 came along and I'm certainly a great pleasure for me to have this chance to speak with you in this historic location. All of you from Southern Regional High School and Lennahawk and New Jersey. And I hope I haven't interrupted your tour too much by taking advantage of your presence here. Well during the Second World War, General George Marshall, who later became Secretary of State as the creator of the Marshall Plan, he was asked at the beginning of the war what was our secret weapon in World War II. And the General said, just the best blankety blank kids in the world. I've had a feeling for some time now that that can be said again about your generation. I've met a lot of you all around the country and been very proud of what I've seen. An important reason why some of us older types are still active, instead of being up on a certain ranch in California, is that we want to make certain that when it comes your turn to take over, you have the same kind of a country with as much opportunity and as much freedom as we had when it was our turn to take over. This is a fitting location to speak about our country's security and my recent talks with General Secretary Gorbachev. The British had already burned Washington by the time the their fleet arrived at Fort McHenry back in 1814. And they would have continued their drive, capturing and possibly destroying the metropolitan centers of our young country had they not been stopped. What saved the day was the skill and bravery of those who fought here. Some undoubtedly were no older than you are. The defenders of Fort McHenry withstood a tremendous naval bombardment, stopped the enemy cold. They were heroes. But in retrospect credit must also be given to those far-sighted individuals who made certain the fort was ready for action and who equipped the fort's defenders with reliable weapons. And it shouldn't be forgotten that this fort was built in 1799 during a time of peace. I understand you're here today as part of your study in American history. And I tell you I'm delighted that that is so because there has been a period not too long ago when history sort of fell out of fashion in many of our schools and people like yourselves were allowed to grow up without too much knowledge of the past. Fort McHenry as I say was built as a means of defending our country against the deadliest weapon of that time, which was the warship with its cannons. And no one could imagine then what accomplishments were to follow for peace and regrettably for war. And again today we can't imagine what the future holds. We hope and pray that there will always be peace. But like those who built this fort in the time of peace, so too we must be prepared to defend against those who would attempt to deny our freedom. We must be prepared. Unfortunately today most Americans don't realize that our country has no defense at all against the deadliest weapons of our day. Nuclear tipped missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles. Somebody pushes a button and a half hour later our world is blowing up. The having such a defensive system wouldn't threaten anyone. It would protect our country and this is what our research program, our modern day Fort McHenry, called the Strategic Defense Initiative. You've heard those letters SDI over and over again. Well that's what it's all about. We're engaging some of our country's best minds to find out if it isn't possible to build a system that would provide a shield to protect all of us from a missile attack as this fort shielded Baltimore from cannon attack. And by the time your high school students are finished with your education, new technology may be available. It will make this a far safer world than the one that we're living in today. One in which the danger of nuclear war will not cast a shadow over your lives as it has over ours. I met with General Secretary Gorbachev over the weekend as I'm sure you know, in Iceland. We spoke about human rights, certain conflicts in the world in a more open relationship between our two countries. We proposed the most sweeping and generous arms control proposal in history. We offered the complete elimination of all nuclear ballistic missiles, Soviet and American, from the face of the Earth by 1996. While we parted company with this American offer still on the table, we're closer than ever before to agreements that could lead to a safer world without nuclear weapons. I'm always aware that as president, I'm not just making decisions for today's Americans, but tomorrow's Americans as well. I was not about to bargain away a safer world for you tomorrow. It's my sincere hope that Mr. Gorbachev will review the great strides we made in Iceland and join with us in reducing nuclear weapons and in building technology that protects lives rather than destroying them. That's the only protection we have today. The policy is called the mad policy and really because the words are mutual assured destruction. But it really is a mad policy, a treaty called the ABM. And in reality, what it says is neither side will protect our people from a possible nuclear attack, and therefore we'll be so scared of shooting at each other that we won't do it. Well, I don't place an awful lot of confidence in that. And I think if we can come up with a weapon that says to them, if you push that button, your weapons can't get here. And I offered to share that weapon with them so they could say the same thing about ours. But we'll keep on working at that. SDI is our policy on insurance policy to protect against a madman in the world or an attack by the Soviet Union. So let's forward look forward and seek agreements and not look back and place blame. I repeat my offer to Mr. Gorbachev. Our proposals are serious. They remain on the table and our negotiators are there in Geneva looking at them. So we're ready to pick up where we left off. There's a unique opportunity to achieve real arms reduction and it shouldn't be missed. Technology and freedom are opening new possibilities every day. Clearly, I think the future is on our side. But right now, I know I have to go and I'm taking up too much of your time. But I just like to mention something else to you as history students. You know, I've read a lot of constitutions. I guess every country in the world's got a constitution. The Soviet Union's constitution I have read. And if you look at it, you'll see many things in there that are in ours. The right freedom to speak and freedom to assemble and so forth. Of course, if anybody in Russia tries to do that, they get arrested. But it's in their constitution. Now, what is the difference? Why is ours a document so great that one of the greatest of English statesmen many, many years ago said that this probably represented the greatest single achievement of mankind. The creation of our of our constitution. Why was it that Daniel Webster said, protect the constitution, preserve it. Because if the American Constitution is ever allowed to fall, there will be chaos, anarchy throughout the world. Well, there's a difference that is so little, tiny, that you hardly notice it. And yet it is so great, it tells the whole story. All those other constitutions are written by governments that in their constitution say to their people, here are the privileges and here are the rights which we guarantee to you. Our constitution says here are the rights and the privileges that we the people grant to government. And government can have no other rights or privileges that are not mentioned unless they are mentioned specifically in this constitution. When our revolution took place a few years before this fort was built. Other revolutions have taken place in the world time immemorial and up to today. All those other revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another set of rulers. Ours was the first philosophical revolution. Our said governments are not the masters of the people. They are the servants of the people. And government can do nothing unless the people tell government specifically that government can do that. And I don't know whether you'd thought about that, but the very near future we're going to be rec recognizing and celebrating in this country the 200th birthday of the United States Constitution. And I just couldn't resist in case you hadn't gotten to it in history. Making sure that you knew about it. Well, listen, it's good to see all of you here. And I know I've got a incidentally in addition to that history and everything else. You keep up with your studies. But also those of you who are 18 and those of you who are approaching 18. Remember that this government of buying for the people won't work unless the people perform their duty, which is to vote. Every time there's an election. And try to make up your minds as to what the issues are, what you're feeling is about them. Don't just get bothered by labels and think you've got to vote one way because you belong to a certain party or something. Vote on the basis of what you what you think and what you feel. There was a man a great humorous named Will Rogers. Some years ago, he's dead now, but Will Rogers said that the people that we elect to office public office are no better and no worse than the rest of us. But they're all better than those who don't vote at all. So keep in mind that that's the privilege you've got. Use that privilege. God bless you all. Thank you very much. Have fun looking at the fort. I've got to go over and get somebody elected to office now. Thank you all. You think you're winning the propaganda war with Gorbachev after Iceland? Well, he's trying propaganda. I'm just trying to prove. When do you think you'll have an agreement, Mr. President? Do you think that you'll actually go back to the table again with him? I have to believe we will. Yes. When? Ask him. Mr. President, a Republican candidate is going to be held by how you did in Iceland. Republican candidate. Republican candidate is going to be held by how you did in Iceland. Oh, I thought you said held. I don't know. I'm going to find out between now and November 4th. Are you going to rise up and drop it personally when conducting the foreign policy and without further ado? Christians. One Christian stood up and said something. An alliance stopped their advance, laid down, never made a move. And he simply said, I just told them that there would be speeches after the meal. In their own, that means a landing center of the future land has saved that stand and inflated mine center. For a nation of sense and well, we control the body for the over the year. And it can be a return to work situation. So I'm not sure it's business. Ever increasing that and struggling. Counted on to support the appointment of tough law and order judges, greatest responsibilities of any elected official is to see to the security needs of the United States. Back in the 90s, Linda's opponent at her views carried the day during these last five and a half years, we would have no be one by no nemesis, no nuclear and chop up America's strategic defense initiative, which is exactly what Mr. Gorbachev is hoping that Congress will do. Let me state in play, it would be a terrible tragedy for this country and for great strides in these last five and a half years, the United States has again resumed his leadership role. The Western Alliance is again united, united, rather than ignored. Central America, for example, Linda and how many people, the liberal men are saying we should just turn back time and business, trying to get any other today. Freedom. I know there's been a lot of talk lately that Linda didn't always believe these things. Well, I used to be an active member of that other party too. It reminds me of a story of a little boy who was selling puppies just outside of Democratic for selling Republican puppies. And he called him and he said, Hey, two weeks ago, those were Democrat puppies. What do you mean? Now the Republican puppies. Kids says now they got their eyes on them. This place, the issue is employed, which is the highest percentage in the history of our country. So, welcome aboard. Thank you. Am I regretting it? And yet, the Republican people are taking the bread and I was speaking at their foundations and so forth. And what do you mean speaking to one such gathering? I'm a woman out on the middle.