John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917, to November 22, 1963), the 35th president of the US, brought a visionary charisma and a new sense of energy and optimism to the presidency. Often referred to by his initials, JFK, he is remembered for his idealistic and dynamic approach to both foreign and domestic problems, which during the 1960 campaign he promoted via the slogan “The New Frontier.”

Elected as a candidate of the Democratic Party, Kennedy was the son of a wealthy financier and US ambassador to England. Kennedy was decorated for heroism in World War II and received the Pulitzer Prize for his 1957 book Profiles in Courage. His marriage to the glamorous debutante Jacqueline Bouvier and color photographs of his large extended family yachting or playing touch football gave his life a seemingly charmed quality. Early biographers called his thousand days in the White House “Camelot,” an allusion to the golden age of mythical King Arthur’s Britain.

Historians of the Kennedy administration have emphasized his leadership during the most perilous years of the Cold War, his commitment to civil rights, and his expansive vision of American destiny. The first president born in the 20th century, he positioned himself in his inaugural address as the representative of a new generation of leaders, focused on creating a more vigorous, dynamic, and idealistic America, reflecting qualities often more associated with youth than age.