Inaugural address of John F. Kennedy

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

delivered his only inaugural address at 12:51 (ET) Friday, January 20, 1961, immediately after taking the presidential oath of office administered by Chief Justice

Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...

Earl Warren

Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...

Background

John Kennedy was nominated

1960 Democratic National Convention

The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles. In the end, the Kennedy-Johnson ticket was assembled and went on to secure an electoral college victory and a narrow popular vote plurality in the fall over the Republican candidates Richard M...

as the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

candidate for the presidency in the 1960 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1960

The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...

, defeating Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

candidate and Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

. In doing so he became the youngest man elected U.S. president and the first Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

president, but not the youngest president

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

.

By a twist of fate, Kennedy, in replacing Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

, then 70, made the youngest elected president replace the oldest to serve at that time (Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

surpassed Eisenhower as the oldest president to serve in 1981.).

Inaugural address

Kennedy took the oath of office at at 12:51 (ET) Friday, 20 January 1961, and gave the speech afterwards.

The address is 1364 words and took 13 minutes and 59 seconds to deliver, from the first word to the last word, not including applause at the end, making it the fourth-shortest inaugural address ever delivered. It is widely considered to be among the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history.

Drafting

Kennedy began collecting thoughts and ideas for his inauguration speech in late November 1960. He sought suggestions from various friends, aides and counselors, including suggestions from clergymen for biblical quotations. Kennedy then made several drafts using his thoughts and those suggestions.

The speech was crafted by Kennedy and his speech writer Ted Sorenson. Kennedy had Sorenson study President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

's Gettysburg Address

Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...

as well as other inaugural speeches.

Inauguration Day

The eve of the address was marked by heavy snow, but plans made to cancel the address were overridden. After attending the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...

, Kennedy headed towards the U.S. Capitol building accompanied by President Dwight Eisenhower to the inaugural ceremony.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...

attended the inaugural ceremonies, and brought a handwritten poem titled Dedication meant for the President. Although Frost had planned to read aloud a typed copy of the poem at the ceremonies, the sun glare reflecting off the heavy snow that fell the night before made it difficult to read. Lyndon Johnson attempted to shield the glare with his top hat but this proved futile. Frost then recited by memory The Gift Outright, and handed the original handwritten version of Dedication to John and his wife Jacqueline, who framed the poem and wrote on the back: For Jack. First thing I had framed to be put in your office. First thing to be hung there.

Notable passages

"...the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."
"Let the word go forth.....that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."
"Let every nation know... that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
"The world is very very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life."
"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"
"For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed."
"All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."
"...let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

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