Research - JFK

This research is going to include information on JFK himself, the speech and any political and cultural circumstances in the current era the speech was made.

Who is John F Kennedy?
 JFK was the 35th president of the United states. Born May 29, 1917 and died November 22, 1963 (46 years old). He became president from 1961 until his death. Kennedy was the only catholic president which inspired his strong warm hearted decisions as president. During his reign he created/followed these remembered events: the Bay of pigs invasion, the cuban misssile crisis, the building of berlin wall, the space race, the african/american civl rights movement and the the early stages of the vietnam war. Kennedy was ranked very highly in public opinion ratins of U.S preseidents.



JFK was assassinated on november 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. And his murderer was shot and killed before any trial could take place.

What was his speech, what was it about, when and where was it?

His inaugural address was called Ask not what your country can do for you. It was delivered at 12.51 Friday, January the 20th 1961 at the white house. Against a backdrop of deep snow and sunshine, more than twenty thousand people huddled in 20-degree temperatures on the east front of the Capitol to witness the event.

The speech was mainly about delivering the word to his fellow US citizens to create peace around the world, asking them to help the country by helping others around the world. He sought both to inspire the nation and to send a message abroad signaling the challenges of the Cold War and his hope for peace in the nuclear age.

What many consider to be the most memorable and enduring section of the speech came towards the end when Kennedy called on all Americans to commit themselves to service and sacrifice: 'And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.' He then continued by addressing his international audience: 'My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man'. I want my trailer to end on the most important part of the speech because its important the last heard message and the build up of the trailer ends on the most important part of speech, the words summarize the whole speech.

The cold war

American people were fearful of the long, drawn-out cold war. The cold war was a just a relationship between american and the Russian soviet union from 1945 - 1980. Neither side ever fought each other, because both sides feared how the consequences would fall out. Why were both countries so distrustful of each other though?

Both countries wanted to be the most powerful and didn't trust each other because each country did things secretly, each country thought the other would have secret nuclear weapons. They both were in the race to launch satellites first into space and to get a man into space. Russia was the first to get a man into space but America was the first to get a man on the moon.

Kennedy wanted to end the cold war, by declaring how he wanted peace. He forced  Khruschev (Russian president) to withdraw soviet missiles from Cuba in 196.

What was the main purpose of the speech?

The main purpose was to inspire his fellow american citizens. Telling them to work together to keep america strong. Kennedy evoked a sense of security and a spirit of idealism which reassured Americans of their nation's strengths and inspired them to serve their country and the world. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man," Kennedy said in his inaugural address. Dazzled by his poise, moved by his eloquence, Americans proudly embraced the vigor and vision of their young president.

Civil rights movements

The African-American civil rights movement was outlawing racial discrimination against black Americans and restoring voting rights to them. Kennedy wanted black Americans to have the same rights as white people. When Kennedy became president black Americans in the south were denied the right to vote and were bared from public facilities. Which subjected to insults and violence. In the north black Americans faced discrimination in housing, employment, education and many other areas. Kennedy declared his backing for these rights.

Vietnam war

During Kennedys reign the Vietnam war was going on which was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or "Viet Cong") against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and its alliesnotably the United States military in support of the South, with American combat troops committed from 1965 to 1973. The war began as a civil war fought to determine the status of Vietnam, as either a unified nation or as one partitioned into two independent states. The north side was communist and the south side wasnt. America got involved in this war to stop the spread of communism. Kennedy tripled the amount of American economic and military aid to the South Vietnamese and increased the number of U.S. military advisors in Indochina. He refused to withdraw from the escalating conflict in Vietnam because, he said, "to withdraw from that effort would mean a collapse not only of South Vietnam, but Southeast Asia. So we are going to stay there."

What else was happening in Kennedys era, what was the cultural background and other strong facts? 

During the 1960's half the population was under 18. Which is madness. Kennedy's speech was influential to this young generation, it would bring the youth up to be good, kind people grown up to help the country and keep america strong what was Kennedy's main prospect.

To kill a mocking bird became the most popular book and most selling at the time. Which was a powerful story about discrimination of a black person, who was convicted of raping a white girl. Even though it was a blatent lie of the white girl, she still won the case. The story was about a white lawyer who supported the black victim and did everything he could to support him, which conveys the civil rights movement. In my trailer I would want tot try fit in a clip from the film of this book. I think its so powerful, and relates perfectly to the times in america at the time and portrays Kennedys support of the civil rights.

In the music industry, the beatles were the most popular band and top of the charts you could say at the time.

Barbie was around in the 1960's too, which became a most wanted toy for young girls.


The birth control pill was invented in 1960 as well which was a big thing at the time.