ronald reagan city on a hill speech text

He was still thinking, That's a lot of voodoo. President Donald Reagan was the first and most important person who showed the famous "city on a hill" to the public and reinterpreted it under the Cold War as the background. What did Winthrops sermon do for Perry Miller? A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. It nagged at me. Thinking of the famous historian Edward Gibbon, who wroteThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,Miller explained that he, like Gibbon, found his purpose far from home: It was given to me, equally disconsolate on the edge of a jungle of central Africa, to have thrust upon me the mission of expounding what I took to be the innermost propulsion of the United States. To that cause he would dedicate his mind, his career, his classroom, his pen, and his public speaking. All Rights Reserved. He focused on the need to improve the, https://images.c-span.org/Files/66a/19880125214847001.jpg, 2023 National Cable Satellite Corporation. In one of his most famous metaphors, Miller explained that the Puritans engaged in a flank attack on Christendom. The Monday morning before Friday's inauguration--my first day on the job, right in the middle of the news broadcast--Dad called me from the White House. Still, Miller was not granted much assistance. Beginning in the 1970s, Ronald Reagan placed that line, from that sermon, at the center of his political career. Dave and Mary, Your email address will not be published. Yet the problem of the color line appears nowhere in all the mighty works of Perry Miller. in 1990. expands, liberty contracts." of our society to handle the job the government will no longer do (and has never done well). As Van Engen notes, those words did not spark excitement at the time. Please check the original source(s) for copyright information. And freedom is special and rare. He pleaded the intractability of the material and the ambition of the project itself: I get overwhelmed from time to time at the arrogance implicit in my proposal, he admitted. This need for a purposethis story of a nationfoundedin purpose and defined by it ever sinceresonated with a wide range of thinkers and writers following the close of World War II and the opening of the Cold War. 01/11/1989. The domestic budget--which had consumed 15.3 percent The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. If we can restore this vision of America and make it real again, our greatest days, our shining new millennium, may be just around the corner. Hopes had been fulfilled, the dream had been realized, and now the task shifted from creation to preservation, or possibly restorationto scrub off any grime that dimmed the shine. And let us renew our faith and Allow me to illustrate: During the last sixty days, I have been at the task of constructing an administration. Almost in a flash, it became the foundation of American literature. Humbly I ask His help in that undertaking--but aware that on earth His will is worked by men. together to save Social Security and Medicare for future generations. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here., Reagan built on the phrase preached by Puritan pilgrim John Winthrop in perhaps the earliest example of the idea of American exceptionalism. Editorial | In 1630, John Winthrop preached aboard theArbellato the Puritans who would found the city of Boston. America today is not the Shining City that Ronald Reagan envisioned--"a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace." Then, too, there was that other English colony farther south, Virginia, founded in 1607, which Miller dismissed for lacking the coherence with which I could coherently begin., In other words, Miller did not seek an origin of America so much as an expression of origins: the first articulate body of expression upon which I could get a leverage. For Miller, the Puritans spoke as fully as they knew how, and none more magnificently or cogently than John Winthrop in the midst of the passage itself, when he delivered a lay sermon aboard the flagshipArbellaand called it A Modell of Christian Charity.. Ronald Reagan loved the phrase. We the People tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. Date: January 09, 1961 Description: Address of President-Elect John F. Kennedy Delivered to a Joint Convention of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The State House, Boston, January 9, 1961. It was in Africa, while unloading barrels of American oil, that he claims to have had an epiphany. And when he stumbled on a little-known sermon from 1630, Miller determined that the best way to tell his story was by touting the significance of this one particular text. Fulfilling Ronald Reagan's Vision for America. | President Ronald Reagan delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. As John Jessup, a prominent journalist, wrote, Is there not a connection between the rise of nations and great purpose, between the loss of purpose and their decline? The problem, it seemed, was complacency. Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, in 1911. The president stepped forward--then paused at the threshold The English slave plantations in the Caribbean dated to the 1620s as well. Now Americans are transiting to a new political chapter. We made the City stronger, we made the City freer, and we left her in good hands. Speech: Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address from the Oval Office, 1/11/89 Music: Thomas Bergersen's "Remember Me". And through Miller, what did it do for twentieth-century Americans that they so avidly adopted and promoted it? As the historian Henry May once summarized, His works on Puritanism all illustrate the slogan that nothing fails like success. Wherever Miller turned, he saw the same laws of history replayed, and, in his minds eye, the beginning of demise could be read in the modern riches of Americas rise. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. He penned a directive as he crossed the ocean from England to New England aboard the Arabella in early 1630. John F. Kennedy was the first president to quote it, but it was Reagans creative misquotationhe inserted the shiningthat affixed Winthrops words to the American creed. He had begun with John Winthrop and A Model of Christian Charityan articulate expression of origins, a coherence with which he could coherently beginbut as he moved forward, as the story broadened, as the arc of the American narrative bent and shifted in multiple directions, he failed to find the paradigm that would fit it all together. Van Engens story starts in the year 1630. In this broadcast from the Oval Office, President Reagan mentions two triumphs from his presidency: the economic recovery and the recovery of American morale. Unfortunately, that's exactly what George Bush meant. Let's visit the Family Neighborhood together. Ronald Reagan answered that question in his farewell address: As his presidency was drawing to a close, I was three thousand miles from Washington, D.C., having just started my new job as a news coanchor on Radio KSDO in San Diego. And how stands the City on this winter night? Its principles have guided our footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm. This is the 34th time I'll speak to you from the Oval Office and the last. Government must learn to work with business instead of against it, and our leading edge Wealth had made Americans weak. American politicians have used this phrase to communicate their vision of America and how they hope we are . Extreme religious dissenters had landed at Plymouth, south of Boston, in 1620. In his farewell address delivered from the Oval Office at the close of his second term, President Ronald Reagan reflected on his presidency, highlighting what he saw as his two "greatest triumphs.". But what that book does is something much more wonderful than to-the-purpose. And my experience as a political observer our Shining City and recapture her greatness. So I witnessed this transition in my father's life the same way everyone else It was a year ago this coming February when this country had its spirits lifted as they have never been lifted in many years. billion for housing and related programs, $5.5 billion for agricultural programs, $4.7 billion for the Department of Education, $2.5 billion for the Department of Energy, and on and on. Domestic spending rose faster under Bush than under other so-called big spenders such as Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. their parents and grandparents to join him in setting America on the course to the new millennium, and that a century of peace, prosperity, opportunity, and hope had followed." In contrast, Ronald Reagan's 1981 Inaugural Address focused on the need for individual responsibility and self-reliance, as well as the importance of reducing government interference in people's lives. He spent the rest of his life trying to find out and convince fellow Americans what America really means. November 2, 2017. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. By 1950, the large majority of Americans were descended from people who had very much not come over on the Mayflowerand who chafed against the pretensions of those whose ancestors had. The city on a hill could fail. The eyes of all people are upon us. We will see how, by joining together to build this City, we can meet the challenges and solve the problems of today and "Shining City on a Hill"- Ronald Reagan, 1988 State of the Union Address User-Created Clip by tgrane August 30, 2018 President Ronald Reagan delivered his State of the Union address to a. All one needed to do was gather up the texts. The Dow-Jones industrial average stood at 2235.36 on January 20, 1989--up from 960.68 the day Ronald Reagan took office. We've done our part. for one last glance at the room that had been his workplace and sanctuary for eight years. Eight years earlier, Ronald Reagan had defeated Jimmy Carter with a politically devastating question: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" He brought John Winthrops sermon A Model of Christian Charity before the public and turned it into the key text of American origins. For . They are an indelible part of my life, my convictions, my view of the past, and my hopes for the future. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony AP Photo/Carlos Giusti. Ken Duberstein stepped forward and briefed the president on the schedule for his last day in office--where he was to stand during the inauguration ceremony, when he would board the helicopter that would take him to Andrews Air Force Base for his final government is the car. And how stands the City on this winter night? It is about three blocks from my house, and it's a nice place to take my dogs. Tracing the story of America from John Winthrop forward, Reagan built a powerful articulation of American exceptionalismthe idea, as he explained, that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. In 2012, American exceptionalismas summarized by the phrase city on a hillbecame an official plank in the platform of the Republican party. I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. They fixed their attention on the two earlier settlements in Jamestown and Plymouth. The economy grew by a third. 40 Presidential Drive Simi . ", 40 Presidential DriveSimi Valley, CA 93065. Reagan campaigned actively for Nixon in his run for governor of California in 1962 and supported the presidential candidacy of conservative Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964, serving as cochairman of California Republicans for Goldwater. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these. * Main Street, bustling and prosperous, where the business and industry of the City are freely conducted; where the opportunities for individual success and achievement are truly limitless. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. City on a Hill grasps a phrase you may think you understandand then it turns that phrase to open the door to a huge room of rediscovered knowledge. It was ludicrous! The Plymouth story had become indelibly connected to ethnic exclusion and social snobbery. His aides waited in silence. Considering what was left when he died in 1963he completed only two parts out of the ninethere is no way that Miller could have honestly believed he was ever close to finishing. History is littered with the corpses of civilization that reached the limit of expansion, dug in behind walls and moats, and there yielded to decay, he proclaimed. The Carter years were America's darkest days since the Great Depression. Report scam, HUMANITIES, Winter 2020, Volume 41, Number 1, The National Endowment for the Humanities, State and Jurisdictional Humanities Councils, HUMANITIES: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, SUBSCRIBE FOR HUMANITIES MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION, Sign up for HUMANITIES Magazine newsletter. Miller was not unkind, another added; he was simply relentless. In one graduate seminar, he forbade us to praise our fellow students papers. After eight years as Ronald Reagan's understudy, he never truly grasped what the Reagan revolution was about. All one really had to do, Miller insisted, was read a single sermon by Winthrop. In his farewell address delivered from the Oval Office at the close of his second term, President Ronald Reagan reflected on his presidency, highlighting what he saw as his two greatest triumphs. These were the American economic recovery over the 1980s and the recovery of American morale following the Vietnam War. We A whole culture of academics and public intellectuals took up these concerns. The downfall of the Roman Empire, which Miller explicitly compared to America, also came about through dissolutions wrought by its own success. For Miller, history was fundamentally ironic. Ronald Reagan 1967-1975 Significant Facts. Hollerith continued to read 5:15, the bit about the lamp and the bushel. He begins this speech by introducing the three prisoners of war that recently returned from Vietnam. And let's amble down to the City Square and talk things over with the men and women who serve us in the halls of government. The city on a hill does not seem very shiny in the year 2020. In doing so, he defined his vision of the shining city upon a hill., [I]n my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. As a son, I have admired this man--and I have struggled with him. A society that is both clear and articulate about its intentions is something of a rarity in modern history, Miller lectured. Another way to illustrate this concept is with the image Ronald Reagan spoke of so often in his political career--the image of The 300th anniversary of the Mayflower landing became the occasion for even more splendid commemorations in 1920, headlined by Governor Calvin Coolidge, vice-president elect of the United States. Believe That was what George Bush meant when he announced Illustration from the 1882Kings Handbook of Boston Harbor; Flickr, Internet Archive Book Images, But the content of Winthrops sermonwhat Miller thought Winthrop was actually saying or proposing as a modeldiffered radically from what Reagan and others would make of it. Also in the Oval Office with Reagan's view of American exceptionalism is oft en summarized in a phrase that turns up in many of his speechesa "city on a hill." When he uses this phrase, he's quoting John Winthrop speaking to the pilgrims on the deck of the Arbella off the coast of Massachusetts in 1630. See Figure 1.2. Victory and achievement produce disappointment and disaster; progress results from causes other than ones own intentions; and no advance is finally secure since all growth contains within it the seeds of a new and possibly more catastrophic decline. Impossible! The hope faded, opportunity receded, the economy stalled. On this day in 1989, President Ronald Reagan gives his Farewell Address to the Nation. Du Bois, Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the history of a people, Scam Advisory: Recent reports indicate that individuals are posing as the NEH on email and social media. In a significant way he did fail, and that failure came about not despite his efforts but because of them. At the opening of Millers career, W.E.B. If Ronald Reagan's Shining City fell into disrepair in the hands of George Bush, it is becoming a slum in the hands of Bill Clinton. A little more than halfway through the ceremony, the Reverend Randolph Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, rose and read from Matthew 5:14. published on 18 January 2021 Speech: Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address from the Oval Office, 1/11/89 Music: Thomas Bergersen's "Remember Me". Our Constitution is a An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. . Eight years of Ronald Reagan in the White House proved that supply-side Reaganomics was not voodoo--it When Ronald Reagan called the United States a " city on a hill ," in 1974, it encapsulated an expansive, optimistic vision of America. We raised a banner of bold colors--no pale pastels. But if the city was already shining, then its destiny had been achieved. The terror of crime keeps law-abiding citizens locked behind bars Readers look to historians to answer the question: What happened before us? agree with everything he said and did in no way diminishes the respect I have for my father or the awe in which I hold his accomplishments. in need. But I have been guided by the standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella three hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. Our society is approaching a meltdown--an economic meltdown, a cultural meltdown, and a moral and spiritual meltdown. Percolating through new editions and anthologies of American literature, rising in prominence as scholars continued to wrestle with Millers work, by 1979 it opened and anchored The Norton Anthology of American Literature, the most dominant anthology on the market. In a 2014 interview, Donald Trump explained that he did not like the phrase American exceptionalism, because it offended Vladimir Putin: Well, I think its a very dangerous term in one way, because I heard Putin saying, 'Who do they think they are, saying theyre exceptional?, Read: The souring of American exceptionalism. It didnt require particular genius to ask yourself, at least from time to time, whether this American way of life is not rushing at a steadily accelerating pace toward a massive megalopolis which finally, of sheer dead weight, shall grind to an agonizing stop, and then crumble into ruin by the force of inertia. As one of his students summarized, He could imagine the end of America, if not of American affluence. Yet for Miller, as for others, mere affluence constituted its own form of demise. And if all else failed you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture.. The enduring qualities of Massachusetts--the common threads woven by the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant--will not be and could not be forgotten in this nation's executive mansion. Millers dedication to the Puritans and to A Model of Christian Charity finally could not address or explain the concerns that dominated American society in the mid-twentieth century. I do believe in a are at war with one another over who will receive the meager benefits dispensed from the fortress. the poor and needy will have nowhere to turn for help. [A]s long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours., tis is so appropriate for where we are today We must always review the truths from the past. According to him, the materialistic culture of America would soon exhaust itself. and see it still. Ronald Reagan - We Will Be A City Upon A Hill January 25, 1974 First Conservative Political Action Conference There are three men here tonight I am very proud to introduce. We made the city stronger. For Miller, this sermon meant that Americas story held world-historical importance. Ronald Reagan nodded and placed the card back in his pocket. President Ronald Reagan's Farewell Shining City Upon A Hill Speech 1989. Oh, they are frustrated, even angry at what has been done to this blessed land." That polemical blow landed hard, and Protestants summoned all their ingenuity to refute it. Starting May 1, 2023, the Museum will be open 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Photograph by George Rose, Hulton Archive, Getty Images. The photographer snapped a few more pictures, including some group shots with the staff clustered around their boss, who was still seated at his desk. "The result," says Congressman Radanovich, "is a positive vision of what America should be, based on a new foundation: a society of four equal institutions--family, religious-civic, business, and government--to provide freedom, security, User Clip: Shining City on a Hill. Millers most lasting influence, however, came not from his overall study of the Puritans but from his assertions about one particular text. Through the mid-twentieth century, American literary history had no place in it for A Model of Christian Charity. After Miller died, Winthrops sermon gradually became the key text defining and explaining the development of American literature from its origins to the present day. And, as everyone knows, he betrayed his "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge. He discusses America's changing relations with the Soviet Union and shares his regret for the deficit that . Ronald Reagan seems never to have appreciated his debt to Miller, which was only fair, because Miller probably would have had little good to say about Reagan. President Reagan's Favorite Treat - Jelly Beans, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Scholars Program, Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration Events, President Reagan's Birthday Celebration 2012, Faith Public Policy Forum with Pepperdine University Featuring Natan Sharansky, Ronald Reagan Centennial Postage Stamp Issued, Ronald Reagan's Centennial Birthday Celebration, A Concert for America A Tribute to Ronald Reagan, The Leadership of President Ronald Reagan: Lessons and Legacy Tom Brokaw, Ronald Reagan Centennial U.S. Postage Stamp Unveiling, Essay Series on Presidential Principles and Beliefs, A Time For Choosing with Governor Glenn Youngkin, ESSAY SERIES ON PRESIDENTIAL PRINCIPLES AND BELIEFS. Democratic incumbent, Bill Clinton! But as Van Engen shows, thats not what Winthrop meant at all. In doing so, he defined his vision of "the shining city upon a hill." He labeled certain of his conservative contemporaries, even men at the dinner that night, as "prophets of our philosophy." That 1630 sermon by John Winthrop is now famous mainly for its proclamation that we shall be as a city upon a hill. Beginning in the 1970s, Ronald Reagan placed that line, from that sermon, at the center of his political career. But over the centuries, a cult of social and ethnic superiority had accreted about them. presented a simple, easy-to-grasp picture of what is fundamentally wrong with American government today--and how to fix it. I wasnt a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didnt spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nationfrom our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries. We have to allay these fears and meet these concerns. Javascript must be enabled in order to access C-SPAN videos. Perry MillersErrand into the Wildernessestablished a mythical origin story for the United States. Miller might have been especially offended that Reagan amended Winthrops biblical phrase to meet Reagans different purposes. He lived intensely, self-destructively even. His manners were often bad, another student recalled; his casual conversation was calculated to shock.. Ronald Reagan Acceptance Speech Republican National Convention Dallas, Texas, August 23, 1984 I keep remembering all those magazine photo essays of past presidents. through the 1980s. And these are the qualities which, with God's help, this son of Massachusetts hopes will characterize our government's conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead. Ronald Reagan's efforts to shrink government spending and regulation. HUG 4572.9 Box 1. By contrast, the ceremonies in Boston in 1930 involved only municipal dignitaries and addressed a local audience. As the gray fortress of government has expanded, these three other sectors have been forced to retreat. A shining city on a hill. Immediately after using America's Reagan-restored military might against Iraq in Desert Storm, he proceeded to slash defense spending, supposedly in response to a Near the end of his presidency, before an audience in San Diego, California, Ronald Reagan said, "I hope that someday your children and grandchildren will tell of the time that a certain president came to town at the end of a long journey and asked We don't have to settle for that. At the Republican National Convention in San Diego, it was as if the Contract with America never existed! A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." They had lost sight of their cause and plan, their purpose and devotion. Travel, Help/Feedback | Abram Van Engen received a Research Fellowship and a Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which supported his bookCity on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism(Yale University Press, February 2020). show or read my previous books, On the Outside Looking In and Making Waves, then you know I've disagreed with Ronald Reagan before, and I'll do so a time or two in this book as well. and slowest growth of any economy since the Carter administration. Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us--and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill--constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities. The dean of the Washington National Cathedral, Randolph Hollerith, read from the Book of Matthew. Both large and small businesses in America must be relieved of regulatory and tax burdens so that more jobs and individual opportunities can be created. The gross national product nearly doubled. Miller re-enrolled at the University of Chicago, earning his bachelors and then his doctorate in 1931. 2018 Copyright - Our Lost Founding. It was the last phone call he would make from the Oval Office. . For we are setting out upon a voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the Arabella in 1630. You can turn it in after Mr. Bush is sworn in as president.". Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: We the People. Receiving the letter, Rosenthal simply offered more money. at more than 15 percent, and with unemployment topping 7 percent, Americans knew the answer to that question. The true church, Catholics proclaimed, was hid from no mans eyes. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus promised perpetual visibility to his true followers and the only church perpetually visible since the time of Christ was theirs. So how do we accomplish this vision for our society? The fear that if government gets out of the welfare business, The Jamestown story fared even worse. We must maintain our national sovereignty and restore our military strength. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. He was impatient with balderdash and decorum, one student recalled, abrupt and snortingperhaps not unlike one of Melvilles magnificent whales. When Miller died, his obituary in theHarvard Crimsoncompared him to Melvilles mad Captain Ahab: Those brawling sentences, the brooding manner, the great, obscene chuckles whose delight it was impossible not to share, all were touched with something superhuman, something demonic. The first State of the Union address: patriotism, firmness, and wis John Hancock : Prominent Signature, Powerful Prayer, Ronald Reagan and the shining city upon a hill. Nothing breeds failure like success. "Jesus said that you are the light of the world," he pronounced. That aspect of Winthrops sermon would reappear frequently in the political speeches of President Reagan and many others in the years to come. Or, to be more precise, he turned to the moment markedas an origin in a mostly forgotten text. From 1931 to 1963, as the scholar Michael Clark has summarized, Miller presided over most literary and historical research into the early forms of American culture. He helped establish the study of what he called American Civilization, contributing to the rise of a new discipline, American Studies.
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