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John F. Kennedy - Great Speeches

John F. Kennedy - Great Speeches

By: Quiet. Please
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 John F. Kennedy was widely regarded as one of the most effective public speakers of the 20th century. His speeches were known for their eloquence, their ability to inspire and motivate, and their use of vivid imagery.


Kennedy had a natural charisma and a commanding presence that made him an engaging speaker. He was also a skilled orator who knew how to use the power of language to connect with his audience. His speeches were often filled with metaphors, similes, and other figures of speech that made them memorable and impactful.Kennedy was also a master of delivery. He spoke in a clear, confident voice, and he used pauses and inflections to emphasize his key points. He also made good use of eye contact and gestures to keep his audience engaged.Kennedy's speeches were often about the challenges and opportunities facing the United States. He spoke about the importance of peace, civil rights, and space exploration. He also spoke about the need for individual responsibility and the importance of public service.Kennedy's speeches helped to shape the national conversation during his presidency. They also continue to inspire people around the world today.Here are some of Kennedy's most famous speeches:
In his inaugural address, Kennedy called for a new generation of American leadership. He challenged the country to take on new challenges, such as poverty and space exploration. He also spoke about the importance of peace and the need for America to be a "shining city on a hill."
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Kennedy spoke about the importance of cooperation and diplomacy. He called for an end to the Cold War and for a new era of peace and prosperity.
In his civil rights address, Kennedy called for an end to racial segregation in the United States. He said that all Americans were entitled to equal rights and opportunities, regardless of the color of their skin.
In his American University commencement address, Kennedy spoke about the importance of peace. He called for an end to the Cold War and for a new era of cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union.
In his speech in Berlin, Kennedy delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") line. He spoke about the importance of freedom and democracy, and he pledged the support of the United States to the people of Berlin.Copyright 2023 Quiet. Please Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • John F. Kennedy - Address on Civil Rights Speech

    John F. Kennedy - Address on Civil Rights Speech
    Nov 9 2023
    TranscriptGood evening, my fellow citizens:This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro.That they were admitted peacefully on the campus is due in good measure to the conduct of the students of the University of Alabama, who met their responsibilities in a constructive way.I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And when Americans are sent to Viet-Nam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case.The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the Nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right.We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or cast system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its promise. The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the ...
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    14 mins
  • John F. Kennedy - Ich bin ein Berliner Speech

    John F. Kennedy - Ich bin ein Berliner Speech
    Nov 9 2023
    TranscriptI am proud to come to this city as the guest of your distinguished Mayor, who has symbolized throughout the world the fighting spirit of West Berlin. And I am proud to visit the Federal Republic with your distinguished Chancellor who for so many years has committed Germany to democracy and freedom and progress, and to come here in the company of my fellow American, General Clay, who has been in this city during its great moments of crisis and will come again if ever needed.
    Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."
    I appreciate my interpreter translating my German!
    There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sic nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.
    Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope and the determination of the city of West Berlin. While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of. the Communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your Mayor has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.
    What is true of this city is true of Germany—real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you, as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.
    Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades.
    All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
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    9 mins
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