“Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.”
John F. Kennedy
The City Upon a Hill Speech (Primary source)
On January 9, 1961, eleven days before his inauguration, President-elect John F. Kennedy addressed a joint convention of the Massachusetts General Court at the State House in Boston. The speech, often remembered as the “City Upon a Hill” address, served both as a farewell to the state he had represented in Congress for fourteen years and as a statement of the standards by which he believed his incoming administration should be measured.
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