LAD # 29 Wilson's First Inaugural

Wilson begins his inaugural address by praising the political system and the industrial success of the country. "But the evil has come with the good, and much fine gold has been corroded. But the evil has come with the good, and much fine gold has been corroded." He says that Americans are wasteful. The physical and spiritual cost cost of human life and natural energy has not been reviewed. "With the great Government went many deep secret things which we too long delayed to look into and scrutinize with the candid, fearless eye. The great government we loved has too often been made use of for private and selfish proposes, and those who used it had forgotten the people." Essentially, the government is not doing its proper duty of protecting the citizens of the United States. In turn, Wilson says that "our duty is to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, (and) to correct the evil without impairing the good, to purify and humanize every process of our common life without weakening or sentimentalizing it." He reminds his audience that the original intention of the American democracy was policy " (that) was meant to serve the humblest as well as the most powerful, with an eye single to the standards of justice and fair play." He directly addressed an unjust tariff, a corrupted banking and currency system, a restricting industrial system, an inefficient agricultural body, and misuse of the natural environment. The security of society is the most important service that the government can offer. Finally, he concludes his speech with a call for patriotism.