(May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the 35th President of the United States, 1961–63, the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to that position; assassinated in Dallas, Texas, November 22, the eighth President to die in office; promoted space program and moon exploration, sent federal troops to quiet race riots in Birmingham, aided peaceful integration of University of Alabama, 1963; resolved the Cuban-Missile Crisis, 1962; attempted the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion intended to end Communist control in Cuba, formed the Peace Corps, 1961; U.S. Senator, 1953–60; published Profiles in Courage, 1956, which won the Pulitzer Prize; undergoes spinal-fusion operation, 1954; married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, 1953; U.S. Representative, 1946–52; employed by International News Service, 1945, covering United Nations conference; undergoes disc operation, 1944; commander of Patrol Torpedo boat PT–109 in the Pacific during World War II, 1943, sunk by Japanese destroyer; assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron, 1942; Ensign in Naval Reserve, 1941; published Why England Slept, 1940; graduated from Harvard, 1940; and attended Princeton University, 1935.
On Friday, January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his Inaugural Address, following prayers offered by a rabbi, a Protestant minister, a Catholic cardinal, a Greek Orthodox archbishop, and a poem read by Robert Frost. President Kennedy stated:
Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice-President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God, the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
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. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—The belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. …
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, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. …
Let both sides united to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah—to “undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free.”(Is. 58:6). …
Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in, and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”(Ro. 12:12)—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. …
The energy, the faith, 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. And so, my fellow Americans—ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. …
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.3765
On January 31, 1961, in a message greeting President Quadros of Brazil on the occasion of his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy stated:
Once in every twenty years presidential inaugurations in your country and mine occur within days of each other. This year of 1961 is signalized by the happy coincidence. At this time, each of us assumes challenging duties for which he has been freely chosen by his fellow citizens. To each of us is entrusted the heavy responsibility of guiding the affairs of a democratic nation founded on Christian ideals and aspiring to common goals of peace and human betterment.3766
On February 9, 1961, at the 9th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the International Christian Leadership, Inc., held at the Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy stated:
Mr. Chairman, Dr. Graham, Mr. Vice President—gentlemen:
I think it is most appropriate that we should be gathered together for this morning’s meeting. This country was founded by men and women who were dedicated or came to be dedicated to two propositions: first, a strong religious conviction, and secondly a recognition that this conviction could flourish only under a system of freedom.
I think it is appropriate that we pay tribute to this great constitutional principle which is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution: the principle of religious independence, of religious liberty, of religious freedom. But I think it is also important that we pay tribute and acknowledge another great principle, and that is the principle of religious conviction. Religious freedom has no significance unless it is accompanied by conviction. And therefore the Puritans and the Pilgrims of my own section of New England, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, the Catholics of Maryland, the Presbyterians of North Carolina, the Methodists and Baptists who came later, all shared these two great traditions which, like silver threads, have run through the warp and the woof of American history.
No man who enters upon the office to which I have succeeded can fail to recognize how every President of the United States has placed special reliance upon his faith in God. Every President has taken comfort and courage when told, as we are told today, that the Lord “will be with thee. He will not fail nor forsake thee. Fear not—neither be thou dismayed."
While they came from a variety of religious backgrounds and held a wide variety of religious beliefs, each of our Presidents in his own way has placed a special trust in God. Those who were strongest intellectually were also the strongest spiritually.
Today our Nation is passing through another time of trial. In many ways, our dangers and our problems are far greater—and certainly infinitely more complex. We will need to draw upon the best that this Nation has—often—and draw upon it physically and intellectually and materially.
But we need also to call upon our great reservoir of spiritual resources. We must recognize that human collaboration is not enough, that in times such as these we must reach beyond ourselves if we are to seek ultimate courage and infinite wisdom.
It is an ironic fact that in this nuclear age, when the horizon of human knowledge and human experience has passed far beyond any that any age has ever known, that we turn back at this time to the oldest source of wisdom and strength, to the words of the prophets and the saints, who tell us that faith is more powerful than doubt, that hope is more potent than despair, and that only through the love that is sometimes called charity can we conquer those forces within ourselves and throughout all the world that threaten the very existence of mankind.
Keeping in mind that “when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him,” let us go forth to lead this land that we love, joining in the prayer of General George Washington in 1783, “that God would have you in His holy protection, that He would incline the hearts of the citizens … to entertain a brotherly love and affection one for another … and finally that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with … the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example we can never hope to be a happy nation.”
The guiding principle and prayer of this Nation has been, is now, and ever shall be “In God We Trust.”
Thank you.3767
On February 9, 1961, in addressing the ladies at the 9th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the International Christian Leadership, Inc., held at the Mayflower Hotel, east room, Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy stated:
Madam Chairwoman, Dr. Graham, Mr. Vice President,
It seems to me that in the true Christian spirit next year we should all sit together, and that we should have gentlemen and ladies pray and reason together, and not confine them n different rooms.
But we are glad we came here—the Vice President and I came upon the protection of Dr. Graham.
I do want to say that it is a pleasure to be here and to have participated in the breakfast this morning. I had an opportunity in the White House the other day to talk to a group of men and women from the Baptist World Alliance who have been missionaries, some in the Congo, one lady who has been in Bengal, India, since 1926, others who have been in Thailand and Korea.
I do not regard religion as a weapon in the cold war. I regard it as the essence of the differences which separate those on the other side of the Iron Curtain and ourselves.
The whole basis of the struggle is involved in the meeting this morning: our strong belief in religious freedom, our strong conviction, as I attempted to say in my inaugural, that the blessings which come to us cone not from the generosity of the state by from the hand of God—and this alternate concept that the state is the master and the people the servants.
This is really the essence of the issue. We cannot have religious freedom without political freedom, and therefore what we really need is not to confuse a system of freedom with one of disinterest, uninterest, cynicism, materialism, but like the ladies and gentlemen I talked to the other day, who have been willing to spend their lives under the most difficult of circumstances, in great hardships, in order to carry the message in which they have a great conviction, it seems to me it shows a lesson for us all.
We must match that faith. We must demonstrate in our lives, whatever our responsibility may be, that we care deeply.
I see no reason why the servants of the Communist system should be marked by a discipline and strong conviction in the ultimate success of their cause. I believe that our cause is just, that ultimately it will be successful. But it can only be successful if we demonstrate our strong conviction in it.
Religious freedom and religious conviction are the two hallmarks of American society, and therefore as a strong believer in both, I wanted to say that I deem it an honor to share this evidence of our common belief in these two great principles at this breakfast this morning. What we do this morning, I hope we can do every day.
Thank you.3768
On October 28, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3438, National Thanksgiving Day, 1961:
By the President of the United States of America a Proclamation:
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”
More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God for their preservation and for the good harvest from the virgin soil upon which they had labored. Grave and unknown dangers remained. Yet by their faith and by their toil they had survived the rigors of the harsh New England winter. Hence they paused in their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence.
This year, as the harvest draws near its close and the year approaches its end, awesome perils again remain to be faced. Yet we have, as in the past, ample reason to be thankful for the abundance of our blessings. We are grateful for the blessings of faith and health and strength and for the imperishable spiritual gifts of love and hope. We give thanks, too, for our freedom as a nation; for the strength of our arms and the faith of our friends; for the beliefs and confidence we share; for our determination to stand firmly for what we believe to be right and to resist mightily what we believe to be base; and for the heritage of liberty bequeathed by our ancestors which we are privileged to preserve for our children and our children’s children.
It is right that we should be grateful for the plenty amidst which we live; the productivity of our farms, the output of our factories, the skill of our artisans, and the ingenuity of our investors. But in the midst of our thanksgiving, let us not be unmindful of the plight of those in many parts of the world to whom hunger is no stranger and the plight of those millions more who live without the blessings of liberty and freedom. With some we are to share our material abundance through our Food-for-Peace Program and through our support of the United Nations Freedom-from-Hunger Campaign. To all we can offer the sustenance of hope that we shall not fail in our unceasing efforts to make this a peaceful and prosperous world for all mankind.
Now, Therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, in consonance with the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as Thanksgiving Day, do hereby proclaim Thursday, the twenty-third day of November of this year, as a day of national thanksgiving.
I urge all citizens to make this Thanksgiving not merely a holiday from their labors, but rather a day of contemplation. I ask the head of each family to recount to his children the story of the first New England Thanksgiving, thus to impress upon future generations the heritage of this nation born in toil, in danger, in purpose, and in the conviction that right and justice and freedom can through man’s efforts persevere and come to fruition with the blessing of God.
Let us observe this day with reverence and with prayer that will rekindle in us the will and show us the way not only to preserve our blessings, but also to extend them to the four corners of the earth. Let us by our example, as well as by our material aid, assist all peoples of all nations who are striving to achieve a better life in freedom.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this twenty-seventh day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth. John F. Kennedy.
By the President.
Dean Rusk, Secretary of State.3769
On Thursday, November 16, 1961, at the University of Washington, President John F. Kennedy stated:
While we negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom. Our answer to the classic question of Patrick Henry is still “No.” Life is not so dear and peace is not so precious " … as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery.” …
No other generation of free men in any country has ever faced so many and such difficult challenges—not even those who lived in the days when this university was founded in 1861.
This nation was then torn by war. This territory had only the simplest elements of civilization. And this city had barely begun to function. But a university was one of their earliest thoughts, and they summed it up in the motto that they adopted: “Let there be light.” What more can be said today regarding all the dark and tangled problems we face than: Let there be light.3770
On November 21, 1961, to the officers of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, meeting in the Rose Garden of the White House, Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy stated:
Gentlemen:
I want to express my great pleasure at having you here today at the White House. I think your efforts in this field represent a very valuable service to our country. It has always seemed to me that when we all—regardless of our particular religious convictions—draw our guidance and inspiration, and really in a sense moral direction from the same general area, the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments, we have every reason to believe that our various religious denominations should live together in the closest harmony.
We have a great advantage, really, in so much of the world, in having such common roots, and therefore though our convictions may take us in different directions in our faith, nevertheless the basic presumption of the moral law, the existence of God, man’s relationship to Him—there is generally consensus on those questions.
So that we should set a happy model for the world, but like all things, these things cannot be taken for granted. Your efforts, really, over the last period of 30 years, I think have done perhaps more than any other factor in our national life to provide for harmonious living among our different religious groups.
I think there are still important tasks ahead, so I am delighted to hear, Doctor[Lewis Webster Jones], that your group is committing itself to an intelligent and nonpartisan and open discussion—continued discussion, really—of the relationship between the state and religion.
It, after all, was a matter which occupied our Founding Fathers, and should occupy our attention; and I am hopeful that the fact that you are discussing it will be another evidence of what an open and happy society we live in. So I welcome you here. I congratulate you for the efforts you are making in this area. You are performing a valuable function as citizens. And therefore, speaking as President, and personally, we want to emphasize how much your work is appreciated, how valuable it is, and what a service you’re rendering.
Thank you.3771
On March 1, 1962, at the 10th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy stated:
Senator[Frank Carlson-Ks], Judge[Boyd Leedom], Mr. Speaker[John W. McCormick-Mass], Mr. Justice[Earl Warren], Governor[Price Daniel-Tx], gentlemen:
I want to, as President, express my appreciation to all those whose efforts make this breakfast possible. This is only one of a worldwide effort, I believe, to build a closer and more intimate association among those different faiths in different countries and in different continents, who are united by a common belief in God, and therefore united in a common commitment to the moral order—and as Governor Daniels said, the relationship of the individual to the state.
The effort made in New Delhi among the World Council of Churches, the efforts that have been made in Europe to build better understanding among men and women of different faiths, the effort made in this country, I believe are most important and most essential.
I do not suggest that religion is an instrument of the cold war. Rather it is the basis of the issue which separates us from those who make themselves our adversary. And at the heart of the matter, of course, is the position of the individual—his importance, his sanctity, his relationship to his fellow men, his relationship to his country and his state. This is in essence the struggle, and it is necessary, therefore, that in these difficult days, when men and women who have strong religious convictions are beleaguered by those who are neither hot nor cold, or by those who are icy cold, it is important that we make these common efforts—as we do this morning. So I congratulate you all, and express appreciation to you and hope that it will serve as an inspiration to others in other parts of our country.
I believe yesterday we saw an interesting contrast in the response which Colonel Glenn made as to whether he had prayed, and he said that he had not, that he had made his peace with his Maker many years before, and the statement made by Titov in which during his flight, as he flew over the Soviet Union he realized, he said, the wonders of the Communist system.
I preferred Colonel Glenn’s answer because I thought it was solidly based, in his own life, in his activities in his church, and I think it reflects a quality which we like to believe and I think we can believe is much a part of our American heritage. So I congratulate you.
In our program this morning there is a quotation from Lincoln which I think is particularly applicable today. He said, “I believe there is a God. I see the storm coming, and I believe He has a hand in it. If He has a part and a place for me, I believe that I am ready.” We see the storm coming, and we believe He has a hand in it; and if He has a place and a part for us, I believe that we are ready.3772
On March 1, 1962, in addressing the ladies in the state and east rooms at the 10th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy stated:
Ladies,
Last year I expressed some concern that instead of having been separated at these breakfasts—the pharisees and the publicans and the sinners and the saints—that the separation occurred on the basis of sex and not on those who should have been in the front room and those who were in the back room.
I do want to say, however—express my appreciation to you for the effort that you are making, to tell you how valuable I think it is that in this Capitol of this most important country, upon which so much depends, that these breakfasts should be held, and that this demonstration of our commitment should be made.
We bear great responsibilities and great burdens not only to ourselves in this country but to so many around the world whose future hangs in the balance and depends so much on us.
We may not feel that our efforts are always appreciated, and I am not sure that that is so important, but we want to make sure that our efforts are effective, and that this generation—which faces the greatest challenges that any country, any free people, have ever faced, and moves in the midst of the greatest opportunities and the greatest of dangers—that we shall meet our responsibility, which carries with it an obligation to our country, but I think those who desire to live a life of freedom and a life which permits them to participate with their neighbors and with God in the way they choose.
So I commend you for the example you set to us all. Upon your convictions and your efforts so much depends, and it is a source of satisfaction to be here with Mrs. Johnson, the Vice President’s wife and with the Governor of Texas,—and Senator Carlson—Senator Stennis—most importantly, I think, of Reverend Billy Graham, who has served this cause about which I speak so well here and around the world. He has, I think, transmitted this most important quality of our common commitments to faith in a way which makes all of us particularly proud.
So we are glad to see you this morning, and we appreciate what you are doing.3773
On Thursday, July 11, 1963, in a radio and television address to the Nation, President John F. Kennedy stated:
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. …
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. … We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people.3774
John F. Kennedy explained:
There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country. Without such knowledge, he stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from or where he is going.
With such knowledge, he is no longer alone but draws a strength far greater than his own from the cumulative experience of the past and the cumulative vision of the future. …
History is the means by which a nation established its sense of identity and purpose. The future arises out to the past, and a country’s history is a statement of the values and hopes which, having forged what has gone before, will now forecast what is to come.3775
In speaking of past presidents, President John F. Kennedy expressed:
While they came from a wide variety of religious backgrounds and held a wide variety of religious beliefs, each of our Presidents in his own way has placed a special trust in God. Those who were strongest intellectually were also strongest spiritually.3776
President John F. Kennedy stated:
The question for our time is not whether all men are brothers. That question has been answered by God who placed us on this earth together. The question is whether we have the strength and the will to make the brotherhood of man the guiding principle of our daily lives.3777
On Friday, November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was killed in an assassination plot. The speech he was about to deliver at the Dallas Trade Mart concluded with these words:
We in this country, in this generation, are—by destiny rather than choice—the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. That must always be our goal—and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago, “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”3778