Inaugural address by John F. Kennedy
US President John F. Kennedy made his only inaugural address on January 20, 1961 at 12:51 pm ( EST ). It took place immediately after the Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren took the oath of office .
background
John F. Kennedy was nominated for the 1960 presidential election in the United States as a Democratic candidate, in which he won against Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon . This made him the youngest man elected to the office of US President at the age of 43 and the first Roman Catholic President. However, the title of youngest president remained with Theodore Roosevelt , who was sworn in as president at the age of 42.
Inaugural speech
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Kennedy took the oath of office at 12:51 pm ( EST ) on Friday, January 20, 1961, and then delivered his speech.
The speech is 1,364 words long and took 13 minutes and 42 seconds between the first and last word. The applause at the end is not counted. With this length, it is the fourth shortest inaugural address. The speech was also the first to be televised. The speech is widely considered to be one of the best inaugural speeches in US history.
drafts
The speech was drafted by Kennedy and his speechwriter Ted Sorensen . Kennedy had Sorensen study President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and other inaugural speeches. Kennedy began collecting thoughts and ideas for the speech in late November 1960. He sought suggestions from several friends and advisers, and asked ministers about Bible quotes. Kennedy then made several drafts using his own thoughts and some of the suggestions. Kennedy used several suggestions from economist John Kenneth Galbraith and former Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson II . The line “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. " (Eng. "Let us never negotiate fearfully. But let us also never be afraid to negotiate.") The speech is almost identical to Galbraith's suggestion "We shall never negotiate out of fear." But we shall never fear to negotiate. " (Eng. "We should never negotiate out of fear. But we should never be afraid to negotiate.") Stevenson's suggestion "If the free way of life doesn't help the many poor of this world it will never save the few rich. ” (Eng. "If the liberal way of life does not help the many poor in the world, then it will never protect the few rich") became in the speech to "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save." the few who are rich. " (Eng. "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, then it cannot protect the few who are rich either.")
Day of Inauguration
The eve of the inauguration was marked by heavy snowfall, but plans to cancel the speech were discarded. After attending a mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown , Kennedy headed for the Capitol . He was accompanied by President Dwight Eisenhower .
Robert Frost attended the inauguration ceremony and brought a handwritten poem entitled "Dedication" for the President. Frost planned to read a typed copy of the poem at the ceremony, but the harsh sunlight reflecting off the previous night's snow made it difficult to read. Frost then quoted "The Gift Outright" from memory and presented the handwritten version of the poem "Dedication" to John and his wife Jacqueline . This 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. " (Eng. "For Jack. The first thing I had framed to put in your office. The first thing to be hung there.")
"Ask not what your country can do for you" and meaning of the speech
In a series in The Guardian newspaper , the speech was ranked second in the "Great speeches of the 20th century".
The following two lines became particularly well known shortly before the end of the speech:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
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. "
“And so, my fellow Americans, don't ask what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens around the world, do not ask what America will do for you, but ask what we can do together for human freedom. "
For a long time it was believed that the wording with the question came from Kennedy's speechwriter Theodore Sorensen . In fact, Kennedy had inherited it from his former principal at Connecticut's Choate School, who had often used it in a similar form.
See also
literature
- Clarke, Thurston Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America . New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7213-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address. Bartleby, accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ John F. Kennedy, The 35th President of the United States: World War II and a Future in Politics. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum , accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ White House Diaries. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, archived from the original on January 25, 2009 ; Retrieved January 8, 2008 .
- ^ Kennedy Was in Office Despite Delay in Oath . In: The New York Times , Jan. 21, 1961, p. 13.
- ^ Brian Wolly: History & Archeology: Inaugural Firsts - When was the first inaugural parade? Who had the longest inaugural address? A look at presidential inaugurations through time . In: Smithsonian Magazine , December 17, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
- ↑ Top 100 Speeches. American Rhetoric, accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ Analyzing the Inaugural Address. (PDF; 368 kB) John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, 1961. National Archives and Records Administration , accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ Analyzing the Rhetoric of JFK's Inaugural Address. (PDF; 202 kB) In: Department of Education and Public Programs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, accessed January 8, 2013 .
- ^ A b Robert Frost's Original Poem for JFK's Inauguration Finds Way to Kennedy Presidential Library. John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, April 20, 2006, accessed October 2, 2013 .
- ^ The Poetry of Robert Frost. Library of Congress , accessed May 5, 2010 .
- ^ The Guardian: Great Speeches , accessed October 2, 2013
- ↑ Revealed: How JFK stole his 'ask not what your country can do' speech from his old headmaster. In: Daily Mail. November 1, 2011, accessed January 19, 2017 .
