The Burden and the Glory
The Hopes and Purposes of President Kennedy's Second and Third Year in Office as Revealed in His Public Statements and Addresses
by Allan Nevins


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BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

The Burden and the Glory is a collection of speeches by President John F. Kennedy published a few months after his assassination in Dallas, Texas in November of 1963. The tragedy was still fresh and while the book's editor Allan Nevins provides useful context for the speeches, it was too soon for anything but a tribute to the martyred leader. The dust jacket informs that "The publisher's profits on this edition will be contributed to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library." Admirable as that it is, this line from President Lyndon Johnson's foreword--written just two months later--strains credulity: "No book will have a more treasured place in my library--no book will be opened more often." [p. ix]

More than half a century later, the collection turns out to serve two purposes. It serves as a historical companion volume to To Turn the Tide, a similar collection from Kennedy's first year as president and The Strategy of Peace (also edited by Nevins) of then Senator Kennedy's speeches. Here you can find the speeches that produced such often-seen clips as Kennedy's promise to land a man on the moon in the coming decade or his declaration in support of West Berlin, "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Just as important, the speeches provide a reminder that while the details may change, many political issues persist across the decades. While there's nothing about such matters as abortion, marriage equality, gun control, green energy, or legalizing cannabis--which would have surprised or baffled contemporary audiences--there's plenty that seems familiar. There are numerous speeches where Kennedy spells out the need to invest in defense spending in order to preserve peace, or how the government does (or doesn't) take actions leading to needed growth or unwanted inflation.

Some of his remarks could be spoken today with little change, such as extolling voting rights, investing in education, or expanding free trade. Given how politicized the issue of vaccinations have become, it may seem startling to come across Kennedy's unambiguous endorsement of them: "To take advantage of modern vaccination achievements, I am proposing a mass immunization program, aimed at the virtual elimination of such ancient enemies as polio, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus." [p.8]

While it may not warrant the committed study that President Johnson promised, it is a volume that remains of interest to students of American history in general and the Kennedy Era in particular.

-- Daniel M. Kimmel, April 2022

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Budget & Economy     John F. Kennedy: Stimulants to economy turned us from recession to growth.

Civil Rights     John F. Kennedy: Discrimination in employment injures victims and the economy.     John F. Kennedy: End discrimination in federally owned or backed housing.

Education     John F. Kennedy: We must improve the quality of instruction in our schools.

Foreign Policy     John F. Kennedy: Never write off any nation as lost to the Communists.     John F. Kennedy: Proudest boast in the free world: Ich bin ein Berliner.     John F. Kennedy: The future of the West lies in the Atlantic Partnership.

Free Trade     John F. Kennedy: Will send to Congress a new Trade Expansion Act.     John F. Kennedy: Closer economic ties among free nations essential to peace.

Government Reform     John F. Kennedy: The right to vote is most powerful right in the world.

Health Care     John F. Kennedy: I am proposing a mass immunization program.

Homeland Security     John F. Kennedy: Increased previous defense budget by 15 percent.

Principles & Values     John F. Kennedy: Peace in space means American science and industry must lead.

Social Security     John F. Kennedy: Enact health insurance for the aged under Social Security.

Tax Reform     John F. Kennedy: Proposed a permanent reduction in tax rates.

Technology     John F. Kennedy: We choose to go to the moon in this decade because it's hard.

Click for quotations from other sources by: John F. Kennedy