Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy
On January 20, 1961 – exactly 50 years ago today – John F. Kennedy gave his one and only Inaugural Address. Widely considered to be the greatest Presidential Inauguration speech, JFK’s address lasted only a little over 13 minutes and in it he coined the line: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
So, 50 years later we celebrate the president and his speech with books about his legacy. From the best books about his vision to the most scintillating bout his assassination, here are 9 books about JFK.
But what did we leave out? Let us know your favorite JFK book in comments section below.
- John F. Kennedy.
Recordings of some of John F. Kennedy’s White House news conferences and a speech he gave at the University of North Dakota are now available through the university and iTunes in honour of the 50th anniversary of his inauguration.
Apple iTunes will be featuring the 10 digital audio recordings beginning January 20 to mark the occasion.
The University of North Dakota Library has had the recordings posted since 2008 as part of its celebrations to mark the 45th anniversary of Kennedy’s visit to the university.
The digital collection includes news conferences from August 1961 to February 1963, the Kennedy speech at UND, which was delivered about two months before his assassination and the announcement of Kennedy’s death made by KFJM, the public radio station on UND’s campus.
Central to the archival material is the speech Kennedy gave at UND – said Wilbur Stolt, director of UND’s Chester Fritz Library.
“He talked about conservation. He pointed to a major project – the creation of the Garrison Dam, north of Bismarck. It was at the time the 5th largest earthen dam in the world.”
The doodle shows a word cloud from Mister Kennedy’s speech, including an illustration of Mister Kennedy, which forms the infamous ‘Google’ logo.
“It’s interesting to see the different sketches and illustrations Google puts together” – Bill Richardson, a resident of San Francisco, told Politically Illustrated. “It’s their one way of competing with Bing’s daily eye candy.”
The inaugural address of Mister Kennedy was most notable for his line – “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
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.”
– “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.”