VOICE ONE:
This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English
program about the history of the United States.
(MUSIC)
Our program today is about the beginning of the administration
of President John Kennedy.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
January 20, 1961. John Kennedy was to be sworn-in that day as president of
the United States.
It had snowed heavily the night before. Few cars were in the streets of
Washington. Yet, somehow, people got to the ceremony at the Capitol building.
VOICE TWO:
The outgoing president, Dwight Eisenhower, was seventy years old. John
Kennedy was just 43. He was the first American president born in the 20th
century.
Both Eisenhower and Kennedy served in the military in World War Two.
Eisenhower served at the top. He was commander of allied forces in Europe.
Kennedy was one of many young navy officers in the pacific battle area.
Eisenhower was a hero of the war and was an extremely popular man. Kennedy
was extremely popular, too, especially among young people. He was a fresh face
in American politics. To millions of Americans, he represented a chance for a
new beginning.
VOICE ONE:
Not everyone liked John Kennedy, however. Many people thought he was too
young to be president. Many opposed him because he belonged to the Roman
Catholic Church. A majority of Christians in America were Protestant. There had
never been a Roman Catholic president of the United States. John Kennedy would
be the first.
VOICE TWO:
Dwight Eisenhower served two terms during the
1950s. That was the limit for American presidents. His vice president, Richard
Nixon, ran against Kennedy in the election of nineteen-sixty.
Many Americans supported Nixon. They believed he was a stronger opponent of
communism than Kennedy. Some also feared that Kennedy might give more
consideration to the needs of black Americans than to white Americans.
The election of 1960 was one of the closest in American history. Kennedy
defeated Nixon by fewer than 120,000 popular votes. Now, he would be sworn-in as
the nation's 35th president.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
One of the speakers at the ceremony was Robert Frost. He was perhaps
America's most popular poet at the time. Robert Frost planned to read from a
long work he wrote especially for the ceremony. But he was unable to read much
of it. The bright winter sun shone blindingly on the snow. The cold winter wind
blew the paper in his old hands.
VOICE TWO:
John Kennedy stood to help him. Still, the poet could not continue. Those in
the crowd felt concerned for the 86-year-old man. Suddenly, he stopped trying to
say his special poem. Instead, he began to say the words of another one, one he
knew from memory. It was called "The Gift Outright."
Here is part of that poem by Robert Frost, read by Stan Busby:
VOICE THREE:
The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years before we were her people ...
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living ...
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright.
VOICE ONE:
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy giving his inaugural speech
Soon it was time for the new
president to speak. People watching on television could see his icy breath as he
stood. He was not wearing a warm coat. His head was uncovered.
Kennedy's speech would, one day, be judged to be among the best in American
history. The time of his inauguration was a time of tension and fear about
nuclear weapons. The United States had nuclear weapons. Its main political
enemy, the Soviet Union, had them, too. If hostilities broke out, would such
terrible weapons be used?
VOICE TWO:
Kennedy spoke about the issue. He warned of the danger of what he called "the
deadly atom." He said the United States and communist nations should make
serious proposals for the inspection and control of nuclear weapons. He urged
both sides to explore the good in science, instead of its terrors.
KENNEDY: "Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate
disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce ... Let both
sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new
world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace
preserved."
VOICE ONE:
Kennedy also spoke about a torch -- a light of leadership being passed from
older Americans to younger Americans. He urged the young to take the torch and
accept responsibility for the future. He also urged other countries to work with
the United States to create a better world.
KENNEDY: "The energy, the
faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and
all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light 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."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
John Kennedy's first one hundred days as president were busy ones.
He was in office less than two weeks when the Soviet Union freed two American
airmen. The Soviets had shot down their spy plane over the Bering Sea. About
sixty million people watched as Kennedy announced the airmen's release. It was
the first presidential news conference broadcast live on television in the
United States. Kennedy welcomed the release as a step toward better relations
with the Soviet Union.
The next month, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made another move toward
better relations. He sent Kennedy a message. The message said that disarmament
would be a great joy for all people on earth.
VOICE ONE:
A few weeks later, President Kennedy announced the creation of the Peace
Corps. He had talked about this program during the election campaign. The Peace
Corps would send thousands of Americans to developing countries to provide
technical help.
Another program, the alliance for progress, was announced soon after the
peace corps was created. The purpose of the alliance for progress was to provide
economic aid to Latin American nations for ten years.
VOICE TWO:
The space program was another thing Kennedy had talked about during the
election campaign. He believed the United States should continue to explore
outer space.
The Soviet Union had gotten there first. It launched the world's first
satellite in 1957. Then, in April, 1961, the Soviet Union sent the first manned
spacecraft into orbit around the earth.
VOICE ONE:
The worst failure of Kennedy's administration came that same month. On April
17, more than 1,000 Cuban exiles landed on a beach in western Cuba. They had
received training and equipment from the United States Central Intelligence
Agency. They were to lead a revolution to overthrow the communist government of
Cuba. The place where they landed was called Bahia de Cochinos -- the Bay of
Pigs.
The plan failed. Most of the exiles were killed or captured by the Cuban
army.
VOICE TWO:
It had not been President Kennedy's idea to start a revolution against Cuban
leader Fidel Castro. Officials in the last administration had planned it.
However, most of Kennedy's advisers supported the idea. And he approved it.
In public, the president said he was responsible for the failure of the Bay
of Pigs invasion. In private, he said, "All my life I have known better than to
depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid."
VOICE ONE:
John Kennedy's popularity was badly damaged by what happened in Cuba. His
next months in office would be a struggle to regain the support of the people.
That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and
produced by Paul Thompson. This is Phil Murray.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another VOA Special
English program about the history of the United States.
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