and you're watching c-span's american history tv. and this is our special series on speeches that define the presidency. we continue this week with a look at john kennedy. he was in the white house for

just over 1000 days from 1961 to 1963. and in that short time, he challenged americans to ask what you can do for your country. to go to the moon and to proclaim, ich bin ein berliner. here's john kennedy. and speeches that helped to define his presidency. vice president johnson and the speaker and the chief justice. president eisenhower.

vice president nixon. president truman. reverend clergy. elitism. we observe today. not a victory of 40, but a celebration of freedom symbolized an end as well as a beginning. signifying renewal as well as change. for i upon before you and almighty god, the same solemn oath are ordained, prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago, the world is very different now for man holds an mortal hand. the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. and yet the same revolutionary

belief for which are all danced by hostility show around the globe. now the belief that the rights of man come not from the generous tyranny of the state, but from the hand of god. we dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike that the torch has been passed to a new generation of american born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace. proud of our nation heritage. and unwilling to witness or prevent a slow undoing. although human right which this nation has always been committed

and or which we are committed today at home and around the world. that every nation no whether it wishes us well or ill, that we help any pride, bear any burden, make any hardship, support, any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. this march, we pledge and more to those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share. we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends united.

there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. divided there. is that all we can do? all we cannot meet a powerful challenge at all. and split asunder to those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. we shall not always expect to find them supporting our view, but we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom and to remember that in the past, those who foolishly thought power by writing the back of the tiger ended up

inside. those people in the hearts and villages of half the globe, struggling to break the bonds of man's misery. we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves for whatever period is required, not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. who are just a republic south of our border. we offer a special pledge to convert our good words in a good deed and a new alliance for progress to a free man and free

government in capping off the chains of poverty. but then peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression. also urgent, anywhere in the americas and let every other power know that there is hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own out. tonight, world assembly of sovereign state. the united nations, our last, best hope in an age where the instruments of war have borrowed, outweighed the instruments of peace. weary newark pledge of support to prevent it from becoming

merely a forum for invective to strengthen its shield of the new in the weak, and to enlarge the area in which it may run. finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge, but a request that both sides begin anew the quest for peace. they owe the dark powers of destruction unleashed by dying in gaul. all humanity and planned or accidental self-destruction. we dare not amp them with weakness, but only when our arms are the sufficient beyond our. can we be certain beyond out that they will never be employed. but neither can to great. and for groups of nations take comfort from our present course.

both sides of overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both right thing to alter that uncertain balance of terror. then stay the hand of mankind. final war. so let us begin anew remembering on both sides that stability is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. at both side. explore what problems unite us and set up a laboring those problems which divide us. let both sides for the first time formula their it and

precise proposal for the inspection and control of arms and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. let both side seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors to together. let us explore the stars, conquer the desert, eradicate disease, cap the ocean depth and encourage the arts and commerce. let both sides unite to hate in all corners of the earth. the command of i say to undo the heavy burden and let the oppressed go free. and if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the

jungle of suspicion. let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law where the strong not just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. all this will not be finished in the first 100 days, nor will it be finished in the first 1000 days. nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. but let us begin. in your hands. my fellow citizens, more than mine, will read the final success or failure of our course since this country was founded.

each generation of americans has been summoned to give testimony to international loyalty. the grades of young americans who answered the call to service around the globe. now the trumpet summons us again. now, do they call to bear arms? though arms we need not the call to battle, though. in battle we are, but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle. year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, ancient in tribulation, a struggle against the common enemy. the man, tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. can we fought against the enemies? a grand and global alliance

north and south, east and west that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind. will you join in that historic effort. in the long history of the world? only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. i do not shrink from this responsibility. i welcome it. i do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. managing the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will guide our country and all who serve it.

and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. and all my fellow americans ask not what your country can do for you and what you can do for your country. my fellow citizens of the world ask not what america will do for you, but what the ghetto we can do for the freedom of man. finally, whether you are citizens of america or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standard of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you with a good conscience are only your reward.

with history, the final judge of our deed let us go forth to lead the land we love. asking is blessing and is our. but knowing that here on earth, god work must truly be our own. and you know. president pence, mr. vice president, governor, congressman

thomas, senator wiley and congressman miller, mr. webb, vow, val scientists, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting professor, and i will assure you that my first lecture will be very brief. i am delighted to be here and i'm particularly delighted to be here on this occasion. we meet at a college noted for knowledge in a city noted for progress in a state, noted for strength and we stand in need of all three. when we meet in an hour of change and challenge and a decade of hope and fear in an age of both knowledge and ignorance, the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. despite the striking fact that most of the signers that the

world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this nation's own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth. more than three times that of our population as a whole. despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip our collective comprehension. no man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condemn, if you will, the 50,000 years of man's recorded history in a time span of about a half a century stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years except at the end of them advance man had learned

to use the skins of animals to cover them. then about ten years ago, under this standard, man emerged in his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. only five years ago, man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. christianity began less than two years ago. the printing press came this year and they less than two months ago. during this whole 50 year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power. newton explored the meaning of gravity. last month, electra clocks and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power. and now, with america's new spacecraft, 60 yards and reaching venus, we will have

literally reached the stars before midnight tonight. this is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships as well as high reward. so it is not surprise that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. but this city of houston, this state of texas, this country of the united states was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. this country was conquered by

those who move forward, and so will space. william bradford, speaking in 16th 30 of the founding of the plymouth bay colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulty and both must be enterprise and overcome without honorable courage. if this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man in his quest for knowledge and progress is determined and cannot be deterred. the explorer ocean of space will go ahead. whether we join in it or not. and it is one of the great adventures of all time. and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations, can expect to stay behind in this race for space. those who came before us made

certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution. the first waves of modern invention. and the first wave of nuclear power. and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. we mean to be a part of it. we mean to lead it. for the eyes of the world. now look into space. to the moon. and to the planets. beyond. and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. we have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with

instruments of knowledge and understanding. yet the vows of this nation can only be fulfilled if we in this nation are first. and therefore, we intend to be first. in showing our leadership in science and industry our hopes for peace and security, our obligation to ourselves as well as others all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space faring nation. we set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won. and they must be won and used for the progress of all people,

for space science, like nuclear science and all technology has no conscience of its own. whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man and only if the united states acquire prize. a position of preeminence. can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new, terrifying theater of war. i do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea. but i do say that space can be explored and nastier without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ. around this globe of ours, there

is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space. as yet, its hazards are hostile to us all. its conquest deserves the best of all. mankind and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. but why some say the moon? why choose this as our goal and they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? 535 years ago? fly the atlantic? why does race play texas? we choose to go to the moon. we choose to go to the moon. 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. because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of

our energies and skills. because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept. one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others to. it is for these reasons that i regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the presidency. in the last 24 hours, we have seen facilities now being created for the greatest and most complex exploration in man's history. we have felt the ground shake and the air shattered by the testing of a saturn c1, one booster rocket. many times as powerful as the atlas, which launched john dirlam generating power equivalent to 10,000 automobiles

with their accelerator on the floor. we have seen the site where five f-1 rocket engines, each one as powerful as all eight engines of the saturn combine, will be clustered together to make the advanced saturn missile assembly all in a new building to be built at cape canaveral as tall as a 48 story structure, as wide as a city block, and as long as two legs of this field. within these last 19 months, at least 45 satellites have circled the earth. some 40 of them were made in the united states of america, and they were far more sophisticated and supplied far more knowledge to the people of the world than those of the soviet union. the mariner spacecraft.

the mariner spacecraft now on its way to venus, is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. the accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from cape canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the 40 yard line. transit satellites are helping our ships at sea to stare a safer course. tira satellites have given us unprecedented warnings of hurricanes and storms, and we'll do the same for forest fires and icebergs. we have had our failure, but sorry about it. even if they do not admit them and they may be less public to be sure. they'll be sure we are behind and will be behind for some time in manned flight. but we do not intend to stay behind. and in this decade we shall make up and move ahead.

the growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computer for industry, medicine and the whole as well as the school technical institutions such as rice will reap the harvest of these gains. and finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies and tens and thousands of new jobs. space and related industries are generating new demands and investment and scaled personnel. and this city and this state and this region will share greatly in this growth. what was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of

the west will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. houston. your city of houston, with its manned spacecraft center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community during the next five years. the national aeronautics and space administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses. the. $60 million a year to invest some $200 million in plan and laboratory facilities, and to direct or contract for new space efforts. over $1 billion from this center in this city to be sure. all this costs us all a good deal of money. this year's space budget is three times what it was.

in january 1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined. that budget now stands at. $5,000,000,400 million a year, a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarets and cigars every year. space expenditures. space expenditures will soon rise. samoa from $0.40 per person per week to more than $0.50 a week for every man, woman and child in the united states. for we have given this program a high national priority, even though i realize that this is, in some measure, an act of faith and vision for we do not now know what benefits await us. but if i were to say my fellow citizens, that we shall send to

the moon 240,000 miles away from the control station and houston, a giant rocket, more than 300 feet tall. the length of this football field made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision, better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion guidance, control, communications, food and survival on an untried mission to an unknown celestial body. and then return it safely to earth reentry in the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that on the temperature of the sun. almost as hot as it is here today. and do all this and do all this and do it right.

and do it first. before this decade is out, then we must be bold. i'm the one who is doing all the work, so i get to stay cool for minute. however, i think we're going to do it, and i think that we must pay what needs to be paid. i don't think we ought to waste any money, but i think we ought to do the job. and this will be done in the decade of the 60. it may be done while some of you are still here at school, at this college and university. it will be done during the terms of office of some of the people who sit here on this platform. but it will be done and it will be done before the end of this decade. and i am delighted that this university is playing a part in putting a man on the moon as part of a great national effort of the united states of america.

many years ago, the great british explorer, george mallory, who was to die on mount everest, was asked why did he want a climate? he said, because it is their spaces. they and we're going to climb it and the moon and the planets are there. and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. and therefore, as we set sail, we ask god's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. thank you.

thank you, lady. i am proud. to come to this city as the

guest of your distinguished mayor, who has symbolized throughout the world the fighting spirit of west berlin. and i am proud. and i am proud to visit the federal republic with your distinguished traveler, who for so many years has committed germany to democracy and freedom and progress. i had to come here in the company of my fellow american general clay, who. who has been in this city during

a great moment of crisis and will come again, if ever needed. 2000 years ago. 2000 years ago, the proudest vote was he with romana? so today in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is if being on be leader. i. i, i appreciate. i appreciate my interpreter translating my german.

there are many people in the world who really don't understand or say they don't. what is the great issue between the free world and the communist world? let them come to berlin. there are some who say. there are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. let them come to berlin. and. there are some who say in europe and elsewhere we can work with

the communists, let them come to berlin. and there are even a few who say that it's true that communist is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress a lot. the not berlin in common. let them. freedom as many. and democracy is not perfect. but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.

i want to say, on behalf of my countrymen who live many miles away on the other side of the atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you. even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. i know of no town, no city that has been besieged. for 18 years. that's still live with the vitality and the power and the hope and the determination of the city of west berlin.

while the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the communist system for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it already. as your mayor has said, an offense only against history, but an offense against humanity. separating family, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing up people who wish to be joined together. what is true of this city is true of germany. real, lasting peace in europe

can never be assured as long as one german out of four is denied. the element free right of freedom. and that is to make a free choice. in 18 years of peace and good faith. this generates, sure enough, german has earned the right to be free including the right to unite their family and their nation in lasting, with goodwill to all people. you live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. so let me ask you, as a close to

lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today to the hopes that tomorrow, beyond the freedom, really, of the city of berlin or your country, of germany to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall. the day of peace with justice beyond yourself. and also for all mankind. freedom is indivisible and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. when all are free. then we look and look forward. to that day, when this city will be joined one and this country and this great continent of europe and a peaceful and hopeful globe. when that day finally comes as it will, the people of west berlin can take solace,

satisfaction in the fact that they were in the pipeline for almost two decades. all all, all three men. wherever they may live, a citizen to berlin. and therefore, as a free man, i take pride in the ich bin ein berliner.

and thanks for joining us on c. span's american history tv special series speeches that define the presidency. next week, lyndon johnson on the great society and immigration and richard nixon on the silent majority and his 1974 resignation speech. as a reminder, all of the speeches in the series are available to listen and watch online at c-span dot org slash