John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

524 Words3 Pages
John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech In the words of Winston Churchill “History will be kind to me for i intend to write it” (www.brainyquote.com). That’s exactly what John F. Kennedy did in his inaugural speech 54 years ago. The speech written by the president himself created a defining created view for his time in office. His inaugural ceremony was held at the United States Capitol on January 20, 1961. The Kennedy family invited people of the arts. Including Carl Sandburg, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Rothko, and the late editor of Vogue Diana Vreeland. The speech was widely reviewed around the country. For example, William Safire the New York Times columnist says the speech,” set the standard by which presidential inaugurals have been judged in the modern era”. All presidential inaugurations are put together by the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, The committee for this event was chaired by Senator John Sparkman. Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized and hosted one of the biggest events held in Washington, D.C. It was the pre-inaugural ball on the eve of January 19, 1961. On the day of the ceremony, Kennedy went to a Mass with a predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Mass was a prayer service performed at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown. Then, a vice-presidential oath was…show more content…
Kennedy started off his inaugural speech by addressing all of his fellow office members. Also including former presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Harry S. Truman. Then, he goes on to say, “For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life” (www.bartleby.com). He states that means power comes not from the generosity of state but from the hands of God (www.bartleby.com). Although, it snowed the night before and it very, very cold the public always felt that it was worth it (www.npr.org). He ended the speech by saying God’s blessing will help us lead the country we
Open Document