Carl Sandburg said, “I see America not in the setting sun of a black night of despair...  I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God...  I see great days ahead for men and women of will and vision.”

I’ve never felt more strongly that America’s best days and democracy’s best days lie ahead.  We’re a powerful force for good.  With faith and courage, we can perform great deeds and take freedom’s next step.  And we will.  We will carry on the tradition of a good and worthy people who have brought light where there was darkness, warmth where there was cold, medicine where there was disease, food where there was hunger, and peace where there was only bloodshed.

Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done.  We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.

Thank you very much.  God bless you, and God bless America.

Note:  The President spoke at 9:02 p.m. in the House Chamber of the Capitol.  He was introduced by Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The address was broadcast live on nationwide radio and television.

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State of the Union Address
Ronald Reagan
February 6, 1985

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished Members of the Congress, honored guests, and fellow citizens: 

I come before you to report on the state of our Union, and I’m pleased to report that after 4 years of united effort, the American people have brought forth a nation renewed, stronger, freer, and more secure than before.

Four years ago we began to change, forever I hope, our assumptions about government and its place in our lives.  Out of that change has come great and robust growth—­in our confidence, our economy, and our role in the world.

Tonight America is stronger because of the values that we hold dear.  We believe faith and freedom must be our guiding stars, for they show us truth, they make us brave, give us hope, and leave us wiser than we were.  Our progress began not in Washington, DC, but in the hearts of our families, communities, workplaces, and voluntary groups which, together, are unleashing the invincible spirit of one great nation under God.

Four years ago we said we would invigorate our economy by giving people greater freedom and incentives to take risks and letting them keep more of what they earned.  We did what we promised, and a great industrial giant is reborn.

Tonight we can take pride in 25 straight months of economic growth, the strongest in 34 years; a 3-year inflation average of 3.9 percent, the lowest in 17 years; and 7.3 million new jobs in 2 years, with more of our citizens working than ever before.

New freedom in our lives has planted the rich seeds for future success: 

For an America of wisdom that honors the family, knowing that if (as) the family goes, so goes our civilization;