1961 - Speech, President Kennedy: Special Message To Congress, TRACK ONLY R1 of 2 Pt. 1 of 6
19:13:56 Introduced by Sam Rayburn. Applause. The Constitution imposes upon me the obligation to "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union. While this has traditionally been interpreted as an annual affair, this tradition has been broken in extraordinary time.
19:14:36 The Constitution imposes upon me the obligation to "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union." While this has traditionally been interpreted as an annual affair, this tradition has been broken in extraordinary times. These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom's cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves--that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral & no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man--or any nation--or any system--except as it is hostile to freedom. Nor am I here to present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine.
19:16:07 The great battleground for the defense & expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe--Asia, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East--the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny, & exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. And theirs is a revolution which we would support regardless of the Cold War, & regardless of which political or economic route they should choose to freedom. For the adversaries of freedom did not create the revolution; nor did they create the conditions which compel it. But they are seeking to ride the crest of its wave--to capture it for themselves.
19:17:07 Yet their aggression is more often concealed than open. They have fired no missiles; & their troops are seldom seen. They send arms, agitators, aid, technicians & propaganda to every troubled area. But where fighting is required, it is usually done by others--by guerrillas striking at night, by assassins striking alone--assassins who have taken the lives of four thousand civil officers in the last twelve months in Vietnam alone--by subversives & saboteurs & insurrectionists, who in some cases control whole areas inside of independent nations.
19:17:55 With these formidable weapons, the adversaries of freedom plan to consolidate their territory--to exploit, to control, & finally to destroy the hopes of the world's newest nations; & they have ambition to do it before the end of this decade. It is a contest of will & purpose as well as force & violence--a battle for minds & souls as well as lives & territory. And in that contest, we cannot stand aside. We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the independence & equality of all nations. This nation was born of revolution & raised in freedom. And we do not intend to leave an open road for despotism.
19:18:49 There is no single simple policy which meets this challenge. Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries w/ it the risk of a temporary defeat--that nuclear weapons cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will & energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike.
11Jan61; Presidential Speeches; Cold War;
NOTE: Any continuous 15 minutes of 19:13:56 - 19:42:07 sold at per reel rate.
Sign in with Google
Similar Sub-themes
1961 - Speech, President Kennedy: Special Message To Congress, TRACK ONLY R1 of 2 Pt. 1 of 6 19:13:56 Introduced by Sam Rayburn. Applause. The Constitution imposes upon me the obligation to "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union. While this has traditionally been interpreted as an annual affair, this tradition has been broken in extraordinary time. 19:14:36 The Constitution imposes upon me the obligation to "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union." While this has traditionally been interpreted as an annual affair, this tradition has been broken in extraordinary times. These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom's cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves--that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral & no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man--or any nation--or any system--except as it is hostile to freedom. Nor am I here to present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine. 19:16:07 The great battleground for the defense & expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe--Asia, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East--the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny, & exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. And theirs is a revolution which we would support regardless of the Cold War, & regardless of which political or economic route they should choose to freedom. For the adversaries of freedom did not create the revolution; nor did they create the conditions which compel it. But they are seeking to ride the crest of its wave--to capture it for themselves. 19:17:07 Yet their aggression is more often concealed than open. They have fired no missiles; & their troops are seldom seen. They send arms, agitators, aid, technicians & propaganda to every troubled area. But where fighting is required, it is usually done by others--by guerrillas striking at night, by assassins striking alone--assassins who have taken the lives of four thousand civil officers in the last twelve months in Vietnam alone--by subversives & saboteurs & insurrectionists, who in some cases control whole areas inside of independent nations. 19:17:55 With these formidable weapons, the adversaries of freedom plan to consolidate their territory--to exploit, to control, & finally to destroy the hopes of the world's newest nations; & they have ambition to do it before the end of this decade. It is a contest of will & purpose as well as force & violence--a battle for minds & souls as well as lives & territory. And in that contest, we cannot stand aside. We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the independence & equality of all nations. This nation was born of revolution & raised in freedom. And we do not intend to leave an open road for despotism. 19:18:49 There is no single simple policy which meets this challenge. Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries w/ it the risk of a temporary defeat--that nuclear weapons cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will & energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike. 11Jan61; Presidential Speeches; Cold War; NOTE: Any continuous 15 minutes of 19:13:56 - 19:42:07 sold at per reel rate.