John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The Public Record
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, serving from January 20, 1961, until his assassination on November 22, 1963. A member of the Democratic Party, he was born in Massachusetts and is often remembered for his leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Kennedy also established the Peace Corps, promoting international service and cooperation, and he advocated for civil rights, laying the groundwork for future legislation in this area.
It is a contest between those who believe that the future can be better for our people and it is a contest between those who say 'Yes' to the next 10 years and those who say 'No' or 'Maybe.'
It is a contest between those of us who believe that the best days of the United States are still ahead.
These were the years when the United States met its responsibilities to freedom
This is not a contest merely between the Vice President of the United States and myself.
This State symbolizes the opportunities and the responsibilities and the problems which face the United States as a whole.
I should make it very clear that I do not think we're doing enough, that I am not satisfied as an American with the progress that we're making.
The question now is: Can freedom be maintained under the most severe attack it has ever known?
I think that if the federal government moved out of the program and withdrew its supports then I think you would have complete economic chaos.
I'm not satisfied when the United States had last year the lowest rate of economic growth of any major industrialized society in the world.
I'm not satisfied when we have over nine billion dollars worth of food - some of it rotting - even though there is a hungry world.
If a Negro baby is born he has about one-half as much chance to get through high school as a white baby.
I think it can be. And I think in the final analysis it depends upon what we do here.
I don't believe in big government, but I believe in effective governmental action.
In the election of 1960, and with the world around us, the question is whether the world will exist half-slave or half-free.
I come to Houston to melt the ice - and I don't mean the ice on that rink.





