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.

“For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”

— John F. Kennedy

Change

All Quotes by John F. Kennedy

“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

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

— John F. Kennedy

Memorialday

“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

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

— John F. Kennedy

Wisdom

“There are many people in the world who really don't understand-or say they don't-what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin!”

— John F. Kennedy

Great

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”

— John F. Kennedy

Forgiveness

“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

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”

— John F. Kennedy

Peace

“Politics is like football if you see daylight, go through the hole.”

— John F. Kennedy

Politics

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

— John F. Kennedy

Great

“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

— John F. Kennedy

Education

“There is always inequality in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded and some men never leave the country. Life is unfair.”

— John F. Kennedy

Life

“I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

— John F. Kennedy

Alone

“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.”

— John F. Kennedy

Knowledge

“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”

— John F. Kennedy

Fear

“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

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

— John F. Kennedy

Future

“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.”

— John F. Kennedy

Motivational

“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

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

— John F. Kennedy

Leadership