John Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on January 20, 1961 and with him was a hope of a young Americans born in the 20th century who would fight "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." His popular and graceful wife, Jacqueline Kennedy and two young children added to the Kennedy magnetism at home and abroad. He was also a master orator and his speeches inspired the many in the nation to be better Americans. In his inaugural address he directly confronted Americans calling them to become active citizens, stating "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
John F. Kennedy's presidency faced a number of trials from the 20th century including the prolongation of the Cold War, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the beginning of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. With each of these events in his presidency, he made memorable debates and quotable speeches—his words themselves made history.
As the Russian space program propelled Kennedy to invest energy into America's space program with the goal of landing on the moon by the end of the decade. He urged Congress to dedicate $22 billion to the Apollo Space Program. In his speech to Rice University he stated "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." On July 20, 1969, the goal was realized when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took landed on the moon.
Once of his greatest speeches in Berlin after the Berlin Wall was erected to halt westward movement of East Berliners and keep them under communist control, Kennedy stated "Ich bin ein Berliner". The speech created a stir worldwide for its boldness against the communist bloc and is considered to be a landmark speech of the post-war era. It is also remembered in popular culture because some believe grammatically he stated, "I am a jelly donut."
JFK's position on Civil Rights was inhibited due to his need of the Dixiecrat vote; however, he supported integration and used the Federal Marshals to protect students and freedom riders. On June 11, 1963, President Kennedy intervened wheyn the Alabama Governor personally blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two African American students from enrolling. That evening made a famous civil rights address on national television and radio which was later used to propel Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This collection also includes hours of news casting from Kennedy's tragic assignation in Dallas, Texas November 22nd, 1963. Though the Warren Commission states that that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, many historians believe that there were other people involved in the murder of President Kennedy including the CIA, the FBI, the Russians, the Cubans, the Chinese, the Mason's, the MIB's, the Mafia, and of course vice president LBJ. Conspiracy theorists, film makers, historians, and others have always been interested in the assassination of a WWII hero, father, and husband and a president.
In these recordings there are glimpses of eye witness accounts which reference locations of possible assassination posts including the Texas School Book Depository, the grassy knoll, and other theories. This extensive collection of news stories gives a first hand and minute by minute account of the tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy. His death was one of the most dramatic and significant events of the 20th century.
John F. Kennedy's life left a mark on American national and international government policies, popular culture, and life. Though he didn't live to see many of his programs and policies to fruition, his speeches are well written and presented; they are considered iconic of the era.
I started ordering your old radio shows about a year ago and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I enjoy the old radio shows such as Life of Riley but particularly like the historical recordings such as World War II news, D-Day, vintage baseball and football broadcasts and most recently the JFK assassination tapes. You are a wonderful resource for these rare recordings and you provide them at a very reasonable cost. Keep up the good work!
Like so many other programs that otrcat.com puts out, history comes alive. Hearing these broadcasts from yesteryear in their real time gives me a new perspective of the era and the people who lived it. I can’t wait for more from otrcat.com. Thank you!
Driving home Saturday night I finished listening to the fourth and final debate between Nixon and Kennedy, Oct. 21, 1960 in NYC. Foreign policy focus. Both candidates a little edgier, sharper with aggressive language toward each other's positions (alleged or not). Nixon has a distinct advantage in referring to specific travels and meetings he has made as VP. His command of names and forces at play in various regions of the world is impressive, a realpolitik operator. JFK falls back on idealism and an emphasis on "moving forward," a stress that I learned last night came from Walt Rostow (thanks, David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest). Essentially, based on my listening, walling off my later reading and historical bickerings since 1960, I would call the debates a draw. This is in turn reflected in the election itself, which in my cynical moments I say was decided by Chicago Mayor Daley's ability to raise the Democratic dead. The rest of the MP3 cd from Otr Cat is loaded with other Nixon recordiings, including the Checkers speech, his post-gubernatorial press conference in CA (he lost), and such. Then after that I will go through the disc of Watergate recordings. Forward -- into the Past!
Excellent collection of sound bytes and radio coverage from that awful weekend in November 1963. The coverage from WJW in Cincinnati and WCCO in Minneapolis was especially interesting. Thanks again, otrcat.com!
I was 9 yrs. old when JFK was assassinated and remember exactly where I was. To listen to the reports of the breaking news takes me back. The quality of the downloads is excellent. OTR has great selection to choose from.
I was 4 at the time and the assassination is the first real for-sure
memory I have. The radio coverage you've sent is WFAA Radio, which was the
Dallas Morning News station. The TV coverage, which starts earlier in the
event, was from NBC TV and is anchored by Huntley and Brinkley.
The Kennedy Collection looks excellent. I don't know if you've been to
Dallas, but I have several times and the area in front of the School Book
Depository is surprisingly much smaller than it looks on film. I drove down
the route from the building to the triple over pass and even at around 20
mph you pass down the street in just a few seconds. There is an "X" painted
on the street apparently where the president was shot. It makes you wonder
if Oswald really had enough time to fire off three to four shots in the
amount of time he had using the rifle he was supossed to have used. I've
also been over behind the fence of the Grassy Knoll and if anyone was there,
they'd of had a perfect shot at anyone sitting in the car that day. The
fence is probably not the original but it has alot of graffiti written on
the back of it with phrases such as "The Truth Is Out There" and something
like "What A Spot for a Perfect Shot" among others. Kind of interesting.
There is a museum dedicated to president Kennedy at the top 6th floor of the
depository building where you can see the six story floor window. You used
to could look out it but now the area is enclosed in glass, but you can look
out the window next to it. Anyway, the collection looks great especially
all the extras. I'm thinking of possibly ordering one.
John F. Kennedy's presidency faced a number of trials from the 20th century including the prolongation of the Cold War, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the beginning of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. With each of these events in his presidency, he made memorable debates and quotable speeches—his words themselves made history.
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