The Shining City of the Hill
On January 11, 1989 (23 years ago today) outgoing President Ronald Reagan gave his farewell address, in which he explained his metaphor of seeing the United States as a "shining city on a hill."
The phrase comes from Puritan John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity"in which Winthrop told the future Massachusetts Bay colonists that their new community would be a "city upon a hill", watched by the world.
Reagan referenced this quote in his final televised speech to the nation as President. He said:
"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."
Following is a YouTube video of a portion of that speech:
The phrase comes from Puritan John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity"in which Winthrop told the future Massachusetts Bay colonists that their new community would be a "city upon a hill", watched by the world.
Reagan referenced this quote in his final televised speech to the nation as President. He said:
"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."
Following is a YouTube video of a portion of that speech: