Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights
In 1963, Civil Rights protests became increasingly confrontational as Birmingham, Alabama's police commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, crushed a nonviolent protest with extreme force. In June 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace refused to allow two black students to enter the University of Alabama forcing President Kennedy to use the National Guard to ensure the safety of the students. On June 11, President Kennedy made the decision to give a televised evening speech announcing his civil rights bill proposal. Although Kennedy delivered part of the talk extemporaneously, it was one of his best speeches--a heartfelt appeal in behalf of a moral cause that included several memorable lines calling upon the country to honor its finest traditions.
Remarks at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin, Germany
In 1961, East German authorities began construction of a 12 foot high wall which would eventually stretch for 100 miles around the perimeter of West Berlin, preventing anyone from crossing to the West and to freedom. Nearly 200 persons would be killed trying to pass over or dig under the wall. President Kennedy arrived in Berlin on June 26, 1963, following appearances in Bonn, Cologne and Frankfurt, where he had given speeches to huge, wildly cheering crowds. In Berlin, an immense crowd of 120,000 Berliners gathered in the Rudolph Wilde Platz near the Berlin Wall to listen to hear President Kennedy speak. They began gathering in the square long before he was due to arrive, and when President Kennedy finally appeared on the podium after having made a visit to Checkpoint Charlie at the Berlin Wall, they gave him an ovation of several minutes.
Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort
When John F. Kennedy became president in January 1961, Americans had the perception that the United States was losing the "space race" with the Soviets. President Kennedy understood the need and had the vision of not only matching the Soviets, but surpassing them. On May 25, 1961, he stood before Congress and proclaimed that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." On September 12, 1962, President Kennedy delivered a speech describing his goals for the nation's space effort before a crowd of 35,000 people in the football stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Address During the Cuban Missile Crisis
On Monday, October 22, 1962, President Kennedy appeared on television to inform Americans of the recently discovered Soviet military buildup in Cuba including the ongoing installation of offensive nuclear missiles. He informed the people of the United States of the "quarantine" placed around Cuba by the U.S. Navy. The President stated that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union and demanded that the Soviets remove all of their offensive weapons from Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. Recognizing the devastating possibility of a nuclear war, Khrushchev turned his ships back. The Soviets agreed to dismantle the weapon sites and, in exchange, the United States agreed not to invade Cuba.
The Inaugural Address
On a frigid Winter's day, January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office from Chief Justice Earl Warren, to become the 35th President of the United States. At age 43, he was the youngest man, and the first Irish Catholic to be elected to the office of President. This is the speech he delivered announcing the dawn of a new era as young Americans born in the 20th century first assumed leadership of the Nation.
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