“You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”
- Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan shared this quote during his final public speech as president on January 19, 1989, just one day before leaving office.
He delivered the remarks while presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom and chose to conclude his presidency with what he called “one final thought” about America. Reagan noted that the idea was not originally his own but came from a letter he had recently received.
After reading the letter, he reflected on its message, arguing that the United States was unique because it continually renewed itself through immigration. He said America’s strength came from welcoming people “from every country and every corner of the world.” Reagan also warned that if the nation ever “closed the door to new Americans,” it would eventually lose one of its greatest sources of energy, innovation, and leadership.
The speech came at a pivotal moment. Reagan’s eight years in office were coming to an end during the final stage of the Cold War, just a few years after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and as major political changes were beginning to unfold across Eastern Europe.
Instead of ending his presidency by focusing on the economy or foreign affairs, Reagan chose to emphasize a different message: that America was defined not by ancestry, but by shared civic ideals and a willingness to welcome new citizens.