John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech

Who Wrote:

U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivered this, his Inaugural Speech, on January 20, 1961.

Audience:

His audience was first and foremost the average American citizen. His second audience was the free & sovereign nations of the world including our traditional allies, fellow republics of the Americas, and newly created nation-states. Our Cold War adversaries of the time, the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union, was his third audience.

Represent:

Kennedy represents change. He was the youngest person ever elected President and the first President to have been born in the 20^th century. “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and for alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”

But he is also saying to the world that America is determined to defend and promote freedom around the globe. “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.”

What is being said and/or requested:

After a close election, Kennedy is seeking a national consensus which he believes would benefit the people of the world as well as American citizens. He feels that freedom is facing extreme danger from the spread of Communism around the world and that maximum effort is going to have to be expended to save it. He calls on Americans to defend freedom, saying “the energy, the faith, and 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.”

He believes that the goal of a better world can only be reached if everyone participates in the effort. “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” He asks our allies and the world to join us in “… a grand global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind.”

He is requesting from our adversaries that “both sides begin anew the quest for peace.” He suggests that talking is better than fighting. “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”

How is it being said:

Kennedy delivered the speech with determination, youthful energy, emotional vigor and in an active voice.

What proof and/or justification is being given:

With the invention & deployment of nuclear weapons, the modern world is too dangerous to not take this course of action. “The world is 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.”

Later in the speech he says the alternative could lead to mankind’s destruction. “But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course – both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.”

What is the historical significance/relevance:

A change in strategy is being taken towards our Communist adversaries and the Soviet Union. Instead of only escalating competition that may lead ultimately to nuclear war, Kennedy is trying to put the two superpowers on a new path toward peace with his idea to “…bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.” This could be thru negotiations, treaties and the United Nations.

How the premise or theme fit into the historical context we are reading about in our textbook:

At the time of Kennedy’s inauguration, foreign relations are changing. The domination of international affairs by only the United States and the Soviet Union is diminishing. Nationalist movements dedicated to self-determination & human rights in the developing world is beginning to rise and move towards center stage.