“We are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counterweapons.”
John F. Kennedy
Commencement address at American University (Primary source)
On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered the commencement address at American University in Washington, D.C., devoting the speech to what he called “the most important topic on earth: world peace.” Often referred to as the “Strategy of Peace” speech, the address marked a significant rhetorical shift in Cold War policy.
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“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“The idea that Britain loses every battle except the last has proved correct so many times in the past that the average Englishman is unwilling to make great personal sacrifices until the danger is overwhelmingly apparent.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“For, in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’ every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary sourceMore quotes by John F. Kennedy →
“A new-born government must dazzle.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Disputed“You may be too cunning for one, but not for all.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“I am thee and thou art me and all of one is the other.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“All our science lacks a human side.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source