J

John F. Kennedy

77 quotes

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. His presidency was marked by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, and the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement. Kennedy's speeches are among the most quoted in American political history.

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”

— John F. Kennedy

Great

All Quotes by John F. Kennedy

“We prefer world law in the age of self-determination to world war in the age of mass extermination.”

— John F. Kennedy

Age

“A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

— John F. Kennedy

Fear

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

— John F. Kennedy

Patriotism

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

— John F. Kennedy

Society

“We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work.”

— John F. Kennedy

Men

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

— John F. Kennedy

Memorialday

“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.”

— John F. Kennedy

Future

“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.”

— John F. Kennedy

War

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

— John F. Kennedy

Change

“Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process.”

— John F. Kennedy

Parenting

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

— John F. Kennedy

Fitness

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.”

— John F. Kennedy

Great

“We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.”

— John F. Kennedy

History

“The world knows that America will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough of war and hate... we want to build a world of peace where the weak are secure and the strong are just.”

— John F. Kennedy

Peace

“When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”

— John F. Kennedy

Wisdom

“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

— John F. Kennedy

Truth

“The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.”

— John F. Kennedy

War

“We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last.”

— John F. Kennedy

Best

“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”

— John F. Kennedy

Freedom

“Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

— John F. Kennedy

Future