Ronald Reagan

“ Just as our Revolution of 1776 was an inspiration for Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, so we in the United States took inspiration from the struggle of our neighbors to be free from foreign domination. We continue to take courage from those great struggles for liberty today, when new forms of tyranny and modern totalitarian systems threaten the peace and security of the Hemisphere, especially in Central America. ”

“ More and more countries of the Hemisphere are turning to democratic institutions to solve political, social, educational, and economic problems. They realize that peace, prosperity, and freedom are best served when the people, faced with a real choice of political parties, freely elect their own governments.
On this Pan American Day of 1985, the people of the United States extend warm greetings to all their neighbors in the Americas and reaffirm their active support for the Organization of American States and the principles for which it stands. ”

“ The Organization of American States, embodying the Inter-American System, links together this diverse group of nations, with their Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, African, and Indian heritages. But whatever their creeds, languages, or cultures, the peoples of our Hemisphere are united in the common cause of ending poverty, disease, and illiteracy. ”