AHTER 1976 Gerald Ford

As we begin our bicentennial, America is still one of the youngest nations in recorded history. Long before our forefathers came to these shores, men and women had been struggling on this planet to forge a better life for themselves and their families.

In man's long upward march from savagery and slavery throughout the nearly 2,000 years of the Christian calendar, calendar. The nearly 6,000 years of Jewish reckoning, there have been many deep, terrifying valleys but also many bright and tolerant peaks. One peak stands highest in the ranges of human history.

One example shines forth of a people uniting to produce abundance and to share the good life, fairly and with freedom. One union stands out, the promise of justice and opportunity for every citizen. That union is the United States of America.

This is one of 50,000 voices from the collection of the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University.