Quotessence
Home / Authors / John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes

35th U.S. President

Filter quotes by topic

Famous John F. Kennedy Quotes

“A full scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes...could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And the survivors-as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, `the survivors would envy the dead.' For they would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot conceive of its horrors.”

“Bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us...No longer is the quest for disarmament a sign of weakness, (nor) the destruction of arms a dream - it is a practical matter of life or death. The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race.”

“The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrence to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system, and this administration pledged itself last summer to an across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes to be enacted and become effective in 1963.”

“This country was founded by men and women who were dedicated or came to be dedicated to two propositions; first, a strong religious conviction, and secondly a recognition that this conviction could flourish only under a system of freedom.”

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

“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.”

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

“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.”

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

“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.”

“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.”

“When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

“Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”