Senator John F. Kennedy announces he is running for President of the United States at a press conference on January 3, 1960. In the press conference, Kennedy is asked if he does not get the nomination if he would consider being a Vice Presidential candidate. Kennedy responded that he would … Continue reading
On the evening of February 6, 1962, Press Secretary Pierre Salinger was asked by President Kennedy to track down and purchase 1,000 Cuban cigars “by tomorrow morning”. The next day when Salinger entered the Oval Office and gave President Kennedy the 1,200 Cuban cigars he had procured, he recalls: “He … Continue reading
“I speak to you tonight in a spirit of hope”. On July 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation regarding the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty. Explaining the treaty, he says: “Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban … Continue reading
On September 26, 1960, John F. Kennedy–a young senator from Massachusetts at the time–and Vice President Richard Nixon squared off in a hour-long debate–the first-ever televised presidential debate. While Kennedy looked confident, healthy and dapper; Nixon seemed sickly and underweight from a recent hospitalization. Approximately 74 million viewers noticed the … Continue reading
Mimi Alfred, former intern for the press secretary’s office during John F. Kennedy’s presidential term, reveals details about her 18-month affair with JFK that occurred when she was just 19 years old. Mimi, now 68, says that she finally decided to share the secret because she wanted to unburden herself from … Continue reading
Author: Lloyd Stableford “The whole thing seemed like a tremendous fairy tale, a fantasy, out of the realm of believability…” NOTE: I, Lloyd Stableford, was a senior at the College of William and Mary, pursuing political science as a major. The words that follow are the actual words I wrote … Continue reading
In an interview from 2008, well-known American speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, discusses what has changed in the craft of speechwriting since he worked for John F. Kennedy. Sorensen says his access to President Kennedy and ability to even influence policy-making allowed him to pen good speeches for the president–such as the “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You” speech. He believes speechwriting is a “noble profession” and describes what makes a speech a great speech: “Short sentences.”
Hear Marilyn Monroe’s iconic very happy birthday to JFK> Actress and singer Marilyn Monroe is filmed while singing “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy in Madison Square Garden ten days before the president’s 45th birthday. After the performance, Kennedy comes on stage thanking Monroe and claims that he can “now … Continue reading
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963 shocked the nation. JFK was riding in a presidential motorcade with First Lady Jackie Onassis, the governor of Texas, and the governor’s wife when he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. Scroll through the photo gallery to relive the … Continue reading
President Kennedy speaks at Amherst College on October 26, 1963 to honor poet Robert Frost, who died on January 29, 1963. Continue reading
