Peace is precious to us.  It is the way of life we strive for with all the strength and wisdom we possess.  But more precious than peace are freedom and justice.  We will fight, if fight we must, to keep our freedom and to prevent justice from being destroyed.

These are the things that give meaning to our lives, and which we acknowledge to be greater than ourselves.

This is our cause—­peace, freedom, justice.  We will pursue this cause with determination and humility, asking divine guidance that in all we do we may follow the will of God.

***

State of the Union Address
Harry S. Truman
January 9, 1952

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Congress: 

I have the honor to report to the Congress on the state of the Union.

At the outset, I should like to speak of the necessity for putting first things first as we work together this year for the good of our country.

The United States and the whole free world are passing through a period of grave danger.  Every action you take here in Congress, and every action that I take as President, must be measured against the test of whether it helps to meet that danger.

This will be a presidential election year-the year in which politics plays a large part in our lives—­a larger part than usual.  That is perfectly proper.  But we have a greater responsibility to conduct our political fights in a manner that does not harm the national interest.

We can find plenty of things to differ about without destroying our free institutions and without abandoning our bipartisan foreign policy for peace.

When everything is said and done, all of us—­Republicans and Democrats alike—­all of us are Americans; and we are all going to sink or swim together.

We are moving through a perilous time.  Faced with a terrible threat of aggression, our Nation has embarked upon a great effort to help establish the kind of world in which peace shall be secure.  Peace is our goal-not peace at any price, but a peace based on freedom and justice.  We are now in the midst of our effort to reach that goal.  On the whole, we have been doing very well.

Last year, 1951, was a year in which we threw back aggression, added greatly to our military strength, and improved the chances for peace and freedom in many parts of the world.

This year, 1952, is a critical year in the defense effort of the whole free world.  If we falter we can lose all the gains we have made.  If we drive ahead, with courage and vigor and determination, we can by the end of 1952 be in a position of much greater security.  The way will be dangerous for the years ahead, but if we put forth our best efforts this year—­and next year—­we can be “over the hump” in our effort to build strong defenses.

When we look at the record of the past year, 1951, we find important things on both the credit and the debit side of the ledger.  We have made great advances.  At the same time we have run into new problems which must be overcome.