To a new generation of Americans

Not long after January 20, 1961, a young writer left his good job in New York City and moved his family to Washington, D.C., to find work in government. He was answering the call his president had just made to the American people: to ask what he could do for his country. He was giving back, before it was called giving back.

The writer was David McCullough. The president was John F. Kennedy. And the now iconic “ask not” statement in JFK’s Inaugural Address was not quite what Kennedy was supposed to say.

 At the last millisecond—right as he was delivering his address that bitterly cold, blazingly bright day—Kennedy changed a word in the famous sentence. It wasn’t an isolated change either. JFK made more than 35 changes to his speech as he delivered it.

“Let both sides join to invoke the wonders of science” was written, but he said, “Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science.” Elsewhere “the next task” became a more august “the new endeavor.”

Echoes of Jefferson, Lincoln and Churchill

Kennedy had an ear for oratory. He’d been informally schooled in the Churchillian method as a 22-year-old in 1939, where sitting in the Houses of Parliament he heard Churchill expound against Hitler. JFK wanted his inaugural address to be brief, as Jefferson’s had been. And he wanted to pay tribute to Lincoln:

Lincoln, 1861: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.”

Kennedy, 1961: “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.”

How do I know this? This and far more is laid out artfully in our big book on the making of JFK’s Inaugural Address.

We published it two years ago, intending it to be a window into the mind of a great reader and thinker. As I revisit this book now, on the fiftieth anniversary of what some scholars call the last great oratory of the twentieth century, I see more than I did at first.

History for the next generation

Certainly it is the history of a great speech and a defining moment in the American presidency. But it is also my history, and my generation’s (even though most of us were too young to remember watching the televised address). In some ways we are only now coming into that history, finding our own ways to give back.

And it is my parents’ history as well. When Kennedy announced that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,” he meant those we now call the Greatest Generation, the ones of the shared sacrifice of World War II.

Most history books retreat to bookshelves. This one we designed to be imposing and elegant, so that it might linger on coffee tables and fool readers into thinking they can lift its startlingly real-looking historical facsimiles right off the page. (In the age of electronic books, this is one way the technology of paper should compete.)

And now I’m going to put this book into my sons’ hands. At this golden anniversary of JFK’s speech, my sons are the age Kennedy was when he heard Churchill.

I want my young men to find in it not only the human workings behind a speech that seems superhuman, but also a part of who their parents are, and their grandparents were. Kennedy can help us pass the torch to a new generation, yet again.

Is there a book you want to give young people as a window into history? I’d love to hear. Just click on the Comments link below with your thoughts. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you'll connect to Comments.)

Comments

[Elizabeth V. Kane]

It doesn't seem as if fifty years have passed. I can recall the time and the speech. It seems as though many young people, no matter how intelligent they are, fear great oratory. This is true of some older folk as well.
Seizing the time and the moment is not thought of, they can only look back to see greatness or culture. In hindsight, "What if?" or "I should have."

[Elizabeth S. Wheeler]

Interesting you should send these comments at this time. Ten days ago I gave my 13-year-old granddaughter a book on the 'Words of Thomas Jefferson.' Three years ago, this granddaughter, her sister, their mother and I spent a day at Monticello. As we were leaving, this granddaughter, 10 years at the time, commented, "Mr. Jefferson was a brilliant man." Growing up about 15 miles from Monticello, Mr. Jefferson was quite the local star.

The connection here is: the last section in the 'Words of Thomas Jefferson' were quotes about him. The very last one was JFK speaking to a group of Nobel prize winners, saying this is likely the most brilliant collection of minds gathered in this dining room since Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

[Nicholas S. Gentile, Jr.]

JFK was one of many fine presidents of the past who noted the exceptionalism of America. I think too few young people understand what the "Greatest Generation" did to preserve and provide the life we live as a result of their sacrifices and dedication during WW 2. Two novels that might shed light are by Herman Wouk - " The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance." Additionally, I believe all young people should read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shruged" so they understand the system which has provided all Americans with the finest standard of living in the history of this planet.

[J. Tharpe]

I feel that no citizen of this wonderful republic could ever possess a true understanding of our strengths without reading the Debates on The Constitution, sometimes called the 'Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debates.'

These writings, along with the writings of Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, etc., provide a deep insight into just how very close this nation came to failure! They also reveal just how much these wonderful people sacrificed for this nation, and how much pain and bitterness had to be overcome to succeed!

Every High School graduate in America should possess a working knowledge of these writings. The tragedies of our government in operation that we all experience almost daily would most surely be mitigated by a voting public willing to react and act as did our predecessors! Or at least present each politician with a fearsome constituency!

Library of America publishes a truly great series of these events that is actually quite inexpensive! I own copies of these, and am very satisfied!

I also proudly own the set of writings published by Easton Press! These are literary treasures that entice the reader to consume slowly, and taste the full impact of what these great men left for us!

We are truly great because of the sacrifices of those who went before!

Jesse Tharpe
1/17/11

[Charlotte Gherke]

I have just received "The Freedom Documents" compiled by Chuck Baldwin and covers everything from The Mayflower Compact through Washington's Farewell Address, Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, The U.S.Constitution, Letters from Gen. Robert E. Lee and so much more. What a wonderful way to remember the great history of our country and its beginnings which are not taught in most of the public schools today. Approximately 170 pages of a myriad of documents that should be read by every American. It can be ordered through Chuck Baldwin, P.O. Box 37070, Pensacola, FL 32526.

Charlotte Gherke
2/2/11