John F. Kennedy: “Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation…”

On the record

Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure.

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John F. Kennedy

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Kennedy reflects on the resilience of the nation and the challenges that lie ahead during his presidency.

More from John F. Kennedy

And while no nation has ever faced such a challenge, no nation has ever been so ready to seize the burden and the glory of freedom.

I shall neither shift the burden of executive decisions to the Congress, nor avoid responsibility for the outcome of those decisions.

Our aim is not simply to be first on the moon, any more than Charles Lindbergh's real aim was to be the first to Paris.

But if these programs were ever to be ended, our failures in a dozen countries would be sudden and certain.

John F. Kennedy: “Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure.”