70 John F. Kennedy Quotes on Life, Politics, and Greatness

If you’re in search of inspiration John F. Kennedy quotes, we have an amazing collection for you to enjoy.

For anyone who was alive on the day JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963, they knew exactly where they were in the moment he lost his life.

On national television, audiences watched in horror as the 35th US President was cruelly gunned down beside his wife in a moving vehicle. That day, the world lost a truly great patriot of the American people who continues to inspire today even decades after his untimely death.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th U.S. president and also a civil rights activist. John F. Kennedy, as he is lovingly called, was a man of ambition and intelligence, but without the air of conceit usually present in some men similar to his position.

Despite the difficult issues he faced during his term (e.g. Cuban Missile Crisis and civil rights for African American citizens), he still managed to shine and perform his duties.

A few of his notable accomplishments included: the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Alliance for Progress with Latin America, as well as successful negotiations for the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with Great Britain and the Soviet Union.

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He inspired many Americans to take a more active role for their country. As thus, these John F. Kennedy quotes will surely instill the same level of motivation in you today.

Inspirational John F. Kennedy quotes about War, America, and Democracy

1. “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” – John F. Kennedy

2. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy

3. “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John F. Kennedy

4. “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” – John F. Kennedy

5. “The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.” – John F. Kennedy

6. “Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.” – John F. Kennedy

7. “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’” – John F. Kennedy

8. “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” – John F. Kennedy

9. “The pay is good and I can walk to work.” – John F. Kennedy

10. “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy

Best John F. Kennedy quotes about the sea

11. “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” – John F. Kennedy

12. “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy

13. “The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.” – John F. Kennedy

14. “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” – John F. Kennedy

15. “The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

16. “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” – John F. Kennedy

17. “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” – John F. Kennedy

18. “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!” – John F. Kennedy

19. “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” – John F. Kennedy

20. “Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes…can no longer be of concern to great powers alone.” – John F. Kennedy

Top quotes by John F. Kennedy about idealism and courage

21. “I’m an idealist without illusions.” – John F. Kennedy

22. “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” – John F. Kennedy

23. “My brother Bob doesn’t want to be in government – he promised Dad he’d go straight.” – John F. Kennedy

24. “A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” – John F. Kennedy

25. “The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.” – John F. Kennedy

26. “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” – John F. Kennedy

27. “We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” – John F. Kennedy

28. “In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.” – John F. Kennedy

29. “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.” – John F. Kennedy

30. “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.”  – John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy quotes on peace and politics

31. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – John F. Kennedy

32. “If by a Liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a Liberal, then I’m proud to say I’m a Liberal.” – John F. Kennedy

33. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – John F. Kennedy

34. “There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.” – John F. Kennedy

35. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – John F. Kennedy

36. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

37. “Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” – John F. Kennedy

38. “Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy

39. “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.” – John F. Kennedy

40. “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” – John F. Kennedy

More JFK quotes about leadership and the nation

41. “Libraries should be open to all – except the censor.” – John F. Kennedy

42. “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” – John F. Kennedy

43. “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” – John F. Kennedy

44. “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” – John F. Kennedy

45. “Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind.” – John F. Kennedy

46. “If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.” – John F. Kennedy

47. “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” – John F. Kennedy

48. “The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” –  John F. Kennedy

49. “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” – John F. Kennedy

50. “We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.” – John F. Kennedy

If you’re enjoying this article, make sure to also check out these quotes by famous people about life, love and success.

John F. Kennedy quotes to inspire you

51. “We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.” – John F. Kennedy

52. “If not us, who? If not now, when?”- John F. Kennedy

53. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”- John F. Kennedy

54. “Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met—obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.”- John F. Kennedy

55. “We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or make it the last.”- John F. Kennedy

56. “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy

57. “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” ― John F. Kennedy

58. “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” John F. Kennedy

59. “There is, in addition to a courage with which men die; a courage by which men must live.” ― John F. Kennedy

60. “The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.” ― John F. Kennedy

More John F. Kennedy quotes and sayings

61. “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”― John F. Kennedy

62. “The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet.”― John F. Kennedy

63. “We cannot negotiate with people who say what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.”― John F. Kennedy

64. “The most powerful single force in the world today is neither Communism nor Capitalism, neither the H-bomb nor the guided missile — it is man’s eternal desire to be free and independent.”― John F. Kennedy

65. “Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive.”― John F. Kennedy

66. “Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside”― John F. Kennedy

67. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.”
― John F. Kennedy

68. “Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”― John F. Kennedy

69. “We need men who can dream of things that never were.”― John F. Kennedy

70. “Just because we cannot see clearly the end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey.”― John F. Kennedy

You might also like these Harry Truman quotes from the unpopular president.

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The assassination of John F. Kennedy is considered to be a national tragedy. Regardless of the struggles he faced during his term, he was seen by many as a man of vision. To most people up to this day, he was a hero – someone who could have done far more if not for his untimely death.

John F. Kennedy was shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 1963. He died at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

No matter how you choose to remember him, these powerful John F. Kennedy quotes will hopefully stay with you as remembrance of a great man.