Remarks Accepting Election as the 34th President of the United States

May I ask your attention one moment. I am not certain, my friends, whether or not you have read or heard the telegram that Mr. Stevenson just sent me. It reads:

"The people have made their choice and I congratulate you. That you may be the servant and guardian of peace and make the vale of trouble a door of hope is my earnest prayer. Best wishes.
Adlai Stevenson."

Just as I came down to the ballroom I replied to that telegram as follows:

"I thank you for your courteous and generous message. Recognizing the intensity of the difficulties that lie ahead, it is clearly necessary that men and women of goodwill of both parties forget the political strife through which we have passed and devote themselves to the single purpose of a better future. This I believe they will do."

Signed with my name.

Now, my friends, it is trite to say that this is a day of dedication rather than triumph. But I am indeed as humble as I am proud of the decisions that the American people have made. And I recognize clearly the weight of the responsibility you have placed upon me, and I assure you that I shall never in my service in Washington give short weight to those responsibilities.

To each of you here who has worked so hard to make this crusade a success thus far, to every man, woman and child—and there have been many children in it, throughout the country, who have helped—I extend my warm thanks and hopes that the day will come when I can extend that thanks in a more personal way.

Now, all over the country there is still a more personal word of appreciation. The courtesy, the warmth of the greetings that Mamie and I have experienced everywhere has been something that is memorable, indeed unforgettable.

So, to everybody this evening, we feel this very great debt of gratitude.

And I also point out that we cannot now do all the job[s] ahead of us except as united people. And so let us really put into practice what I have tried to say so haltingly in the little telegram that I sent to my late rival.

Let us unite for the better future for America, for our children and for our grandchildren.

And now, my friends, it has been a long and sometimes hard road, but it's been great to meet you people, to work with you, all of us, for a common cause.

Good night.