new at least since 1928. The Democratic Party has placed its confidence in the American People, and in their ability to render a free and fair judgment, and in my ability to render a free and fair judgment. [applause] to uphold the constitution and my oath of office. To reject any kind of religious pressure or obligation that might directly or indirectly interfere with my conduct of the presidency in the natural interest. [applause] my record of 14 years in supporting public education, supporting complete separation of church and state, and resisting pressure of sources of any kind, should be clear by now to everyone. [applause] i hope that no american, i hope that no american, considering the really Critical Issues facing this country, will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me because of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant. [applause] i am telling you what you are entitled to know, as i come before you seeking your support for the most powerful office in the free world. I am saying to you that my decisions on every Public Policy will be my own as an american, as a democrat, and as a free man. [applause] i mention all of this only because this country faces so many serious challenges, so many great opportunities, so many burdensome responsibilities, that i hope that it is those great matters that we can address ourselves in the coming months. And if this statement of mine makes it easier to concentrate on our nations problems, then i am glad that i have made it. [applause] under any circumstances, the victory we seek in november will not be easy. We know that in our hearts, we know that our opponents will invoke the name of Abraham Lincoln on behalf of their candidate, despite the fact that his political career has often seemed to show Charity Towards none, and malice towards all. We know that it will not be easy to campaign against a man who has spoken and voted on every side of every issue. [applause] mr. Nixon may feel that it is his turn now, after the new deal and the fair deal. But before he deals, someone is going to cut the cards. [applause] that someone may be the millions of americans who voted for president eisenhower, but would balk at electing his successor. For just as historians tell us that richard i was not fit to fill the shoes of the bold henry ii, and that Richard Cornwall was not fit to wear the medal of his uncle, they might add in future years that Richard Nixon did not measure up to the footsteps of dwight d. Eisenhower. [applause] that he could carry on the party policies, the policies of nixon and benson and dirksen and goldwater, but the nation cannot afford such a luxury. We could afford a coolidge following harding, and perhaps we could afford a pierce following fillmore, but after buchanan, this nation needed lincoln. After taft, we needed wilson. And after hoover, we needed franklin roosevelt. [applause] but we are not merely running against mr. Nixon. Our task is not merely one of itemizing republican failures, nor is that only necessary, for the families forced from the farm do not need to tell them for the plight. The unemployed miners and textile workers know that the decision is before them. The families without a decent home, the parents of children without a decent school, they all know that it is time for a change. [applause] we are not here to curse the darkness, we are here to light a candle. [applause] as Winston Churchill said on taking office some 20 years ago, if we open a quarrel between the present in the past and be in danger of losing the future. Our concern must be with the future because the world is changing and the old era is ending, and the old ways will not do. Abroad the balance of power is shifting, new and more terrible weapons are coming into use. One third of the world may be free, but one third is a victim of a cruel repression and the other third is rock i and hunger and disease. Communist influence has penetrated into asia, it stands in the middle east, and now, some 90 miles off the coast of florida. Friends have slipped into neutrality and neutrals have slipped into hostility. As our keynoter reminded us, the president who began his career by going to korea ended it by staying away from japan. [applause] the world has been close to war before, but now man, who has survived all previous threats, has taken into his mortal hands the power to exterminate his species seven times over. Here at home, the future is equally revolutionary. The new deal, and the fair deal put bold measures for their generations, but now this is a new generation, a technological output, explosion on the farms has led to an output explosion. An urban population revolution has overcrowded our schools and flooded our cities and crowded our slums. A peaceful resolution for human rights, demanding an end to Racial Discrimination in all parts of our community life, has strained at leashes imposed by a timid executive leadership. It is time, in short [applause] it is time, in short, for a new init is time, in short, for a new generation of leadership. All over the world, particularly in the newer nations, young men are coming to power, men who are not bound by the traditions of the past. Men who are not blinded by the old fears and hate send rivalries, young men who can cast off the old slogans and the old delusions. The republican nominee, of course, is a young man, but his approach is as old as mckinley. [applause] his party is the party of the past, the party of memories. His speeches are generalities from Poor Richards almanac. Their platform, made up of all leftover democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is for the status quo, and today there is no status quo. For i stand here tonight, facing west on what was once the last frontier, from the lands that stretched 3000 miles behind us, the pioneers gave up their safety, their comfort, and sometimes their lives to build our new west. They were not the captives of their own doubt, or the prisoners of their own. They were determined to make the world strong and free, an example to the world, to overcome its hazards and its hardships, to conquer the enemies that threatened within and without. Some would say that those struggles are all over, that all the horizons have been explored, that all the battles have been won, that there is no longer an american frontier. But i charge that no one in this convention would agree with that sentiment. For the problems are not all solved, and the battles are not all won, and we stand today on the edge of a new frontier, the frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats. Woodrow wilsons new freedom promised our nation a new economic framework. Franklin roosevelts new deal promised security and succor to those in need. But the new frontier of which i speak is not a set of promises. It is a set of challenges. It sums up not what i intend to offer to the American People, but what i intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride. [applause] it appeals to our pride, not our security. It holds out the promise of more sacrifice, instead of more security. A new frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered providence of ignorance and and prejudice, Unanswered Questions of poverty and surplus. Leadership, not salesmanship. And the only valid a test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. A tired nation, said david lloyd george, is a tory nation. And the United States today cannot afford to be either tired or tory. [applause] there may be those who wish to hear more, more promises to this group or that, more harsh rhetoric about the men in the kremlin as a substitute for policy, more assurances of a golden future where taxes are always low and the subsidies are always high. But my promises are in the platform that you have adopted. Our ends will not be won by rhetoric, and we can only have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves. [applause] for the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand at this frontier at a turning point of history. We must prove all over again to a watching world, as we stand on a most conspicuous stage, whether this nation conceived as it is with its freedom of choice, its opportunity, and range of alternatives can compete with the singleminded , can compete with a single mind and the communist system. Can a nation organized and governed such as ours do it . That is the real question. Have with the nerve and the will . Agewe carry through at an where we will witness not only also aakthroughs, but mastery of the ocean and the tides. In the inside of mens minds. That is the question of the new frontier. That is the choice that our nation must make. A choice that lies not merely between two men, two parties, but the dream of Public Interest in private comfort between National Greatness and national declines. Between the fresh air of progress and the stale stench of fear of normalcy and dedication. All mankind waits upon our decision. The whole world waits to see what we shall do and we cannot fail that trust and we cannot fail to try. Road in newa long hampshire, many months ago, to this crowded convention city. Journeyns another long taken tier cities and homes across the United States. Give me your help and your hand and your voice. [applause] recall with me the words that those that call upon the lord may renew their strength. Weary. L run and not be as we face the coming great challenge, we, too, shall wait upon the lord and ask that he renew our strength. And we shall be equal to the task. And we shall prevail. When Richard Nixon excepted the republican nomination for president in 1960, he was the incumbent Vice President after spending eight years in the eisenhower administration. Earlier, he was a wreck elected to two terms in the u. S. House. Richard nixon accepted the nomination at the Republican National convention in chicago. More bags of balloons have been released. Its a good year for balloons. Some came last night filled with still linedased are up against the rafters. And we found what you may possibly hear on your home receiver Something Like a telegraph key in operation. It is caused by these bursting balloons. This is nixon. The Vice President s wife and his mother. Two little girls. Get in thea way to costume. And it is a bright green. Nbc asked misses nixon to step out long enough to ask her a few questions. She said the children are so excited. The ticket. The demonstration may be a little hard to stop. It,ave been hearing about the first time he has been here himself. [crowd noise] we have to give the states banners a chance to get to their spots. They will do it as quickly as they can. They are on tv. Its a huge gap. There is texas heard from again. The delegates are still pacing and carrying signs. Most of them, anyway. [crowd chanting we want nixon] take theirgates will places as quickly as they can. And if you will just be quiet, you will have dick nixon. [applause] mr. Nixon mr. Chairman. Convention. This my fellow americans. I have made many speeches in my life. And never have i found it more difficult to find the words adequate to express what i feel as i find them tonight. To stand here before this great convention. To hear your expression of , fortion for me, for pat our daughters, for my mother. For all of us representing our party. It is, of course, the greatest moment of my life. [applause] and i just want you to know that herely prayer as i stand , ithat in the months ahead may be in some way worthy of the whichion and the trust you have presented to me on this occasion. And everything that i say, everything that i do, everything that i think in this campaign and afterwords. And may i say also that [applause] may i say also that i have been wanting to come to this convention, but because of the protocol that makes it necessary for a candidate not to attend the convention until the nominations are over, i had to look on it on television. Know that if you to have never been so proud of my party as i have been in the last three days. And as i have compared this convention, the conduct of our delegates, and our speakers of what went on in my state of california two weeks ago. And i congratulate chairman holub and chairman morgan. And those that helped make the convention one that will stand in the annals of our party forever as one of the finest we have ever held. Have you ever stop to think of the memories he will take away from this convention . The things that run through my mind are these. That first day at the magnificent speeches. Mr. Hoover with his great lesson for the American People. Walter judge was one of the most outstanding keynote addresses in either party in history. [applause] and last night, our beloved president to making the greatest speech i ever heard him make before this convention. Your platform and the forificent presentation these and for so many other things. I want to congratulate you tonight and thank you for the bottom of my heart and on behalf of americans, not just republicans. Making us proud of our country and of the twoparty system. You have done. [applause] tonight, i want to thank my running mate, a world statesman of the first rank. Fromiend and colleague massachusetts. In refreshing contrast to what happened in los angeles, you nominated a man that shares my views on the great issues and who will work with me and not ournst me in carrying out magnificent mantle. [applause] and may i say during this week that we republicans that feel our convictions strongly have had our differences. As the speech by senator goldwater indicated yesterday [applause] in the eloquence and remarks that rockefeller indicated tonight. These differences are infant to some compared to what the ocrats infinite small inifinitesimal compared to what the democrats have done. It was eight years ago that i beingin this very place nominated as our candidate for president , one of the great men of our century. And i say to you tonight, for generations to come, americans regardless of party will gratefully remember Dwight Eisenhower as the men who brought peace to america. Man under whose leadership americans enjoy the greatest progress and prosperity in history. And above all, they will remember him as the man that andored honesty, integrity, dignity to the conduct of government in the highest office of this land. [applause] i now know to understand the next day. The next president of the united his greatl have example to follow. The next president will have new and challenging problems in the world of utmost gravity. I am sure you will understand that i alone am the man that can furnish that leadership. That question is not for me, but for you to decide. Tonight, i only ask that the thousands in this hall in the millions listening to me on television, i only ask that you make that decision in the most thoughtful way that you possibly can. Because what you decide this november will not only affect itr lives, and your future, will affect the future of millions throughout the world. Urge you to study the records of the candidates. Listen to my speeches and that of my opponents. And after you have studied our records and listens to our speeches, decide. Decide on the basis of what we , who iswhat we believe best qualified to lead america in this critical time. And to help you make this decision, i would like to discuss tonight some of the great problems which will confront the next president of the United States, and the policies i believe that we should adopt to meet them. 100 years ago in this city, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president of the United States. Will confronthich our next president will be even greater then those that confronted him. The question then was freedom for the slaves and survival of the nation. The question now is freedom for all mankind and the survival of civilization. In the choice you make. Each of you listening to me, could affect what happens in november. Thes consider what opponents offered in los angeles two weeks ago. They claim theirs was a new program. But you know what it was . It was simply the same old propositions that a Political Party should be all things to all men and nothing more than that. [applause] they promised everything to everybody with one exception. They didnt promise to pay the bill. And i say tonight, that with their convention, their platform , and their ticket, they compose the symphony of political cynicism which is out of harmony with our times today. To the key question. What should our answer be . Ill promise them because that is the only way to win. And i will tell you my answer. I happen to believe their program would be disastrous for america. It would wreck our economy and crush our peoples high hopes for a better life. And i serve notice here and now that whatever the political consequences, we are not going to try to out promise our opponents in this campaign. [cheering and applause] we are not going to make promises we cannot and should not keep, and we are not going to try to buy the peoples votes with their own money. [cheering and applause] and to those who say this position will mean political defeat, my answer is this. We have more faith than that in the good sense of the American People. Provided that people know the facts, and that is where we come in. I pledge to you tonight that we will bring the facts home to the American People and we will do it with a campaign such as this country has never seen before. [applause] i have been asked by the news man sitting on my right and my left all week long, when will this campaign began, mr. Vice president . On the day after labor day or another traditional date . This was my answer. This Campaign Begins tonight, here and now, and it goes on. [cheering and applause] and this campaign will continue from now until november 8 without any let up. I have also been asked by my friends in the press on either side here. They say, mr. Vice president , where are you going to concentrate . What states are you going to visit . And this is my answer. In this campaign, we are going to take no states for granted and we are not going to concede any states to the opposition. [cheering and applause] and i announce to you tonight and i pledge to you that i personally will carry this campaign into every one of the 50 states of this nation between now and november. [cheering and applause] and in this campaign, i make a prediction. I say that as just in 1952 and 1956, millions of democrats will join us not because they are deserting their party but because their party deserted them in los angeles two weeks ago. [cheering and applause] now, i have suggested to you what our friends of the opposition offered to the American People. What do we offer . First, we are proud to offer the best eight year record of any administration in the history of this country. [applause] but, my fellow americans, that isnt all and that isnt enough, because we happen to believe a record is not something to stand on, but something to build on. And building on the great record of this administration, we shall build a better america. We shall build an america in which we shall see the realization of the dreams, the dreams of millions of people not only in america, but throughout the world for a fuller, freer, richer life than men have ever known in the history of mankind. Let me tell you something of the goals of this better america for which we will strive. In this america, our older citizens shall not only have adequate protection against the hazards of ill health, but have greater opportunity to lead a useful and productive life by participating to the extent they are able in the nations exciting work, rather than sitting on the sidelines. [applause] and in this better america, Young Americans shall not only have the best basic education in america, but every boy and girl of ability, regardless of his financial circumstances, shall have the opportunity to develop his intellectual capabilities to the full. [applause] our wage earners shall enjoy increasingly higher wages in honest dollars with better protection against the hazards of unemployment and old age. And for those millions of americans who are still denied equality of rights and opportunity, i say, there shall be the greatest progress in human rights since the days of lincoln 100 years ago. [applause] and americas farmers, americas farmers, to whose hard work and almost incredible efficiency, we owe the fact that we are the best fed, best clothed people in the world. I say American Farmers must and will receive what they do not have today and what they deserve, a fair share of americas ever increasing prosperity. [cheering and applause] and to accomplish these things, we will develop to the full the uncapped national resources. Our water, our minerals, our power, with which we are so fortunate to be blessed in this rich land of ours. And we shall provide for our society the support they need for the research that will open exciting, new highways into the future. New highways in which we shall have progress which we cannot even dream of today. And above all, in this decade of the 1960s, this decade of decision and progress, we will witness the continued revitalization of americas morals and spiritual strength, with the renewed faith in the eternal ideals of freedom and justice under god, which are our priceless heritage as a people. [applause] im sure many of you in this hall and many of you on television might ask, but mr. Nixon, dont our opponents favor just such goals as these . My answer is, yes, of course. All americans, regardless of party, want a better life for our people. What is the difference then . And i will tell you what it is. The difference is in the way we propose to reach these goals and the record shows that our way works and theirs doesnt, and we are going to prove it in this campaign. [applause] we produce on the promises they make. We succeed where they fail,. You know why . Because we put, as governor rockefeller said in his remarks, we put our primary reliance not upon government but upon people for progress in america. That is why we will succeed. [applause] and we must never forget that the strength of america is not in its government, but in its people. And we say tonight that there is no limit to the goals america can reach, provided we stay true to the Great American tradition. A government has a role and an important one, but the role of government is not to take responsibility from people, but to put responsibility on them. It is not to dictate to people but to encourage and stimulate the creative productivity of 180 million free americans. That is the way to progress in america. In other words, we have faith in the people, and because our programs for progress are based on that faith, we shall succeed where our opponents will fail, in building the better america i have described. But if these goals are to be reached, the next president of the United States must have the wisdom to choose between the things government should and should not do. He must have the courage to stand against the pressures of the few for the good of the many. And he must have the vision to press forward on all fronts for the better life our people want. I have spoken to you with the responsibilities of our next president at home. Those which he will face abroad will be infinitely greater. Before i look to the future, let me say a word about the past. At los angeles two weeks ago, we heard the United States, our government, blamed for the sabotage of the paris conference. We heard the United States lamed blamed for the actions of communistled mobs in caracas and tokyo. American education and american scientists are inferior. We heard america, militarily and economically, is a second rate country. We heard that americas prestige is at an alltime low. This is my answer. I say that at a time that communists are running us down abroad, it is time to speak up for america at home. [cheering and applause] my friends, let us recognize america has its weaknesses. And constructive criticism of those weaknesses is essential, essential so that we can correct our weaknesses in the best traditions of our democratic process. But let us also recognize this. While it is dangerous to say nothing is wrong in america, it is just as wrong to refuse to recognize what is right about america. [applause] and tonight, i say to you, no criticism, no criticism should be allowed to obscure the truth, either at home or abroad that today america is the strongest nation militarily, economically, and ideologically in the world and we have the will, stamina, and resources to maintain that strength in the years ahead. [cheering and applause] and now, if we may turn to the future. We must recognize that the Foreign Policy problems of the 1960s will be different, and they will be vastly more difficult than those of the 1950s through which we have just passed. We are in a race tonight, my fellow americans. In a race for survival in which our lives, our fortunes, our liberties are at stake. We are ahead now, but the only way to stay ahead in a race is to move ahead. And the next president will make decisions which will determine whether we win or lose this race. What must we do . These things i believe. He must resolve, first, and above all, that the United States must never settle for second best in anything. [cheering and applause] lets look at the specifics. Militarily, the security of the United States must be put before all other considerations. Why . Not only because this is necessary to deter aggression, but because we must make sure that we are never in a position at the conference table where mr. Khrushchev or his successor is able to coerce an american president because of his strength and our weakness. [applause] diplomatically, lets look out what the problem is. Diplomatically, our next resident must be firm, firm on principle, but he must never be belligerent. He must never engage in a war of words which might heat up the International Climate to the knighting point of to the igniting point of nuclear catastrophe. But while he must never answer insults in kind, he must leave no doubt at any time that whether it is in berlin or in cuba or anywhere else in the world, america will not tolerate being pushed around by anybody. , any place. [cheering and applause] because we have already paid a terrible price in lives and resources to learn that appeasement leads not to peace, but to war. It will indeed take great leadership through these years, avoiding the extremes of belligerency on the one hand and the other. Mr. Kennedy suggested with the world needs is young leadership. And understandably, this has great appeal. Because it is true that youth does bring boldness and imagination and drive to leadership, and we need all of those things, but i think most people will agree with me tonight when i say that Prime Minister mcmillan, the chancellor are not young men, but we are indeed fortunate we have their wisdom, experience, on our side of the struggle for freedom today in the world. [cheering and applause] and i might suggest that as we consider the merits of youth and age, it is only fair to point out that it was not mr. Mcmillan , but mr. Kennedy who made the rash and impulsive suggestion that president eisenhower should have apologized his regrets to order. Ushchev for the [booing] the problems facing the next president , far more difficult and critical, will be the decisions he must make to be the to meet and defeat the enemies of freedom in an entirely different kind of struggle. And now, i want to speak to you of another kind of aggression. Where the aggressor comes not as a conqueror, but as a champion of peace, of freedom, of fering progress and plenty and hope to the unfortunate of the earth. And i say tonight that the major problem, the biggest problem confronting the next president of the United States will be to inform the people of the character of this kind of aggression, to arouse the people to the mortal danger it presents and to inspire the people to meet that danger. And he must develop a grand, new strategy which will win the battle for freedom for all men and win it without a war. That is the great task of the next president of the United States. [applause] and this will be a difficult task. Difficult because at times our next president must tell the people not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. Why, for example, it may be just as essential to the National Interest to build a dam in india as in california. It will be difficult too because we americans have always been able to see and understand the danger represented by missiles, airplanes, and bombs, but we found it hard to recognize the even more deadly dangers of the propaganda that warps the mind. The economic offenses that softens the nation. The subversion that destroys the will of a people. The fact that this threat is as i believe it to be the greatest danger we have ever confronted, this is no reason for lack of confidence in the outcome. You know why . Because there is one great theme that runs through our history as a nation. Americans are always at their best when the challenge is great. [applause] and i say tonight, that we americans shall rise to our greatest heights in this decade of the 1960s as we mount the offensive to meet those forces which threaten peace and the rights of free men everywhere. But there are things we can do and things we must do, and i would like to list them tonight. First, we must take the necessary steps which will ensure that the American Economy grows at a maximum rate, so we presentntain our massive lead over the communist plots. How do we do this . There isnt any magic formula by which government and a free nation can bring this about. The way to ensure maximum growth in america is not by expanding the functions of government but by increasing the opportunities for investment and creating enterprise for millions of individual americans. [cheering and applause] and at a time when the communists have found it necessary to turn to decentralization of their economy and turn to the use of individual incentives to increase productivity, at a time when they are turning our way, i say we must and we will not make the mistake of turning their way. [cheering and applause] there is another step we must take, a second one. Our government activity must the be reorganized. Reorganized to take the initiative from the communist and carry out a worldwide strategy for peace and freedom. The complex of agencies which have grown up through the years, for exchange of persons, for technical assistance, for information, for loans and for grants, all of these must be welded together into one powerful economic and undergical Striking Force the direct supervision and leadership of the president of the United States. [applause] because what we must do, you see, is to wage battle for peace and freedom with the same unified direction and dedication with which we wage battles and war. And if these activities are to succeed, we must develop a better Training Program for the men and women who represent our country at home and abroad. And what we need are men with Broad Knowledge of the intricacies and techniques of the strategy of communism. With a keen knowledge of the great principles for which free people stand, and above all, men who would feel a dedication which the communists cannot match, who will outlast the enemies of freedom any place they meet them in the world. This is the kind of men that we must train. [applause] and we must recognize something else. Government cannot do this job alone. The most effective components of freedom are not governments, but free people. This means everyone of you listening tonight who works or travels abroad must represent his country at its best in everything he does. [cheering and applause] and the United States, big and strong as it is, we cant do this job alone. The best brains, the fullest resources of other free nations which have as great a stake in freedom as we have, must be mobilized to participate with us to the extent they are able. Do you know what is most important of all . Above all, we must recognize that the greatest economic strength that we can imagine, the finest of government organizations, all of this will fail if we are not united and inspired by a great idea, an idea which will be a battle cry for a grand offensive to win the minds in the hearts and the souls of men. Do we have such an idea . Communists would claim over and over again that their aim is the victory of communism throughout the world. It is not enough for us to reply that our aim is to contain communism, to defend the free world against communism, to hold the line against communism, the. The only answer to a strategy of victory for the communist world is a strategy of victory for the free world. [applause] but let the victory we seek being not victory over any other nation or any other people. Let it be the victory of freedom over tyranny, of plenty over hunger, of health over disease in every country in the world. When mr. Khrushchev says our grandchildren will live under communism, let us say his grandchildren will live in freedom. [cheering and applause] when mr. Khrushchev says, the Monroe Doctrine is dead in the americas, we say the doctrine of freedom applies everywhere in the world. And i say tonight, let us welcome mr. Khrushchev, challenge the people and competition of our system, but let us reply, let us compete in the commonest world as well as the free world, because the communist dictators must not be allowed the privileged sanctuary from which to launch their guerrilla attacks on the citadels of freedom. [applause] and we say further, extend this competition. Extend it to include not only food and factories as he has suggested, but extend it to include the great spiritual and moral values which characterize our civilization. [cheering and applause] and further, let us welcome, my friends, let us welcome the challenge. Not be disconcerted by it or fail to meet it. Pe challenge presented with oles aspirations, in with peoples aspirations, in south america, asia, in africa. We cant fail in this mission. We cannot fail to assist them in finding a way to progress with freedom so that they will be faced with the terrible alternative of turning the to communism with its promise of progress at the cost of freedom. Let us make it clear to them that our aim in helping them is not merely to stop communism, but that in the Great American tradition of concern, for those less fortunate than we are, that we welcome the opportunity to work with people everywhere in helping them to achieve their aspirations. For a life of Human Dignity. And this means that our primary aim must be not to help governments, but to help people, to help people attain the life they deserve. [applause] in essence, what i am saying tonight, that our answer to the threat of the communist revolution is renewed devotion to the great ideals of the american revolution. Ideals that caught the imagination of the world 180 years ago, and it still lives in the minds and hearts of people everywhere. I could tell you tonight that all you need to do to bring all these things about that i have described is elect the right man as president of this country, tasks to him. E but, my fellow americans, america demands more than that of me and of you. When i visited the soviet union, in every factory, there was a huge sign which read, work for the victory of communism. And what America Needs today is not just the president , not just a few leaders, but millions of americans working for the victory of freedom. [applause] each american must make a total commitment to the cause of freedom and all it stands for. It means wage earners and employers making an extra effort to increase the productivity of our factories. It means our students in schools striving for excellence rather than adjusting to mediocrity. [applause] it means supporting and encouraging our scientists to explore the unknown, not just for what we can get, but for what we can learn. And it means, on the part of each american, assuming personal responsibility to make this country which we love a proud example of freedom for all the world. Each of us, for example, doing our part and ending the prejudice which 100 years after lincoln, to our shame, still embarrasses us abroad and saps our strength at home. Each of us participating in this and other political campaigns not just by going to the polls and voting, but working for the candidate of your choice. And it means, my fellow americans, it means sacrifice. But not the grim sacrifice of desperation. But the rewarding sacrifice of choice, which lifts us out of the humdrum life in which we live, and gives us the supreme satisfaction which comes from working together in a cause greater than ourselves, greater than our nation, as great as the whole world. Itself. [applause] what i propose tonight is not new. It is as old as america and as young as america. Because america will never grow old. [applause] you will remember, listen. Thomas jefferson said, we act not for ourselves alone but the whole human race. Lincoln said, in giving freedom to the slaves, we assure freedom to the free. We shall nobly serve or mainly bestanly lose the last hope of earth. And Teddy Roosevelt said, our first duty as citizens of the nation is owed to the United States. But if we are true to our principles, we must also think of serving the interests of mankind at large. And Woodrow Wilson said, a patriotic american is never so proud of the flag under which he lives as what it comes to mean to others as well as to himself. A symbol of hope and liberty. And we say today that a Young America shall fulfill her destiny by helping to build a new world in which men can live together in peace and justice and freedom with each other. [applause] but there is a difference today. An exciting difference. And the difference is because of the dramatic breakthroughs in science, for the first time in human history, we have the resources to wage a winning war against poverty, misery, and disease wherever it exists in the world. And upon the next president of the United States will rest a responsibility to inspire and to lead the forces of freedom toward this goal. I am sure now that you understand why i said at the beginning that it would be difficult for any man to say he was qualified to provide this kind of leadership. I can only say tonight to you that i believe in the American Dream because i have seen it come true in my own life. I know something [cheering and applause] i know something of the threat which confronts us. And i know something of the effort which will be needed to meet it. I have seen hate for america, not only in the kremlin but in the eyes of communists in our own country, and on the ugly face of a mob in caracas. I have heard doubts about americans, expressed not just by communists, but by sincere students and labor leaders in other countries, searching for a better life and wondering if we have lost the way. And i have seen love for america. In countries throughout the jakarta, in bogota, in the heart of siberia, in warsaw. 250,000 people on the streets on a sunday afternoon, singing, crying with tears running down long cheeks and shouting, live the United States. And i know [applause] my fellow americans, i know tonight that we must resist the hate. We must remove the doubt. Worthyve all, we must be of the love and the trust of millions on this earth for whom america is the hope of the world. 100 years ago, Abraham Lincoln was asked during the dark days of the tragic war between the states whether he thought god was on his side. His answer was, my concern is not whether god is on our side, but whether we are on gods side. [applause] [cheering and applause] there is a standing ovation. [cheering and applause] pres. Nixon my fellow americans, may that ever be our prayer for our country. And in that spirit, with faith in america, with faith in her ideals and in her people, i accept your nomination for president of the United States. [cheering and applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [applause] senator kennedy won the beatoral vote 303219, but Vice President nixon with less than 1 of the popular vote. Cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984. Our library includes those and many other hours of conventions. As the democratic National Convention gets underway this week, watch more of the Historical Convention speeches at cspan. Org campaign2020. Former First Lady Michelle Obama and 2020 president ial candidate Bernie Sanders discussed the democratic National Convention. Coverage begins at 9 00 eastern on cspan, live and ondemand at cspan. Org dnc, or listen with the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and publicpolicy events. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online, or listen on the free radio app. And be part of the National Conversation with cspans daily Washington Journal Program or our social media scene. Cspan, created by americas public Cable Companies and provided by your television provider. Next, we visit the National Archives in washington, d. C. To