President Gerald Ford, in a speech given at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1976, articulated these words of inclusion:  "We are bound together by the most powerful of all ties, our fervent love for freedom and independence, which knows no homeland but the human heart."

He went on to say: "It is good to know that in our own lifetime we have taken part in the growth of freedom and in the expansion of equality which began here so long ago."

"This union of corrected wrongs and expanded rights has brought the blessings of liberty to the 215 million Americans, but the struggle for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is never truly won. Each generation of Americans, indeed of all humanity, must strive to achieve these aspirations anew. Liberty is a living flame to be fed, not dead ashes to be revered, even in a Bicentennial Year."

For the complete text of the Bicentennial Year speech, visit the Gerald Ford Museum and Library.