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Speeches

One of Kennedy’s greatest speeches was his speech on going to the moon. This was a very powerful speech. The reason it was powerful is because Kennedy set a goal with a time period. He said “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of lading a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Kennedy says in this speech that the mission would cost nine billion dollars, and congress accepted. Kennedy also says “No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.” On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. Although Kennedy was dead that was in the time period Kennedy set.

 

 Communication

Kennedy was a very good communicator. In his speech about the Cuban Missile Crisis, he explained specifically what was going on. People don’t like when something is going on and there is not much information on it. Kennedy took the approach of explaining everything to the American people. He also told them exactly what he was going to do about it in a simple seven step explanation. In his closing he says “Many months in which our patience and our will will be tested-- months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.” Another way he was a great communicator to the American people showed in his Man on the Moon Speech. He did something no other American president had done. He set a goal inside of a time limit. He said “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” This sparked great enthusiasm in the U.S.A. to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon, and America reached Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon before the decade was out. 

Kennedy was closely tied to popular culture. Things such as "Twisting at the White House" and "Camelot" (the popular Broadway play) were part of the JFK culture. Vaughn Meader's "First Family" comedy album—an album parodying the President, First Lady, their family and administration—sold about 4 million copies. On May 19, 1962 Marilyn Monroe sang for the president at a large birthday party in Madison Square Garden.

 

Political Cartoons

In this cartoon we see Kennedy and Nikita Kruschev, leader of the Soviet Union, trying to keep the beast of "Nuclear War" in his cage. This was drawn shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis.