John F. Kennedy 1917-1963

Democracy is the superior form of government because it is based on a respect for man as a reasonable being.

Separation of church and state is fundamental to our American concept and heritage, and should remain so.

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.

Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.

Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames.

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 future. And we are all mortal.

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.

Liberty without learning is always in peril...
The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.

Kennedy on Education

Our children and our grandchildren ...have no lobby here in Washington.

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.

The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.

While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.

In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.

What does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans ...let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.

Without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men ... have lived.

The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must--in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures--and that is the basis of all human morality.

Only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation.

It takes great courage to do what you think is right even though it may mean the end of your career and the dislike and criticism of your friends and neighbors.

I speak of peace ...as the necessary rational end of rational men...

Ancient man survived the more powerful beasts about him because his wisdom – his strategy and his policies – overcame his lack of power. We can do the same. We dare not attempt less...

President John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Address (13:23)

President John F. Kennedy's Peace Speech (27:07)