John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Analysis

As the election of 1960 came to an end it saw Democratic nominee defeat Republican nominee Richard Nixon by a very slim margin. John F. Kennedy would go on to replace Dwight D. Eisenhower after his victory. President Kennedy would avoid controversial topics, such as civil right calling it a moral issue. Instead, he would focus on the issue of the Cold War. As he was campaigning for the election of 1960 he criticized President Eisenhower’s stance on foreign policy, accusing him of failing to reduce the threat of a possible nuclear war with the Soviet Union and also weakening America’s standing in the Third World (Norton, 763). During his inaugural address President Kennedy pledged to support liberty, commit to the allies of the United States,

President Kennedy’s inaugural address was best known for the words “"Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (Miller Center, JFK). President Kennedy also discusses the Cold War during his inaugural address saying “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” (Miller Center, JFK). President Kennedy’s inaugural address was very short and to the point and that is one of the thing the American people liked him, he was also very charismatic. President Kennedy made it clear in his address that the Cold War would be one of his main focuses during his time in

Kennedy did not only seek to end the Cold War, he also sought victory as it raged on. After the leader of Soviet Russia endorsed “wars of national liberation,” such as the one that was going on in Vietnam at the time, President Kennedy called for what he called “peaceful revolution” through nation building (Norton, 763). During this time President Kennedy sought to aid developing nations with the creation of the Alliance for Progress in 1961. This organizations goal was to improve agriculture, transportation, and communication in the developing nations. Another very important organization that was created by the Kennedy administration was the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps sent American teachers, agricultural specialists, and also heath works to assist leaders in developing nations. As Kennedy sought to bring the world peace and stability tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia rose, In June of 1961 a meeting between the two superpower leading went very bad, with the two leaders disagreeing over preconditions of the end of the Cold War. Instead, the two superpowers increased nuclear weapons production. As a result of this the United States military budget rose 15 percent (Norton, 764). Khrushchev would later seek for advantages over the United States. He found it in Cuba with Fidel Castro. The Eisenhower