LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural

Woodrow Wilson begins his first inaugural address by praising the industrial success and political integrity of this country. But he states that Americans are wasteful; the spiritual and physical costs of natural energy and human life have not been effectively evaluated. "But the evil has come with the good, and much fine gold has been corroded." Essentially, Wilson is claiming that the United States Government is not doing its duties to properly protect its citizens. "With the great government went many deep secret things which we too long delayed to look into and scrutinize with the candid, fearless eye. The great government we loved has too often been made use of for private and selfish purposes, and those who used it had forgotten the people." With regards to this, the president claims, "our duty is to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, (and) to correct the evil without impairing the good, to purify and humanize every process of our common life without weakening or sentimentalizing it." He reminds the American public that the governments duty is to serve both the humble and the powerful, using justice and fair play to do so. Directly addressing an unjust tariff, restricting the industrial system, a corrupt bank and currency system, as well as a misuse of natural resources, he seeks to restore security to a vulnerable society. Calling for patriotism, he ends his speech.