The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges . It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people , but what I intend to ask of them.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (29 May 1917 – 22 November 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and Jack, was the 35th President of the United States (1961–1963) and a United States Senator from Massachusetts (1953–1960). He is the older brother of Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, and the first husband of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free

I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world

This flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of failure , which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open society of ours which risked much, gained much.

We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations , the complexity of our decisions , the agony of our choices . But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.

Although a country may stand still, history never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind. … But effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. For, as Socrates told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no wind is favorable."

Across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent enemies . Hostility today is a fact , but it is not a ruling law . The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God and our common vulnerability on this planet.

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education . … The human mind is our fundamental resource.

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.

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

In a democracy , every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics , 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility ; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people , are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership , be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration … But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war

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. 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

The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution.

The world is changing . The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. ... It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership

We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.

Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? That is the question of the New Frontier.

I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.

I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.

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.

The stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity.

When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us — recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state — our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: ...

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.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.

The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. (April 20, 1961) In his speech President Kennedy discusses the purpose of American intervention abroad and the spread of communist ideology to Latin America and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on the Bay of Pigs incident that occurred in Cuba four days prior.

Following his address before the American Society of Newspapers President Kennedy assumed responsibily for the Bay of Pigs Invasion at the next day by saying: "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government." (Source: State Department press conference 21 April 1961, following the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. 1965, 2002. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Houghton Mifflin ISBN 1-57912-449-6 ISBN 978-1-57912-449-6, p. 262.)