Gerald ferraro is the first woman nominated for a Vice President ial ticket. She accepted the Vice President ial nomination at the 1984 Democratic National convention in san francisco. She and nominee lawn deal would lose the election to gop is Ronald Reagan and george h. W. Bush. Hello. applause noise applause applause ladies and gentlemen, of the convention. applause ladies and gentlemen of the convention. Ladies and gentlemen of the convention, my name is gerald dean ferraro. applause i stand before you to proclaim tonight america is a land where dreams can come true for all of us. As i stand before the American People, and think of the honor this Great Convention has bestowed upon me, i recall the words of dr. Martin luther king jr. , who made america stronger by making america more free. He said, occasionally in life, there are moments which cannot be completely explained by words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. Tonight, its such a moment for me. Ty applause tough my heart is filled with pride. Ty my fellow citizens, i proudly accept your nomination for Vice President of the united states. applause you get wonderful. Ty team and, and i am proud to run with a man who will be one of the great president s of this century, walter f. Mondale. Tonight, the daughter of a woman whose highest goal was a future for her children, talks to our nations oldest party about a future for us all. Tonight, the door to working americans shows all americans that the future is within our reach if we are willing to reach for it. applause i tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from italy has been chosen to run for Vice President in a land my father came to love. Our faith that we can shape a Better Future is what the American Dream is all about. The promise of our country is that the rule are fair. If you work hard and play by the rules, you can earn your share of americas blessings. Those are the beliefs i learned from my parents. And those are the values i top my students as a teacher in the Public Schools are new york city. applause . At night i went to law school, i became a District Attorney and i put my share of criminals behind bars. applause i believe, if you obey the law, you should be protected. But if you break the law, you must pay for your crimes. applause when i first ran for congress, all the political experts said a democrat could not win my home district in queens. I put my faith in the people and the values that we shared. Together, we proved the political experts wrong. Our new in this campaign, mondale and i have put our faith in the people. And we are going to prove the experts wrong again. applause arent we are going to win. When applause we are going to win because americans across this country believe in the same basic dream. Last week, i visited all more, minnesota, a small town applause a small town where mandala was raised and soon we will visit our family in queens. 900 people live in all more, and queens there are 2000 people on one block. You would think we would be different but were not. Children walk to school in al more past green elevators. In queens, the pass by subway stops. But no matter where they live, their future depends on education and their parents are willing to do their part to make those schools as good as they can be. Our new in all more, you there are family farms. In queens, small businesses. For the men and women who run those all take pride in supporting their families through hard work and initiative. On the 4th of july, in all more, they flip they hang flags out on main streets. In queens, they fly them over grand avenue. But all of us love our country and stand ready to defend the freedom that it represents. Cuffed a americans want to live by the same set of rules. But under this administration, the rules are rigged against too many of our people. It isnt right that every year, the share of taxes paid by individual citizens is going up while the share paid by large corporations is getting smaller and smaller. Craft a the rules say everyone in our society should continue to contribute their fair share. It isnt right that this year, Ronald Reagan will hand the American People a bill for interest on the National Debt larger than the entire cost of the federal government under john f. Kennedy. Our parents left us a growing economy. The rules say we must not leave our kids a mountain of debt. Iowa applause s it isnt right that a woman should get paid 59 cents on the dollar for the same work as a man. applause time often if you play by the rules, you deserve a fair days pay for a fair days work. applause it isnt right that if trends continue, by the year 2000 nearly all of the poor people in america will be women and children. The rules of a Decent Society say when you contribute sacrifice in times of austerity, you dont put women and children first. New it isnt right that young people today fear they wont get the Social Security they paid for. And that Older Americans fear they will lose what they have already learned Social Security is a contract between the last generation in the next. The rules say you dont break contracts. Our new we are going to keep faith with Older Americans. We hammered out a fair compromise in the congress to save Social Security. Every group sacrificed to keep the system sound. It is time Ronald Reagan stopped scaring our senior citizens. applause our new it isnt right that young couples question whether to bring children into a world of 50,000 nuclear warheads. applause that isnt a vision for which americans of struggle for more than two centuries. And our future doesnt have to be that way. Changes in the air. Just as surely as when jon kennedy beckoned america to a new frontier. When sally ride rocketed into space. Our new and when reverend jackson ran for the office of president of the united states. Our new by choosing a woman to run for our nations second highest office, you send a powerful signal to all americans. There are no doors we cannot unlock. Our new we will place no limits on achievements. If we can do this, we can do anything. Our new tonight, we reclaim our dream. We are going to make the rules of america work fairly for all americans again. Two and administration that would have us debate all over again whether the Voting Rights act should be renewed and whether segregated schools should be taxexempt, we say mister president , those debates are over. You are not on the issue of civil rights, Voting Rights and affirmative action for minorities, we must not go backwards. We must and we will move forward to open the doors of opportunity. applause are new to those who understand that our country cannot prosper unless we draw an account of all americans, we say we will have the equal rights amendment arent. You when you the issue was not what america can do for women but what women can do for america. Are not the americans who will lead our country into the 21st century, we say we will not have a Supreme Court that turns the clock back to the 19 century. applause our new to those concerned about the strength of American Family values is i am, i say, we are going to restore those values. Love, carrying, partnership, by including and not excluding those whose beliefs differ from our own, because our own faith is strong we will fight to preserve the freedom of faith for others. applause our new to those working americans who fear that banks, utilities and large special interests have a lock on the white house, we say, join us. Lets elect a peoples president. And lets have a government by and for the American People again. applause our new to an administration that would salvage Student Loans in a at the dawn of a new technological age we say, you are the classic definition of a cynic. You know the price of everything. But the value of nothing. Our new to our students and their parents we say is excellence, the job of the future required skills minds. An to americans who may be called to our country service, we say, we know your generation will proudly answer our countrys call. And each generation before you. This past year, we remember the bravery and sacrifice of americans at normandy. And we finally pay tribute as we should have done years ago to the unknown soldier who represents all the brave Young Americans who died in vietnam. applause . Do let no one doubt, we will extend americas security and the cause of freedom around the world. But we want a president who tells us what america is fighting for. Not just what we are fighting against. Are now we want a president who will defend human rights. Not just when it is convenient. But wherever freedom is at risk. From chile to afghanistan, from poland to south africa. applause to those who have watched this administration in the confusion in the middle east as it is tilted towards first one and then another of israels longtime enemies and wonder, will america stand by her friends and sister democracy . We say, america knows who are friends are. In the middle east, and around the world. America will stand with israel always. Finally, finally, we want a president who will keep america strong. But use that strength to keep america and the world at peace. A Nuclear Freeze is not a slogan. It is a tool for survival in a nuclear age. If we leave our children nothing else, let us leave them as we found it. Whole, and green and full of life. One applause i know in my heart to the Walter Mandala will be that president. A wise man once said, every one of us is giving the gift of life. And what a strange gift it is. If it is preserved jealously and selfishly, it impoverish us and famines. But if it is spin for others it enriches and beautifies. My fellow americans, we can debate policies and programs but in the end, what separates the two parties from this Election Campaign is whether we use the gift of life for others or only ourselves are new. applause tonight, my husband john and our three children are in this hall with me. To my daughters, donna and laura, and my son, john junior, i say, my mother did not break faith with me. And i will not break faith with you. applause to all the children of america, i say, the generation before hours kept faith with us. Unlike them we will test pass on to you a stronger, more just america. Thank you. applause our new arent weeknights this month were featuring American History tv programs in the preview of whats available every weekend on cspan three. Tonight we feature several events hosted by the National World War One Museum and kansas university. Beginning with Carrie Armstrong discussing the senates rejection of the treaty of versailles in world war i which president woodrow had overseen several months negotiating. Watch tonight beginning at eight eastern, enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan three. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan three. Our nations past. Cspan 3, gutted by American Television company, public service. Lets you today by your television provider. Next on American History tv. Jewell College Professor Gary Armstrong discusses the senates 20 1919 treaty oversight and world war i that president Woodrow Wilson spent seven Months Overseas negotiating. Professor armstrong argues the open treaty would involve u. S. Position into the global order but the u. S. Domestic Political Division combined with turmoil created by a flu pandemic, a red scare, racial unrest, and president wilson suffering a stroke contributed to his failure to achieve ratification. The National World war one