John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy, commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician and journalist who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate prior to becoming president.
At age 43, he became the second-youngest man to serve as president (after Theodore Roosevelt), the youngest man to be elected as U.S. president, as well as the first Roman Catholic to occupy that office. He was also the first president to have served in the U.S. Navy. After Kennedy’s death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act and the Revenue Act of 1964. Kennedy continues to rank highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public.
Some of the best quotes from John F. Kennedy are listed below.
- “A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” – John F. Kennedy
- “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” – John F. Kennedy
- “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’” – John F. Kennedy
- “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” – John F. Kennedy
- “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
- “I’m an idealist without illusions.” – John F. Kennedy
- “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” – John F. Kennedy
- “If by a Liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a Liberal, then I’m proud to say I’m a Liberal.” – John F. Kennedy
- “If not us, who? If not now, when?” – John F. Kennedy
- “If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.” – John F. Kennedy
- “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” – John F. Kennedy
- “In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.” – John F. Kennedy
- “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.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Libraries should be open to all – except the censor.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met—obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” – John F. Kennedy
- “My brother Bob doesn’t want to be in government – he promised Dad he’d go straight.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” – John F. Kennedy
- “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
- “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The pay is good and I can walk to work.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy
- “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” – John F. Kennedy
- “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
- “There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.” – John F. Kennedy
- “There is, in addition to a courage with which men die; a courage by which men must live.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes…can no longer be of concern to great powers alone.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
- “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
- “We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.” – John F. Kennedy
- “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” – John F. Kennedy
- “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” – John F. Kennedy
- “We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or make it the last.” – John F. Kennedy
- “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – John F. Kennedy
- “We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.” – John F. Kennedy
- “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy
