Jan 11, 1989 “City on Hill” Farewell Speech
by President Ronald Reagan
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I
ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a
tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept,
God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and
peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and
if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open
to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and
see it still. And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure,
and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200
years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge,
and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon,
still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all
the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home. We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word
to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across
America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My
friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We
made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good
hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all. And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
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