I proudly accept the nomination of our party. [cheers and applause] this moment is one of personal pride and gratification yet one cannot help or fleck the deep sadness that we feel over the troubles and the violence, which have erupted regrettably and tragically in the streets of this great city. For the first no injuries which have occurred. [cheers and applause] surely, we have now learned a lesson that violence breeds counter violence, and it cannot be condoned of whatever the source. [cheers and applause] i know that every delegate to this Convention Shares tonight its my sorrow and my distress over these incidents. May we for just one moments, and sober affliction and serious purpose. May we just quietly and silently, huge in our own way, pray for our country and may we dont share for a moment a few of those immortal words of the prayer of Saint Francis of sec. Words which i think, may help heal the wounds ease the pain, and lift our hearts. Listen to this immortal saint. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, part and. Pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Those are the words of a saint. Those of us have less purity listen to them well. And, may america tonight resolved that never, never again shall we see what we have seen. [applause] yes i accept your nomination and the spirit that i have spoken. Knowing that the months and years ahead will severely test our america, and might i say as this america is tested, that once again, we give our testament to america, and i do not think it is sentimental, nor is it cheap, but i think it is true that each and every one of us in our own way should once again reaffirm to ourselves and our prosperity that we love this nation. We love america. [cheers and applause] but, take heart, my fellow americans. This is not the first time that our nation has faced a challenge to its life and its purpose. And each time that weve had to face these challenges, we have a emerged with new greatness and with new strength. We must make this moment of crisis, we must make it a moment of creation. [cheers and applause] as it has been said, in the worst of times, a great people must do the best of things, and let us do it. [cheers and applause] we stand at such a moment now in the affairs of this nation because, my fellow americans, something new, Something Different has happened. There is an end of an era of and, and there is the beginning of a new day. [cheers and applause] it is the special genius of the Democratic Party that it welcomes change, not as an enemy, but as an ally. Not as a force to be suppressed but as an instrument of progress, to be encouraged. This week, our party has debated the great issues before america in this very hall. And had we not raise these issues, troublesome as they were, we would have ignored the reality of change. Had we just papered over the differences between us with empty platitudes instead of frank hard debate we would, deserve the content of our fellow citizens and the condemnation of history. [applause] yes, we dared to speak out, and we have heard hard and sometimes bitter debate, but i submit that this is the debate and this is the work of a free people, the work and opened convention and the work of a Political Party responsive to the needs of this nation. [applause] democracy affords debate, discussion, and dissent, but my fellow americans, it also requires decision, and we have decided here, not by edict, but by vote, not by force, but by ballot. [applause] majority rule has prevailed but minority rights are preserved. [applause] there is always the temptation, always the temptation to leave the scene of battle in anger and despair, but those who know the true meaning of democracy accept the decision of today, but never relinquishing their right to changeit tomorrow. [applause] in the space of about a week, this convention has literally laid the foundations of the new Democratic Party structure in america. From precinct level to the floor of this convention, we have revolutionized our rules and our procedures. [applause] and that revolution is in the proud tradition of our party. It is in the tradition of franklin roosevelt, who knew that america had nothing to fear but fear itself. [applause] music and it is in the tradition of that one and only harry truman, who let them had it and told it like it was. [applause] and that is the way we are going to do it from here on out. [applause] and it is in the tradition of that beloved man, adlai stevenson, who talked sense to the American People. [applause] and tonight, how we miss this great, good, and gentle man of peace in america. [applause] and my fellow americans, all that we do and all that we ever hope to do must be in the tradition of john f. Kennedy, who said to us, who said to us, ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country. [applause] and my fellow democrats and fellow americans, in that spirit of that great man, let us ask together what we can do for the freedom of man. [applause] and what we are doing is in the tradition of lyndon b. Johnson, who rallied a griefstricken nation. [applause] who rallied a griefstricken nation when our leader was stricken by the assassins bullet and said to you and said to me and said to all of the world, let us continue. And in the space of five years since that tragic moment, president johnson has accomplished more of the Unfinished Business of america than any of his modern predecessors. [applause] i truly believe that history will surely record the greatness of his contribution to the people of this land. And tonight, to you, mr. President , i say, thank you, thank you, mr. President. [applause] music yes, my fellow democrats, we have recognized and we must recognize the end of an era and the beginning of a new day. And that new day and that new day belongs to the people, to all of the people everywhere in this land of the people, to every man, woman, and child that is a citizen of the republic. Within that new day lies nothing less than the promise seen a generation ago by thomas wolfe, to every man his chance, to every man regardless of his birth, his shining golden opportunity. To every man the right to live and to work and to be himself. And to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him. This is the promise of america. [applause] yes, a new day is here. Across america, throughout the entire world, the forces of emancipation are at work. We hear freedoms rising chorus, let me live my own life. Let me live in peace. Let me be free say the people. [applause] and that cry is heard today in our slums and on our farms and in our cities. It is heard from the old, as well as from the young. It is heard in Eastern Europe and it is heard in vietnam. And it will be answered by us in how we face the three realities that confront this nation. The first reality is the necessity for peace in vietnam and in the world. [applause] the second reality is the necessity for peace in our cities and in our nation. [applause] and the third reality is the paramount necessity for unity in our country. [applause] let me speak first then about vietnam. There are differences, of course, serious differences, within our party on this vexing, painful issue of vietnam. And these differences are found even within the ranks of all the democratic president ial candidates. What might i say to my fellow americans that once you have examined the differences, i hope you will also recognize the much larger areas of agreement. [applause] let those who believe that our cause in vietnam has been right or those who believe it has been wrong agree here and now that neither vindication nor repudiation will bring peace or be worthy of our country. [applause] the question is, not the yesterdays, but the question is what do we do now . No one knows what the situation in vietnam will be when the next president of the United States takes that oath of office on january 20, 1969. But every heart in america prays that, by then, we shall have reached a ceasefire in all vietnam, and be in serious negotiation towards a durable peace. [applause] meanwhile, as a citizen, a candidate, and Vice President , i pledge to you and to my fellow americans, that i shall do everything within my power, within the limits of my capacity and my ability to aid the negotiations and to bring a prompt end to this war. [applause] music all of our lives in uncertainty and challenge and peril. And the words of the profits, yes. The words of a president . The words of the challenge of today . Yes. And the words of jon kennedy to you and me and to prosperity. [applause] last week, we witnessed once again in czechoslovakia the desperate attempt of tyranny to crush out the forces of liberalism by force and brutal power to hold back change. But in Eastern Europe, as elsewhere, the old era will surely end and, there, as here, a new day will dawn. [applause] and to speed this day, we must go far beyond where weve been, beyond containment to communication, beyond differences to dialogue, beyond fear to hope. We must cross the remaining barriers of suspicion and despair. We must halt the arms race before it halts humanity. [applause] and is this, is this a vain hope . Is it but a dream . I say the record says no. Within the last few years we have made progress. We have negotiated a Nuclear Test Ban treaty. We have laid the groundwork for a Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty. We have reached agreement on banning weapons in outer space. We have been building patiently stone by stone, each in our own way, the cathedral of peace. [applause] and now we must take new initiatives. New initiatives, with prudence and caution, but with perseverance. We must find the way and the means to control and reduce the offensive and defensive nuclear systems. The world cannot hope to indefinitely avoid nuclear war which one error in judgment, one failure in communication could unleash on all humanity and destroy all of mankind. [applause] but the search for peace is not for the timid or the week. It must come from a nation of high purpose firm, without being belligerent, resolute without being bellicose, strong without being arrogant, and that is the kind of america that will help build the piece of this world. Build the peace of this world. But the task of slowing the arms race, halting the nuclear escalation, there is no more urgent task. If i am elected as your president , i commit myself body, mind, and soul to this task. [applause] now, our second reality is the necessity for peace at home. There is, my friends lets see it as it is. There is trouble in america. But it does not come from a lack of faith. It comes from the kindling of hope. When the homeless can find a home, they do not give up the search for a better home. When the hopeless find hope, they seek higher hopes, and in 1960 and again in 1964, you the American People gave us a mandate to awaken america. You asked us to get america moving again, and we have and america is on the move. [applause] and we have we have awakened expectations. We have aroused new voices and new voices that must and will be heard. We happens i new hope and millions of men and women and they are inpatient, and rightly so impatient now to see their hopes and aspirations fulfilled we have raised a new standard of life in our america not just for the poor, but for every american, wage earner, businessman, farmer, schoolchild, and housewife. A standard by which future progress must be judged. Our most urgent challenge is in urban america, where most of our people live. Some 70 of our people live on 2 of our lands and within 25 years, 100 million more will join our national family. I ask you tonight. Where shall they live . How shall they live . What shall be their future . We will decide the next four years those questions. The next president of the United States will establish policies not just for our children, but children yet unborn. Our task is tremendous and i need your help. [applause] the simple solution is to lash out against society. But we know and they must know that this is no answer. Silence breeds more violence disorder destroys, and only in order can we build. Riot makes for ruin. Reason makes for solution. Nor can there be any compromise with the right of every american who is anxious and willing to learn to have a good education. And it is through these rights, the rights of law and order, the rights of life, the rights of liberty, the right to a job, the right to a home in a decent neighborhood, and the right of an education, it is to these rights that i pledge my life and whatever capacity and ability i have. [applause] but we cannot be satisfied with merely repairing that which is old. We must also move beyond the enclosures of our traditional cities to create new cities, to restore our present cities, yes, and we must bring prosperity and modern living and opportunity to our rural areas. We must design and open america, opening new opportunities for new americans in open land. I say to this audience, we have invested billions to explore outer space where man may live tomorrow. We must also be willing to invest to develop inner space right here on earth where many may live today. [applause] and now that third reality. Essential if the other two are to be achieved, is the necessity, my fellow fellow americans, for unity in our country, for tolerance and forbearance, for Holding Together as a family. And we must make a great decision, are we to be one nation, or are we to be a nation divided between black and white, between rich and poor, between north and south, between young and old . I take my stand. We are and we must be one nation, united by liberty and justice for all, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This is our america. There can be no compromise on securing of human rights. If america is to make a crucial judgment of leadership, in this coming election, then let that selection be made without either candidate hedging or equivocating. Winning the presidency for me is not worth the price of silence or evasion on the issue of human rights. [applause] and winning the presidency, and listen well, winning the presidency is not worth a compact with extremism. [applause] i choose not simply to run for president. I seek to lead a great nation. And either we achieve true justice in our land or we shall doom ourselves to a terrible exhaustion of body and spirit. I base my entire candidacy on the belief which comes from the very depth of my soul, which comes from basic religious conviction that the American People will stand up, that they will stand up for justice and fair play, and that they will respond to the call of one citizenship, one citizenship open to all for all americans. [applause] the american presidency is a great and powerful office, but it is not all powerful. It depends most of all on the will and the faith and the dedication and the wisdom of the American People. [applause] and i know, as you know, there is essential strength in the American People. And tonight, i call you, i call you, the American People not to be of one mind, but to be of one spirit. I call you, the american, not to a life of false security, false promises and ease, but to a new sense of purpose, a new dedication, and a new commitment. Remember those that founded this republic said that in order to secure these inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. I submit, my fellow americans, we dared do no less in our time if if this republic is to survive. So, i call you forth, i call forth that basic goodness that is there. I call you to risk the hard path of greatness. And i say to america, put aside recriminations and dissension. Turn away from violence and hatred. Believe in what america can do and believe in what america can be, and with the help of that vast, on unfrightened, dedicated faithful majority of americans, i say to our great nation tonight i am ready to lead our country. [applause] music catch up with more past president ial nominees this sunday here on American History tv. Up next, we see Richard Nixon except his parties nomination at the 1968 Republican Convention in miami beach, florida. He defeated Hubert Humphreys in close general election. Independent candidate George Wallace came in third. We see Richard Nixon except his partys president ial nomination at the 1968 Republican National convention. Hubert humphrey in the enclosed general election. With less than 1 of the popular vote separating the two. Independent candidate George Wallace came in there. [cheers and applause]