Recorded Message to the People of the Philippines Upon the Occasion of Their Independence

To the People of the Philippines:

I am indeed happy to be able to join with you in the formal inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines.

This is a proud day for our two countries. For the Philippines it marks the end of a centuries-old struggle for freedom. For the United States it marks the end of a period of almost fifty years of cooperation with the Philippines looking toward independence.

Now the new Republic faces the problems of independent nationhood. These problems will be difficult and trying. The road to independence has not been an easy one. The road of independence will likewise not be an easy one. The mettle of a people, the mettle of a nation, are on trial before the world.

But the United States has faith in the ability and in the determination of the Philippine people to solve the problems confronting their country. The men who defied Magellan, who fought for a Republic in 1898, and who more recently on Bataan, Corregidor, and at a hundred other unsung battlegrounds in the Philippines flung back the Japanese challenge, will not lack the courage which is necessary to make government work in peace as well as in war. The will to succeed, I am sure, will continue to govern the actions of the Philippine people.

The United States, moreover, will continue to assist the Philippines in every way possible. A formal compact is being dissolved. The compact of faith and understanding between the two peoples can never be dissolved. We recognize that fact and propose to do all within our power to make Philippine independence effective and meaningful.

Our two countries will be closely bound together for many years to come. We of the United States feel that we are merely entering into a new partnership with the Philippines--a partnership of two free and sovereign nations working in harmony and understanding. The United States and its partner of the Pacific, the Philippine Republic, have already charted a pattern of relationships for all the world to study. Together in the future, our two countries must prove the soundness and the wisdom of this great experiment in Pacific democracy.

May God protect and preserve the Republic of the Philippines!