Strategies
to Succeed in Public Speaking
John
F. Kennedy's
Inaugural Address
by Lanie Smith
U.S. President John F. Kennedy
gave his inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961. It was a well-written
speech that stated President Kennedy's vision and mission for his term
in office, including a challenge to his generation: "Ask not what
your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
The speech is considered a classic and the standard for which others
to strive to reach.
Kennedy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning
author and well-read, but he also depended on Ted Sorenson and an able
staff of speech writers. Sorenson stated in his book on the Kennedy
years that the President was the sole architect of the speech
Questions you may have include:
- How can I use this address
to improve my writing skills?
- How can I use this address
to improve my speaking skills?
- What is the historical
significance of this address?
This lesson will try to answer
those questions.
Learning
from speech
Read this inaugural address
to gain insight on improving your speech writing, public speaking, and
historical knowledge. Perform the exercises below, in your area of interest.
Speech writing
Things to note when studying
the speech are:
- The length of the sentences
and the number of commas. Short phrases make for effective delivery.
- The logical flow of the
speech.
- The use of imagery and
emotional appeal
Outline the the speech to
show where new ideas are presented and grouped. Point out where effective
imagery, examples, and/or emotional appeal is used.
Public speaking
Read the speech aloud--perhaps
to a small audience or to yourself in a mirror. Pause at the commas
and periods to allow for better understanding by the audience. Vary
your pitch, rate and emotional level as you see fit.
Historical
significance
Every inaugural speech is
well-meaning. Outline the speech to select the mission and goals of
the President.
Did he try to achieve these
goals? Did he achieve them? If not, why not?
Text of
address
President-elect John F. Kennedy:
Introduction
Vice President Johnson, Mr.
Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon,
President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today
not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an
end, as well as a beginning--signifying renewal, as well as change.
For I have sworn I before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath
our forebears l prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
Body of
speech
The world is very different
now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms
of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary
beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the
globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity
of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today
that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth
from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has
been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century,
tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our
ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing
of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed,
and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
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, in order to assure
the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge--and
more.
To those old allies whose
cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful
friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative
ventures. Divided, there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a
powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new States whom
we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form
of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced
by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them
supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly
supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those
who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up
inside.
To those peoples in the huts
and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass
misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for
whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing
it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free
society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who
are rich.
To our sister republics south
of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words
into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men
and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this
peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers.
Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression
or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know
that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of
sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where
the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we
renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum
for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and
to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations
who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a
request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the
dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity
in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with
weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we
be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great
and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both
sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed
by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that
uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let us begin anew--remembering
on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity
is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But
let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what
problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide
us.
Let both sides, for the first
time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and
control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations
under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke
the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore
the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths,
and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed
in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the
heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free."
And if a beachhead of cooperation
may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating
a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law,
where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished
in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days,
nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime
on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow
citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure
of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans
has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves
of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us
again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call
to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of
a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope,
patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies
of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these
enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West,
that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join
in that historic effort?
In the long history of the
world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending
freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I
welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with
any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the
devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and
all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
Closing
remarks
And so, my fellow Americans:
ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your
country.
My fellow citizens of the
world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can
do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are
citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high
standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good
conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our
deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing
and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be
our own.
In conclusion
Use this inaugural address
by President John F. Kennedy to improve your skills in speech writing,
public speaking, and/or history.
Great people
seek to help those less fortunate
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