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John F. Kennedy: "Freedom Doctrine" Speech

3,703 views · Published 8 August 2014 · 26:07 · Indexed 18 October 2026

Channel: GBH Forum Network · 2014 · Education

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"I am here to promote the Freedom Doctrine.  The great battleground for the defense  and expansion of freedom today, is the whole southern half of the globe: Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, the lands of the rising people.  Their revolution is the greatest in human history.  They seek an end to injustice, tyranny, and exploitation.  More than an end, they seek a beginning.  And there is a revolution which we would support regardless of the Cold War, and regardless of which political or economic route they should choose to freedom."

His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."  As President, his economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II, he fought vigorously for new civil rights legislation, and wanted America to be the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights.  With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations.  When, in October 1962, air reconnaissance discovered that Russia sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. Though the Russians backed down, Kennedy contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race, which led to the test ban treaty of 1963. The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of "a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion."  His administration saw the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.

This talk was recorded May 5, 1961.

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