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.

“I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant.”

— John F. Kennedy

Hope

All Quotes by John F. Kennedy

“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

“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

“I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians.”

— John F. Kennedy

Politics

“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

“Now we have a problem in making our power credible, and Vietnam is the place.”

— John F. Kennedy

Power

“I am sorry to say that there is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours.”

— John F. Kennedy

Life

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

— John F. Kennedy

Memorialday

“In a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.”

— John F. Kennedy

Work

“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

— John F. Kennedy

Poetry

“Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.”

— John F. Kennedy

Power

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

— John F. Kennedy

God

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

— John F. Kennedy

Leadership

“To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.”

— John F. Kennedy

Future

“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

“It might be said now that I have the best of both worlds. A Harvard education and a Yale degree.”

— John F. Kennedy

Best

“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

“I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.”

— John F. Kennedy

Future

“Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.”

— John F. Kennedy

Freedom

“War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”

— John F. Kennedy

War

“I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant.”

— John F. Kennedy

Hope