110+ Inspirational John F. Kennedy Quotes [2024] Former President of the United States

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Updated: January 20th, 2022

John F. Kennedy was an American Politician and Former President of the United States.

He served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination on November 22, 1963.

The Kennedy family is one of the most acclaimed political families in the United States, having produced a president, three senators, three ambassadors, and many other representatives and politicians at the federal and state level.

We've put together an incredible collection of John F. Kennedy quotes to read.

Here they are:

110+ Inspirational John F. Kennedy Quotes [2024] Former President of the United States

List of Inspiring John F. Kennedy Quotes

A child miseducated is a child lost. - John F Kennedy

The life of the arts is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization. - John F Kennedy

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. - John F Kennedy

I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. - John F Kennedy

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. - John F Kennedy

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. - John F Kennedy

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

Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. - John F Kennedy

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. - John F Kennedy

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

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

Libraries should be open to all - except the censor. - John F Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death. - John F Kennedy

One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. - John F Kennedy

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

Forgive your enemies but never forget their names. - John F Kennedy

The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. - John F Kennedy

Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. - John F Kennedy

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

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. - John F Kennedy

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

Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain. - John F Kennedy

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

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. - John F Kennedy

Mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind. - John F Kennedy

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

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. - John F Kennedy

We cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable. - John F Kennedy

I'm an idealist without illusions. - John F Kennedy

Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. - John F Kennedy

Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. - John F Kennedy

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

We need men who can dream of things that never were. - John F Kennedy

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. - John F Kennedy

For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal. - John F Kennedy

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. - John F Kennedy

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

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

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. - John F Kennedy

The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. - John F Kennedy

Once you say you're going to settle for a second, that's what happens to you in life, I find. - John F Kennedy

The rising tide lifts all the boats. - John F Kennedy

A boy spends his time finding a girl to sleep with. A real man spends his time looking for the one worth waking up to. - John F Kennedy

If not us, who? If not now, when? - John F Kennedy

There is, in addition to courage with which men die; courage by which men must live. - John F Kennedy

The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet. - John F Kennedy

Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept our own responsibility for the future. - John F Kennedy

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. - John F Kennedy

Whether they be young in spirit, or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great. - John F Kennedy

Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves. - John F Kennedy

I was born an American, I live like an American, I will die an American. - John F Kennedy

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

Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience. - John F Kennedy

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. - John F Kennedy

For, in the final analysis, our most common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal. - John F Kennedy

If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live. - John F Kennedy

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

Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. - John F Kennedy

Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. - John F Kennedy

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. - John F Kennedy

A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. - John F Kennedy

So let us begin anew - remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. - John F Kennedy

Time and the world do not standstill. Change is the law of life. - John F Kennedy

The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were. - John F Kennedy

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

Great crisis produces great men and great deeds of courage. - John F Kennedy

Things don't just happen. They are made to happen. - John F Kennedy

We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. - John F Kennedy

No American is ever made better off by pulling a fellow American down, and all of us are made better off whenever any one of us is made better off. - John F Kennedy

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 Americans. - John F Kennedy

The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society. - John F Kennedy

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. - John F Kennedy

The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable. - John F Kennedy

When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. - John F Kennedy

Do not pray for easy lives. Prey to be stronger men. - John F Kennedy

We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. - John F Kennedy

It is a compromise that prevents each set of reformers from crushing the group at the other end of the political spectrum. - John F Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. - John F Kennedy

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. - John F Kennedy

When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. - John F Kennedy

We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch. - John F Kennedy

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. - John F Kennedy

Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. - John F Kennedy

Truth is a tyrant-the only tyrant to whom we can give our allegiance. The service of truth is a matter of heroism. - John F Kennedy

The greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorance unfolds. - John F Kennedy

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop those talents. - John F Kennedy

The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation's purpose - and is a test to the quality of a nation's civilization. - John F Kennedy

I don't think the intelligence reports are all that hot. Some days I get more out of the New York Times. - John F Kennedy

We cannot negotiate with those who say, 'What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable. - John F Kennedy

The highest duty of the writer is to remain true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth the artist best serves his nation. - John F Kennedy

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. - John F Kennedy

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope or dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation. - John F Kennedy

The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. - John F Kennedy

Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. - John F Kennedy

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen. - John F Kennedy

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. - John F Kennedy

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

I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises. - John F Kennedy

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. - John F Kennedy

If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. - John F Kennedy

Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us. - John F Kennedy

Our problems are man-made, therefore they can be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. - John F Kennedy

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. - John F Kennedy

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. - John F Kennedy

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. - John F Kennedy

There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. - John F Kennedy

Probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone. - John F Kennedy

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. - John F Kennedy

Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. - John F Kennedy

We, in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than by choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. - John F Kennedy

You can't relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle. - John F Kennedy

Every dollar released from taxation, that is spent or invested, will create a new job and a new salary. - John F Kennedy

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