For Immediate Release: September 17, 2003
Further information: Ann Scanlon (617) 514-1662
BOSTON – The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is participating in The People’s Vote: 100 Documents That Shaped America, a national challenge, sponsored by the National Archives, National History Day, and U.S. News & World Report, to engage Americans in a debate about which documents in American history are the most influential and that served to change the course of history, shape the United States, and define Americans as a people. The public may vote for ten documents from a list of 100 milestone documents chosen by historians and the National Archives at a voting kiosk at the Kennedy Library and Museum or online at www.usnews.com/vote. Voting begins on September 17, 2003. The ten documents that receive the most votes nationwide will be announced in a ceremony at the National Archives on December 15, 2003.
As part of its participation in The People’s Vote, the Kennedy Library and Museum will have on display documents Kennedy Library archivists and staff view as milestone documents for the administration of President John F. Kennedy. These documents include:
- President Kennedy’s January 20, 1961, Inaugural Address, when he called upon Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
- President Kennedy’s October 22, 1962, Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba, on day seven of the “thirteen days” of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when he announced the naval quarantine of Cuba and uncertainty of the situation.
- President Kennedy’s June 11, 1963, Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights, in which he commits to protecting the rights and freedoms of all races of Americans and states that the civil rights issue represents a “moral crisis” in America.
- President Kennedy’s June 26, 1963, remarks in the Rudolph Wilde Platz in Berlin, when the President demonstrates a new “world citizen” view by stating “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a citizen of Berlin.”)
- President Kennedy’s June 10, 1963, Commencement Address at American University in Washington, D.C., when he outlined a new vision and course for peace in the world. The President’s “Pax Americana” speech is considered by many to mark the beginning of détente.
- President Kennedy’s September 12, 1962, Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort, when he stated, “We choose to go to the moon.”
- President Kennedy’s October 26, 1963, remarks at Amherst College upon receiving an honorary degree, when he highlights the importance of art and the artist in our democratic way of life by saying, “When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations.”
The Kennedy Library and Museum also has on display in its exhibit of the Office of the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy a series of letters, decision documents, and telegrams on the desegregation of the University of Mississippi in September of 1963, including the Executive Order to admit James Meredith as the first student of color to the University of Mississippi.
The voting kiosk for The People’s Vote is located in the Kennedy Library and Museum’s lobby. Those interested in voting may do so without paying admission to the Museum.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Regular admission to the Museum is $8 for adults; $6 for seniors and students; $4 for children ages 13-17;and free for children ages 12 and under. The Kennedy Library and Museum offers a Café and Museum Store. The Kennedy Library and Museum is located off Morrissey Boulevard, next to the UMass Boston campus. There is free shuttle service from JFK/UMass T Stop on the Red Line and free parking. The Museum is fully handicapped accessible.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization.
The mission of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is to advance the study and understanding of President Kennedy's life and career and the times in which he lived, and to promote a greater appreciation of America's political and cultural heritage, the process of governing and the importance of public service. The core function of the Kennedy Library is to collect, preserve, and make available for research the documents and artifacts of President Kennedy and many of his contemporaries.