The original documents are located in Box 67, folder “Fort McHenry - "Our Country" Bicentennial Festivities, Baltimore, MD, 7/4/75 (1)” of the John Marsh Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Digitized from Box 67 of The John Marsh Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library -2- Let us resolve that it shall be an era of achievement rather than of apathy. Let us resolve that. it shall be a time of promise rather than of regret. The countdown to Independence 200 has begun. For each of us each day should be a step forv;fard in Achievement USA. I Between now and July\ '76, let us learn to know one another better. From coast to coast, aj bordM to border, let us learn tl>•o.. sR \ W s,r;?'I ' !!1'1• ,,~ .;wd t;P* suee~at,W,rtf' the strengths and ways of our diverse \ pt>f{442~ ~ 6yt.4/a7s people. Let us travel the t~ ~super highways that weave their ~ ~--- ~ way across the mountains and · ~rairies; that reach from shore to shore ~~~:'"l/ , t;: A all America:ns to be nei3Pbors. ~~ ~ Through personal experience~ let \ls learn tc h , lftlw Americans, how they earn the~ ·r livelihood, their hopes and desires, a ndrl(f~& /ff.• . {J our common goals. 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Of /J !',..••··<~ .-wA 'f ~ ~ .. ,/. ~ ~. .r~ ( ~ II~ J .d_3 ~.hi-.. I 'd; . ~.s I , d. l.i?vJ1 ~., d:.r 1,-:;i .r1 Lt ~? ~ ~~~~~~c:;c~ 6 .fo4=o ~l :. ?~ t::J t:__¥· 1 :~. wL&.~ 1 .we, bJ=? ~~ ~ .~~ 7 ~ ~ rw- ~ ~ · ~ ·+ I H I I· II ~ c r ~ 72~ 7--~ r~ o-<.. v-- I ~ ~ 7 _,<; ~ .. .L~cr t ~ v-v-, -L . ~ o ~~ - I p •• -5- +4- let us think of where we will be and what we can achieve by next ;,.... -by by July 4th, the next decade, the 200th Anniversary of our Constitution, A A p..l\~ and the Year 2000. A ~ By these yardsticks, let us measure t.-:he progress on the course we set for ourselves and our Nation. Let us resolve that this shall be an era of hope rather than despair. Let us resolve that it shall be an era of achievement rather than of apathy. Let us resolve that it shall be a time of promise rather than of regret. The countdown to Independence 200 has begun. For each of us, each day should be a step forward to Achievement- USA. The Bicentennial Year for each of us should be a year of self-examination and individual accomplishment - quality and -7- much to the West Coast as they do to the East. Wherever the $ American flag went, also went the concept of this great Republic. American Clipper ships took the story to the far corners of the globe. American jet liners carry it everyday across the skies & ~ S' ,.._,. • ..f of distant lands. Indeed, this even~belong11 to oUtu 1 l!han just Americans. The appreciation of our past is essential to understanding the present and charting a course for the future. Every American can enrich the quality of the Bicentennial by looking at the past. The saga of America is an inspiring one. It has been told not only by historians, but in poetry, prose and song. Let us read again the writings of our great poets and authors who recount the life and times of these last 200 years. The Buckskin Tales, the world of Washington Irving, the Bret Harte's story of the American \ .·· -9- as meaningful as possible to as many as possible. It should stress the American Experience including the history, culture, achievements and values we associate with our way of life. The best criteria is a program which when viewed in a year, a decade, a century hence continues to have C()llt4Ntvi,, y and is identified with the event that inspired it. The Year 2000 - a quarter of a century, is not simply the end of a century, it is the close of an age. The end of one millennium, the beginning of a new. It marks a 1000 years of human history that began in the depths of the Dark Ages. The American Revolution is the greatest progression in Western Man's march to freedom and the opportunity for individual achievement. The Declaration of -------------- In the coming year, we must be certain the Bicentennial is a nationwide event. The American Revolution and its legacy belong to each of the states and our far flung territories. The appreciation of our past is essential to understanding the present and charting a course for the future. Every American can enrich the quality of the Bicentennial by looking at the past. The ideas that were forged and fought for in the 13 colonies crossed the f\ppalachians, they followed the Conestoga wagons and rode with the Pony Express. They crossed the Mississippi and the Missouri, spanned the plains and the deserts. They belong as much to the West Coast as they do to the East.