80 Famous JFK Quotes — Memorable Sayings on Leadership, Freedom & Courage
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th President of the United States and the youngest person elected to the office, whose charisma, eloquence, and tragic assassination made him one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century. A decorated World War II naval hero who survived the sinking of PT-109, Kennedy suffered from severe chronic back pain and Addison's disease throughout his adult life -- ailments carefully hidden from the public. His brief presidency was defined by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race, and the early stages of the civil rights movement.
On October 16, 1962, Kennedy was shown aerial photographs proving that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, just ninety miles from the American coast. For the next thirteen days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation as Kennedy navigated between hawkish advisors urging an immediate military strike and the terrifying possibility of full-scale nuclear war. Through a combination of naval blockade, back-channel diplomacy, and a secret deal to remove American missiles from Turkey, Kennedy resolved the crisis peacefully -- the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. His inaugural address, delivered less than two years earlier, had set the tone for his presidency with one of the most famous lines in American political oratory: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." That call to civic responsibility, from a young president who would not live to see his promise fulfilled, continues to inspire public service around the world.
Who Was John F. Kennedy?
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Born | May 29, 1917, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | November 22, 1963 (age 46), Dallas, Texas, USA (assassinated) |
| Nationality | American |
| Role | 35th President of the United States |
| Known For | Cuban Missile Crisis, Space Race, "Ask not" inaugural address, assassination in Dallas |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917--1963) was born into a wealthy and politically ambitious Irish-American family in Brookline, Massachusetts. The second of nine children, he grew up in the shadow of his older brother Joe, who was groomed for political greatness but died in World War II. Jack, as his family called him, graduated from Harvard in 1940 with a thesis that became the bestselling book Why England Slept. During World War II, he commanded the patrol torpedo boat PT-109 in the Solomon Islands. When a Japanese destroyer rammed and split his boat in half on the night of August 2, 1943, Kennedy -- despite a badly injured back -- towed a wounded crewman by clenching the man's life-jacket strap between his teeth and swimming for four hours to reach a small island. His heroism earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart, and the PT-109 story became central to his political identity.
Kennedy entered politics in 1946, winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He moved to the Senate in 1952, and during a long recovery from spinal surgery in 1954--1955 he wrote Profiles in Courage, a study of senators who risked their careers for principle, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. In 1960, at the age of 43, Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections in American history -- becoming the youngest elected president and the first Roman Catholic to hold the office. His inaugural address on January 20, 1961, delivered on a bitterly cold Washington morning, produced the immortal call: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." Those fourteen words redefined the relationship between citizens and their government and launched the Peace Corps, the Alliance for Progress, and a new spirit of national service.
Kennedy's presidency was defined by the most dangerous confrontations of the Cold War. In April 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion -- a CIA-backed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro -- ended in humiliating failure. Kennedy took full public responsibility, remarking that "victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan." The lesson steeled him for the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, when U.S. intelligence discovered Soviet nuclear missiles being installed just ninety miles from Florida. For thirteen days the world stood on the edge of nuclear annihilation. Kennedy rejected pressure from military advisors who urged airstrikes and instead imposed a naval quarantine while pursuing back-channel diplomacy with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The crisis was resolved peacefully, and it remains the closest humanity has ever come to full-scale nuclear war. Months later, profoundly shaken by how near the world had come to destruction, Kennedy delivered his American University commencement address on June 10, 1963 -- widely regarded as one of the finest speeches of the twentieth century -- calling on Americans to reexamine their attitudes toward the Soviet Union and toward peace itself.
On September 12, 1962, at Rice University in Houston, Kennedy committed the nation to landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard," he declared, turning the space race into a test of national character. That promise was fulfilled on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface. Kennedy also championed civil rights, proposing sweeping legislation in June 1963 that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he established the Peace Corps, sending thousands of young Americans abroad to serve in developing nations. On November 22, 1963, while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, President Kennedy was assassinated. He was 46 years old. The shock of that afternoon shattered a nation and ended what many had called the Camelot era. Yet his words survived -- precise, luminous, and demanding -- and they continue to summon ordinary people toward extraordinary purpose.
Key Achievements and Episodes
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Thirteen Days That Could Have Ended the World
In October 1962, U.S. reconnaissance planes discovered Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba, just ninety miles from Florida. For thirteen days, Kennedy navigated the most dangerous moment in human history, rejecting the Joint Chiefs' recommendation for immediate airstrikes and instead imposing a naval blockade. Through secret back-channel negotiations with Khrushchev, Kennedy resolved the crisis: the Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba, the U.S. would pledge not to invade Cuba and secretly agreed to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Kennedy's calm judgment under pressure prevented nuclear war.
"We Choose to Go to the Moon"
On September 12, 1962, Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas, challenging America to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard," he declared. The speech galvanized the nation and set NASA on a course that would culminate in Apollo 11's lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Kennedy did not live to see it, but his vision drove the greatest technological achievement of the twentieth century and inspired generations of scientists and engineers.
Assassination in Dallas
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. He was forty-six years old. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder but was himself shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later, before he could stand trial. The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone, but the assassination spawned decades of conspiracy theories. Kennedy's death shocked the world and marked the end of an era of American optimism. His presidency, though lasting only 1,036 days, left an enduring legacy in American politics and culture.
Most Famous and Memorable JFK Quotes
These are the most famous and memorable JFK quotes — the words that defined a presidency and inspired a nation. From his legendary inaugural address to his final undelivered speech in Dallas, John F. Kennedy's most iconic sayings on leadership, freedom, and courage continue to resonate more than sixty years after his death. Here are the quotations most frequently cited and remembered from one of America's greatest orators.
"Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet."
Address to the United Nations General Assembly, September 25, 1961
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."
Widely attributed to Kennedy
"The greater our knowledge increases, the more our ignorance unfolds."
Address at Rice University, September 12, 1962
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
Commencement Address at Yale University, June 11, 1962
"A child miseducated is a child lost."
State of the Union Address, January 11, 1962
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
Widely attributed to Kennedy — reflecting themes from inaugural and civil rights addresses
"Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies."
Address to the Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, May 17, 1961
"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities."
Address at Rice University, September 12, 1962
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
Address to Latin American diplomats, March 13, 1962
"Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us."
Remark to Richard Nixon, 1961
"We must use time as a tool, not as a couch."
Attributed to Kennedy — on urgency in public life
"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."
Remarks in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959
"The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier -- the frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats."
Democratic National Convention acceptance speech, Los Angeles, July 15, 1960
JFK Quotes on Leadership and Public Service
John F. Kennedy's inaugural address on January 20, 1961, with its famous call to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country," defined a generation's understanding of civic duty and public service. At forty-three, the youngest elected president in American history, Kennedy projected a youthful energy and intellectual glamour that captivated the nation and the world, establishing a style of presidential leadership that combined personal charisma with substantive policy ambition. His creation of the Peace Corps in March 1961, which sent thousands of American volunteers to developing nations as teachers, healthcare workers, and agricultural advisors, embodied his vision of service and became one of the most enduring legacies of his brief presidency. Kennedy's Catholicism, which had been considered a disqualifying liability by many political observers, became instead a breakthrough moment in American religious tolerance when he won the election despite fierce anti-Catholic sentiment, especially in the Protestant South. His call for public service resonated far beyond his presidency, inspiring a generation of young Americans to enter government, join the Peace Corps, and dedicate themselves to causes larger than personal advancement.
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
Remarks prepared for delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963 (undelivered)
"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan."
Press conference on the Bay of Pigs, April 21, 1961
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland, February 18, 1958
"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all."
Address at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, May 18, 1963
"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
Remarks to the Economic Club of New York, December 14, 1962
"My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"The presidency is not merely an administrative office. That is the least of it. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership."
Campaign speech, January 14, 1960, National Press Club, Washington, D.C.
"In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power."
Address at the University of California, Berkeley, March 23, 1962
"No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business."
Message to Congress on Ethical Conduct in Government, April 27, 1961
"The basis of effective government is public confidence."
Message to Congress on Ethical Conduct in Government, April 27, 1961
"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone."
Remarks at the 90th Anniversary Convocation of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, May 18, 1963
Kennedy Quotes on Freedom and Democracy
Kennedy's passionate defense of freedom and democracy was tested most severely during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, thirteen days of nuclear brinkmanship that brought the world closer to annihilation than at any point before or since. When aerial photographs revealed that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba capable of reaching most major American cities within minutes, Kennedy rejected the Joint Chiefs' unanimous recommendation for an immediate military strike and instead chose a naval blockade that gave both sides time to negotiate. His televised address to the nation on October 22, 1962, informing Americans of the missile threat and the quarantine he was imposing, was watched by over 100 million people and represented one of the most dramatic moments in the history of presidential communication. The secret backchannel negotiations that resolved the crisis -- involving the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for a pledge not to invade the island and the quiet removal of American Jupiter missiles from Turkey -- demonstrated Kennedy's preference for diplomacy over military action even under extreme pressure. Kennedy's management of the missile crisis is now studied in every international relations course as the definitive case study in crisis management, nuclear deterrence, and the dangers of escalation.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, 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."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free."
Remarks at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, West Berlin, June 26, 1963 ("Ich bin ein Berliner" speech)
"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'"
Remarks at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, West Berlin, June 26, 1963
"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened."
Report to the American People on Civil Rights, televised address, June 11, 1963
"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed -- and no republic can survive."
Address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, April 27, 1961
"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."
Address to the United Nations General Assembly, New York City, September 25, 1961
"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America, Washington, D.C., February 26, 1962
"There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin."
Remarks at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, West Berlin, June 26, 1963 ("Ich bin ein Berliner" speech)
"The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men."
Address at the University of California, Berkeley, March 23, 1962
"This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened."
Report to the American People on Civil Rights, televised address, June 11, 1963
"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values."
Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America, Washington, D.C., February 26, 1962
"We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution."
Report to the American People on Civil Rights, televised address, June 11, 1963
JFK Quotes on Courage and Action
Kennedy's declaration that America would land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s, delivered to Congress on May 25, 1961, launched the most ambitious and expensive peacetime technological project in human history. At the time of his speech, the total American experience in space amounted to Alan Shepard's fifteen-minute suborbital flight just three weeks earlier, and NASA's engineers privately estimated the probability of success at less than fifty percent. The Apollo program, which ultimately cost $25.4 billion (approximately $200 billion in today's dollars) and employed over 400,000 people at its peak, demonstrated the transformative power of national commitment to a bold objective. Kennedy's framing of the Moon mission as a challenge America chose "not because it is easy, but because it is hard" established a rhetoric of ambitious national purpose that political leaders have invoked ever since. The successful Moon landing on July 20, 1969 -- six years after Kennedy's assassination -- vindicated his vision and stands as one of humanity's greatest achievements, a testament to the power of political leadership to inspire scientific and technological breakthroughs that transform human civilization.
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962
"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."
Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961
"There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction."
Address to the American Newspaper Publishers Association, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, April 27, 1961
"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
State of the Union Address, Washington, D.C., January 11, 1962
"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly."
Remarks prepared for delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963 (undelivered)
"Things do not happen. Things are made to happen."
Remarks at the Arkansas River Basin Development Dedication, October 25, 1963
"In a crisis, be aware of the danger -- but recognize the opportunity."
Address to the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, April 12, 1959
"One person can make a difference, and everyone should try."
Widely attributed to Kennedy -- reflects a theme from his public service addresses, 1961--1963
"The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence."
Remarks to the National Football Foundation, December 5, 1961
"Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all."
Address to a joint convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, May 15, 1963
"We must think and act not only for the moment but for our time."
State of the Union Address, Washington, D.C., January 14, 1963
"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."
"The Soft American," Sports Illustrated, December 26, 1960
"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
JFK Quotes About Peace and the Future
Kennedy's evolving vision of peace and his growing skepticism toward Cold War militarism culminated in his American University commencement address of June 10, 1963, widely regarded as the most important speech on peace by any Cold War president. Speaking just eight months after the Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, Kennedy called on Americans to reexamine their attitudes toward the Soviet Union, acknowledging shared humanity and shared vulnerability in the nuclear age. This speech led directly to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of August 1963, the first arms control agreement of the Cold War era, which banned nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, at age forty-six, cut short a presidency that was increasingly oriented toward detente with the Soviet Union, civil rights reform at home, and withdrawal from the deepening American involvement in Vietnam. His legacy -- amplified by the trauma of his assassination and the mythology of "Camelot" -- continues to define the aspirational possibilities of the American presidency and the enduring power of youthful idealism in democratic politics.
"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."
Address to the United Nations General Assembly, New York City, September 20, 1963
"Mankind must put an end to war -- or war will put an end to mankind."
Address to the United Nations General Assembly, New York City, September 25, 1961
"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are all mortal."
Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963
"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."
Statement on the National Commission on Children and Youth, 1963
"Our problems are man-made -- therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants."
Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963
"What kind of peace do I mean? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living."
Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963
"Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it is unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief."
Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963
"Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce."
Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
"The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough -- more than enough -- of war and hate and oppression."
Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963
"No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space."
Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961
JFK Quotes on the Arts, Culture, and the Human Spirit
Kennedy was one of the most culturally literate presidents in American history. He and Jacqueline Kennedy transformed the White House into a center of artistic and intellectual life, hosting Nobel laureates, poets, and musicians. Kennedy believed that a nation's greatness could be measured not just by its military or economic power but by its commitment to the arts and the life of the mind. His remarks at Amherst College in October 1963 -- one of his last major speeches -- offered an eloquent defense of art's role in a free society.
"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose -- and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."
Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."
Remarks at a closed-circuit television broadcast on behalf of the National Cultural Center, November 29, 1962
JFK Quotes on the Space Race and Science
Kennedy's commitment to space exploration was not merely about beating the Soviets -- it was about pushing the boundaries of human achievement and scientific knowledge. His Rice University Moon speech remains one of the most compelling arguments ever made for pursuing audacious goals, and his broader vision for science and technology shaped American research policy for decades.
"We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people."
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962
"Space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there."
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962
"This Nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it."
Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center, San Antonio, Texas, November 21, 1963
"For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace."
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961
"If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred."
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962
Frequently Asked Questions about JFK Quotes
What is JFK's most famous quote?
JFK's most famous line is "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country," from his inaugural address on January 20, 1961. Other widely cited Kennedy quotes include "We choose to go to the Moon… not because they are easy, but because they are hard" and "Ich bin ein Berliner."
Which speech is JFK most remembered for?
His Inaugural Address of January 20, 1961 set the tone for his presidency and launched the Peace Corps. His Address at Rice University on September 12, 1962 — "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard" — supplied the political will for the Apollo program.
What did JFK say about liberty?
In his inaugural Kennedy declared that America would "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." In Berlin on June 26, 1963 he added that "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free."
What did Kennedy say about courage?
JFK's Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles in Courage (1956) celebrated senators who risked their careers for principle. As president he warned that "There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction," and that "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."
When did JFK serve as president?
Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States and the youngest person elected to the office, serving from January 20, 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. His brief presidency was defined by the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, the space race, and the early stages of the civil rights movement.
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