First Inaugural Address
(John F. Kennedy)
Jan. 2o, 1961.
Brief introduction to the speaker:
defendingJohn F. Kennedy (1917-1963) John F. Kennedy was a war hero, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a U.S. senator for most of the 1950s. in November 1960, at the age of 43, John F. he became the youngest man ever elected president of the United States. on Nov. 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot to death in Dallas, Tex., the fourth United States president to die by an assassin’s bullet..
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We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom. Symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning, signify- ing renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn betbre yo
u,and almighty God, the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The worried 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 forbears 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.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first, revolution. Let the word go forth, from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness, or permit, the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
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
success of liberty
This much we pledge and more.
To those old allies, whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do, in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided
there is little we can do. For we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split us asunder.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our words that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny We sha1l not always expect to tind them supporting our view, but we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom, and to remember that in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe, struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it ‘s cannot save the 
few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge, to convert our good words into, good deeds, in a new alliance for progress to assist, free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile power s. Let al our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere ill the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last and best hope in an age age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we r
enew our pledge of support to prevent it from becoming merely a form for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which it’s written and run.
Finally to those nations who would make themselves our adversary we offer not a pledge, but a request, that both sides begin a new quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness, for only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt, can we be certain beyond doubt, that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nation take comfort from our present course, both sides over-burdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, and yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.

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