 in the Queen City of Charlotte. The crown jewel of the Piedmont Crescent. I bring you greetings from my husband. There's nobody that would like better to be here than he would right now with all of y'all. The consuming and arduous task of the presidency go on day by day, and that is what must come first. The surge of growth in North Carolina is thrilling to see. There's an aliveness, a spark here. I am convinced that it is the rich soul of history and tradition which nurtures the growth here and all over the South. I too have deep roots in this history. And so I am proud to honor here the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which was adopted one year before the United States Declaration of Independence. The words of that declaration give a sense of power behind the drive for freedom. The same power helped free our own country. General Cornwallis found your city a harness nest of resistance. But your goals here in North Carolina do not end with economic development. I feel here a concern for the development of people as well. You are making this city a representative of the great society my husband talks about. With your oldest symphony orchestra in the South, your opera, and the Meck Museum, you're striving to create an environment in which people may live happily and raise their children soundly. But you know and I know that we cannot breathe easily or raise our children unafraid unless we are sure that all possible steps are being taken to build a stable and lasting peace. To every mother in this crowd, that is the most important thing before us today. And there are many stones in that mosaic of peace. You and Charlotte have carried out an important exchange of high school students. The increased understanding that comes from these programs helps create peace. So does cultural exchange. Many of our deepest values are best expressed through our music, art, and drama. The same is true of the exchange of community leaders, the mayors, the businessmen, the labor leaders that have gone abroad. Building for peace is a day by day work. It takes patience and a steady hand at many levels of government. But finally, you get to the ultimate responsibility, which rests with the president. My husband has said, the true courage in this nuclear age lies in the quest for peace. I like the way he just summed it up in one sentence like this. Our guard is up, but our hand is out. 10 months ago, on a most awful day, all of us remember it. He became our president. Behind him lay the experience of 12 years in the House of Representatives, 12 in the Senate, and three in the vice presidency. And into these last 10 months, he has poured all the energy, intellect, and heart he has to try to keep our country prosperous, to preserve peace, and to plan for a greater America. You can tell what sort of a president he will make because you have lived through these 10 months with us. North Carolina has given much to this administration. Your splendid delegation in Congress and your dedicated and farsighted Luther Hodges as Secretary of Commerce. I want to say right here and now, these 12 or 14 marvelous stops that we have made in North Carolina, each one of them seeming more outgoing and warm-hearted and more delightful than the last, have been a great joy for me. And to be with the leaders of your state has been one of the finest parts of it. I believe that this administration has served North Carolina well in return for all that you have done for it. I hope that you will want to continue this partnership. I thank you for coming out today to see us and greet us. Then the bird to you. I'd like to check with you the back.