It has been my privilege to hold the Presidential office for nearly eight years now, and much has been done in which I take great pride.  But this is not personal pride.  It is pride in the people, in the Nation.  It is pride in our political system and our form of government—­balky sometimes, mechanically deficient perhaps, in many ways—­but enormously alive and vigorous; able through these years to keep the Republic on the right course, rising to the great occasions, accomplishing the essentials, meeting the basic challenge of our times.

There have been misunderstandings and controversies these past eight years, but through it all the President of the United States has had that measure of support and understanding without which no man could sustain the burdens of the Presidential office, or hope to discharge its responsibilities.

For this I am profoundly grateful—­grateful to my associates in the Executive Branch—­most of them non-partisan civil servants; grateful—­despite our disagreements-to the Members of the Congress on both sides of the aisle; grateful especially to the American people, the citizens of this Republic, governors of us all.

We are still so close to recent controversies that some of us may find it hard to understand the accomplishments of these past eight years.  But the accomplishments are real and very great, not as the President’s, not as the Congress’, but as the achievements of our country and all the people in it.

Let me remind you of some of the things we have done since I first assumed my duties as President of the United States.

I took the oath of office on April 12, 1945.  In May of that same year, the Nazis surrendered.  Then, in July, that great white flash of light, man-made at Alamogordo, heralded swift and final victory in World War II—­and opened the doorway to the atomic age.

Consider some of the great questions that were posed for us by sudden, total victory in World War II.  Consider also, how well we as a Nation have responded.

Would the American economy collapse, after the war?  That was one question.  Would there be another depression here—­a repetition of 1921 or 1929?  The free world feared and dreaded it.  The communists hoped for it and built their policies upon that hope.

We answered that question—­answered it with a resounding “no.”

Our economy has grown tremendously.  Free enterprise has flourished as never fore.  Sixty-two million people are now gainfully employed, compared with 51 million seven years ago.  Private businessmen and farmers have invested more than 200 billion dollars in new plant and equipment since the end of World War II.  Prices have risen further than they should have done—­but incomes, by and large, have risen even more, so that real living standards are now considerably higher than seven years ago.  Aided by sound government policies, our expanding economy has shown the strength and flexibility for