Teachable Moment: Is This JFK's Best Speech?

President Kennedy at the American University, June 10, 1963.

 John F. Kennedy's speech at the American University in June 1963, is considered by many to be the best speech ever given by an American president. We aren't in a position to listen to all speeches by American presidents--but through modern technology, we can listen to Kennedy's major speeches and ask students make a decision which speech they think is the best and why.

Here is a link to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for the video of the speech.
 
Commencement Address at American University, June 10, 1963 http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/BWC7I4C9QUmLG9J6I8oy8w.aspx

Here is the text of the speech.

Primary Resources: American University Speech, 1963

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-university/ 

 

 Here are links to American Rhetoric to other of JFK's major speeches:

Ask not...

Inaugural Address

delivered 20 January 1961

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm

Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Program

delivered 12 September 1962, Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkriceuniversity.htm

Good news, Jack, the Wall is down.

Ich bin ein Berliner ("I am a 'Berliner'")

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkberliner.html

Civil Rights Address

delivered 11 June 1963

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkcivilrights.htm

This last speech is concerning education, given at San Diego State University in June 1963. I would also like to mention that the state of California still supports education, as demonstrated by the Dream Act that this state's citizens voted for--voluntarily giving ourselves more taxes to develop our greatest resource: our young people.

 President John F. Kennedy's 1963 Commencement Speech at San Diego State 

http://library.sdsu.edu/scua/exhibits-and-events/online-exhibits/kennedy 

 "As a nation, we have no deeper concern, no older commitment and no higher interest than a strong, sound and free system of education for all. In fulfilling this obligation to ourselves and our children, we provide for the future of our nation-and for the future of freedom."

 

Listening to these speeches now, from the view of 2013, we must pause to consider what might be the products of JFK's rhetoric--peace did eventually break between the Soviet Union and the USA, astronouts did walk on the moon, the Berlin Wall did go down, Civil Rights continue to develop and we continue to develop our greatest resource: our young people. JFK mentioned Special Education in the San Diego speech, and Senator Edward Kennedy sponsored the American with Disabilities Act (IDEA) which funded and organized Special Education on a national level.

Teachable Moment: John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy looking at his children John John and Caroline dancing in the Oval Office. Washington, December 1962. Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images.

John F. Kennedy was a complex man. This month being the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination, information about him as a world figure, a politician and his personal life will ubiquitously fill the media. He was completely unique. 

If someone would ask me, "Who do you think killed Kennedy?" I would probably answer it was his own profile in courage. He stood up for so many good-against-evil situations that he was most likely on a lot of hit lists around the world. But it was a terrible time for the world to lose him.

Here is a bullet list of qualities, resume style, that made Kennedy who he was to those of us growing up in the sixties.

• He was truly an outrageously brave war hero. There was a film about it: PT 109 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057393/
• He won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957 for the book, Profiles in Courage, about
  
  American politicians who bravely held to their beliefs despite opposition. Kennedy had a rare intellect.
• He was a fun daddy. In the last couple of years, daughter Caroline Kennedy has edited and released personal material about her dad. I did not know he could make up bedtime stories. Flashback Friday: Caroline Kennedy Recalls JFK’s Favorite Bedtime Stories http://www.parade.com/227082/linzlowe/flashback-friday-caroline-kennedy-recalls-jfks-favorite-bedtime-stories/ But I'm not surprised. I prefer to think about those happy times than recall John-John saluting his daddy's casket as a three-year-old. But even that clearly demonstrated the qualities of the family that were so beyond the average expression. Jackie was our inspiration in that time of shock like Jack was during a time of enthusiasm.
• Folks recall his inaugural address--Ask not, etc.--but I wish to include, thanks to American Rhetoric, more than one of his remarkably written and delivered addresses. Students are still asked to analyze these, particularly the one on why we are going into space. Those of us raised in the sixties were inspired to greater heights of commitment and endeavor than we would have been without his inspiration. It is remarkable to hear his voice, his delivery is superior to any other politician, even Reagan. At this site, you can also see the text, observe the writer's craftsmanship.

Ask not...

Inaugural Address

delivered 20 January 1961

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm

Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Program

delivered 12 September 1962, Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkriceuniversity.htm

Good news, Jack, the Wall is down.

Ich bin ein Berliner ("I am a 'Berliner'")

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkberliner.html

Civil Rights Address

delivered 11 June 1963

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkcivilrights.htm

So, this is how I think students should learn about John F. Kennedy, avoiding TMZ style info, and instead noticing how the seeds of inspiration he sowed have grown.