'Let Every Nation Know': JFK in His Own Words
Kennedy visits Latin America in late 1961. hide caption
Kennedy visits Latin America in late 1961.
Often described as the first president of the television age, John F. Kennedy was profoundly affected by the rhetoric of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, and he consciously tried to cast himself in their mold.
Kennedy's presidency lasted only 1,000 days, one of the briefest in American history. Yet it's well remembered, not just because of dramatic events -- the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil-rights movement and the space race -- but because of the words the president used to describe them.
Hear Speech Excerpts
Speech at the Berlin Wall, June 26, 1963.
Civil Rights speech, June 11, 1963.
A Vision for Peace (Cold War speech), June 10, 1963.
Speech to Newspaper Editors, April 20, 1961.
Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.
Acceptance Speech at Democratic Convention, July 15, 1960.
Presidential historian Robert Dallek and journalist Terry Golway have collected Kennedy's most famous speeches in a CD that accompanies their new book, "Let Every Nation Know: John F. Kennedy in His Own Words.
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