Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-046-041
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning President Kennedy's address to the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations. In his speech the President discusses the recently signed treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests (later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty or Limited Test Ban Treaty), remarking that peace may be attainable when two nations with incompatible ideologies negotiate with each other. The President famously asks, "Space offers no problems of sovereignty…Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?" President Kennedy also explains that the task of maintaining peace and decreasing global tension must be shared by all nations. He proposes ways for the United Nations to increase and improve their efforts in developing countries, specifically focusing on health, human rights, agriculture, communication, and the environment. Materials in this folder include drafts by Special Assistant to the President and speechwriter Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., a press copy, and a reading copy of the speech with handwritten notations by the President, in addition to memoranda from Schlesinger and Adlai Stevenson, Ambassador to the United Nations.