Remarks at the Dedication of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Senator Humphrey, Dean Sayre, Dr. Ripley, and all of the distinguished guests present here today:

I, first, express my deep appreciation to Senator Humphrey for his gracious introduction and also my commendation for his eloquent remarks.

And I would like to point out that in my opinion, had it not been for him, for his devotion, his dedication, and his tenacity, we would not be meeting here today with this project now reaching its culmination. And to him and all the others who worked with him, certainly the thanks of the Nation and the thanks of people around the world go for seeing to it that the living memorial to one of America's greatest men is now coming into being.

And it, of course, is an historic occasion for all of us. For me, too, it is the first time that I have heard the voice of Woodrow Wilson,¹ although I have read, as most of you have, most of what he has written.

And it brings a special meaning to this occasion that one of the distinguished religious leaders of this city and of this Nation is here today, and that he is the grandson of Woodrow Wilson.²

¹ A recording of President Wilsons voice was played at the ceremonies.

² Very Rev. Francis B. Sayre, Jr., dean of the Washington Cathedral.

I am honored to celebrate this occasion and the dedication of this new international study to the memory of one of America's greatest Presidents.

Along with most Presidents of the past half century, I have long been a student of Woodrow Wilson. He was a man born ahead of his time. We have reason to hope that he was not born ahead of our time.

Ironically, this man, who used the English language to uplift and inspire and who so enriched the lexicon of democracy, is remembered most for one phrase he did not coin, a phrase that was twisted into a slogan of cynicism. He took that phrase from H. G. Wells' book, "The War That Will End War." Using that phrase as their centerpiece, there are some who class Woodrow Wilson as a colossal failure.

He won reelection in 1916 on the slogan, "He kept us out of war." But America went to war. That election, interestingly enough, was the background for my own interest in Woodrow Wilson and the inspiration he bas provided for me, as be did for Senator Humphrey, the former Vice President of the United States.

My mother and father were both Republicans. California was the State, as you recall, that decided the election of 1916. The reason was that a number of Republicans voted for Wilson. My mother was one of them. She was a devout Quaker, a deeply dedicated pacifist.

I was only 3 years old in 1916, but for years afterwards, in a friendly way, my mother and father sometimes spoke of that election of 1916 in which my father had voted for Hughes.

But my mother, despite the fact that America did get into war after 1916, always had her faith in Woodrow Wilson. She used to say to me, "He was a good man. He was a man who deeply believed in peace." And she believed that the United States made an error in not following his advice after World War I.

He inspired her with his idealism, and she in turn passed on that inspiration to me.

We all recall how Woodrow Wilson rallied the hopes of mankind that World War I would be a war that could end wars. We all remember, too, that wars followed, tragically.

He tried to lead the United States in the community of nations, but he failed to stem the tide of postwar isolationism. He died a broken man.

But now, with a half century's perspective, we can see the success of Woodrow Wilson begin to emerge. He identified the United States of America with the principle of the self-determination of all nations, weak and strong.

He lit a spark that merged this Nation with the cause of generosity and idealism.

Every wartime President since Woodrow Wilson has been tempted to describe the current war as the war to end wars. But they have not done so because of the derision that the phrase evoked, a reminder of lost dreams, of lights that failed, of hopes that were raised and dashed.

What I am striving for above all else, what this Nation is striving for in all that we do, is something that America has never experienced in this century: a full generation of peace.

I believe that right now is the time for us to learn to walk in peace. The first step, of course, is to still the sound of war around the world.

We are moving in that direction. We have taken the first steps toward walking in peace. But we must first break the terrible world habit of war and only then can we learn the wondrous habit of peace.

That is why today I do not speak of the war to end wars. Instead, I hope to focus on something that men alive today can achieve for themselves and their children, on a dream that we can realize here and now, a genuine beginning toward our ultimate goal.

That is why I have set our sights on a span of time that men in positions of power today can cope with, just one generation, but one long step on the path away from perennial war.

That, too, is why it is more important now than ever before to summon up the spirit of Woodrow Wilson. For we can only establish the habit of peace by answering the call for human brotherhood, his inspiration for an understanding between men and nations.

Some of Woodrow Wilson's most eloquent speeches were made on the trip that he took to Europe immediately after World War I. On that trip, crusading for a League of Nations, he made the point vividly in the Mansion House in London.

He told the story of a great Englishman of letters, Charles Lamb, who once casually said about another man, "I hate that fellow." And one of Lamb's friends replied, "I didn't know that you knew him." And Lamb said, "Oh, I don't. I can't hate a man I know."

And that is how Wilson made his point. He said, "When we know one another, we cannot hate one another."

Knowing one another in its deepest sense means far more than becoming acquainted or improving the atmosphere in relations between nations. It means that we must recognize our differences and come to grips with reality of conflicting national interests.

History has taught us that we do not know one another better by glossing over the substance of disagreements. We know one another better when we understand why nations disagree.

Then, and only then, can we act together to harmonize our differences. When we truly know one another we can have differences without hating one another.

I suggest that the greatest single achievement of Woodrow Wilson was in opening the heart of America for the world to see.

Since Wilson, the world better understands that America does stand for self-determination of all nations, that Americans fervently believe in a world living in freedom and peace.

Wilson died convinced he was a failure. He was wrong. The Wilsonian vision, the American passion for peace with freedom, did not die. Through all the years of war, through all the setbacks of isolationism and weakness toward aggression, that vision has persevered--until now it is on the verge of triumph.

When we know one another, we cannot hate one another. In this still imperfect world, I am convinced that realistic understanding is on the rise and mindless hatred is on the decline.

The strong likelihood exists that there will be no need for a war to end wars, that instead, by taking one careful step at a time, by making peace for one full generation, we will get this world into the habit of peace.

The time will come when Woodrow Wilson will be remembered not as a man who tried and failed, but as one of those Americans who saw the truth before his time and whose vision became the reality of the generation he inspired.

By his example, Woodrow Wilson helped make the world safe for idealism.

By following that example, by not fearing to be idealists ourselves, we shall make the world safe for free men to live in peace.