On this day 50 years ago, the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas at 12:30 p.m. He served as president from January 1961 up until his death at age 46. He was survived by his wife Jacqueline and his three children Caroline, John, and Patrick. He was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, and served in World War II in the South Pacific as a commander of motor torpedo boats. From 1947 to 1953 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives and represented the Massachusetts’ 11th congressional district. In 1960 he beat Republican candidate Richard Nixon and at age 43 and became the second youngest person to be inaugurated as president.
During his presidency, he led the country through national crises such as civil rights issues, the Cold War, and the space race. He provided Americans with a sense of hope during a troubling time in history. Below are some of the inspiring quotes that will live on as some of John F. Kennedy’s contributions to our country.
(photo credit: thesmuggler- Night of the Swallow” via photopin cc)
1) Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
2) 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.
3) Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
4) 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.
5) Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
6) Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
7) Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
8) Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
9) Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
10) My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
What do you remember most about President John F. Kennedy?
Featured photo credit: U.S. Embassy New Delhi via photopin cc
Love #5!!!