We know now what they could not know then.

It has a message that is not only true as to the past, but it is also encouraging as to the future.

And this is the thing that these three men, different as they were in origin and in temperament, held in common.

They deserve not only an enduring monument, but they deserve understanding and remembrance.

In their madness they were determined that the blood-letting should not stop.

Each of the three men whose fame this monument celebrates held the office of President in time of trouble.

In 1865 no man alive could have succeeded Abraham Lincoln without being subject to unfavorable comparisons.

This is an occasion to which I have looked forward for a long time.

In these new estimates, not one of the three has diminished in stature.

I think Charles Keck is the greatest sculptor of his time.

As I have said time and again, that I would rather see a lasting peace in the world than to be President of the United States.

So long as I am President, the United States will not carry a chip on its shoulder.

The world has learned that it is weakness and appeasement that invite aggression.

Our purpose, from the end of the war to the present, has never changed.

Patience must be our watchword.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by title I of the Selective Service Act of 1948, approved June 24, 1948 (62 Stat. 604), I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed in part by…

I am working for peace, and I shall continue to work for peace.

Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 3 of the said migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 3, 1918, do hereby approve and proclaim the…