he was a young charismatic leader
elected to office during one of the most
turbulent times in American history
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top five
defining moments of john f kennedy’s
presidency before we begin we publish
new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re focusing on
the most memorable and significant
moments from JFK’s time in the Oval
Office these moments are not in
chronological order as we’re ranking
them based on their lasting impact
number five fostering the space program
once the Soviets launched Sputnik and
later became the first nation to send a
human into space the Cold War’s battle
of ideologies manifested itself in the
space race determine to see the United
States triumph
President Kennedy issued a challenge to
his government and the American people
put a man on the moon and bring him back
to Earth in one piece within 10 years
time to achieving the goal before this
decade is out of landing a man on the
moon and returning him safely to the
earth
later speaking at Rice University in
Houston Texas JFK gave one of the most
iconic speeches of his presidency to
encourage support for the initiative 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
ultimately his challenge was met in 1969
when Apollo 11 successfully landed on
the moon at one all fair for man one
giant leap for ever
number four signing the nuclear test-ban
treaty by the end of World War two
nuclear weapons had become a persistent
aspect of warfare and the nuclear arms
race encouraged the development of even
more dangerous munitions Kennedy himself
had championed a ban on nuclear weapons
testing both as a senator and during his
presidential campaign
however the Cuban Missile Crisis of
October 1962
definitively to both JFK and Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev that the
planets destruction due to nuclear war
was all but inevitable as long as
hostilities remained between the US and
the USSR it took less than two weeks of
negotiations for a treaty between the
two countries to be signed on August 5th
1963 banning nuclear testing everywhere
but underground courage and
understanding and lodged Friday’s
achievement but a special long road in
quest of man’s essential number-3
integrating the University of Alabama
Kennedy’s public support of Martin
Luther King jr. was a deciding factor
during his presidential campaign once in
office
JFK’s administration made significant
efforts to ensure the civil rights of
African Americans nonetheless the racial
segregation of schools remained an issue
tensions boiled over in Alabama On June
11th 1963 when Governor George Wallace
made his so-called stand in the
schoolhouse door attempting to prevent
two black students from being admitted
to UA Kennedy responded by federalizing
the Alabama National Guard and Wallace
was ordered to step aside the president
then addressed the nation stating that
civil rights were as much a moral issue
as a political one they had a right to
expect the land would be fair but the
Constitution will be colorblind as
justice Harlan said at an intersection
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed
such discrimination and was a lasting
legacy of Kennedy’s leadership I think
the passage of the civil rights bill is
a lasting tribute to the memory of the
late John Fitzgerald Kennedy
number two handling the Cuban Missile
Crisis in October of 1962 it was
confirmed to United States government
officials the Sicilia Union had
positioned nuclear weapons within Cuba
putting the entire continental US at
risk of a potential missile strike on
October 22nd in an address to the nation
President Kennedy warned that unchecked
aggression would lead to war but his
goal was a peaceful resolution to the
Cuban
for crisis our goal is not the victory
of might but the vindication of right he
then deployed a military blockade to
quarantine Cuba and prevent more weapons
from being delivered and demanded the
existing weapons be dismantled through
diplomatic negotiations the Americans
and Soviets reached an agreement with
both countries dismantling the offensive
nuclear missiles in question number one
delivering his inaugural address after
winning one of the tightest elections in
almost half a century John F Kennedy
appeared before a nation divided by
civil rights issues and fearful of a
foreign superpower to deliver his first
speech as president of the United States
on January 20th 1961 in what was the
first inaugural address televised in
color President Kennedy spoke directly
to the American public calling for unity
within the country and asked
international allies for cooperation
towards peace ultimately the sentiment
that closed out JFK’s inaugural speech
has since come to define not only john f
kennedy’s presidency but also his legacy
and so my fellow America and not what
your country can do for you at what you
can do for your country
[Music]
elected to office during one of the most
turbulent times in American history
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top five
defining moments of john f kennedy’s
presidency before we begin we publish
new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re focusing on
the most memorable and significant
moments from JFK’s time in the Oval
Office these moments are not in
chronological order as we’re ranking
them based on their lasting impact
number five fostering the space program
once the Soviets launched Sputnik and
later became the first nation to send a
human into space the Cold War’s battle
of ideologies manifested itself in the
space race determine to see the United
States triumph
President Kennedy issued a challenge to
his government and the American people
put a man on the moon and bring him back
to Earth in one piece within 10 years
time to achieving the goal before this
decade is out of landing a man on the
moon and returning him safely to the
earth
later speaking at Rice University in
Houston Texas JFK gave one of the most
iconic speeches of his presidency to
encourage support for the initiative 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
ultimately his challenge was met in 1969
when Apollo 11 successfully landed on
the moon at one all fair for man one
giant leap for ever
number four signing the nuclear test-ban
treaty by the end of World War two
nuclear weapons had become a persistent
aspect of warfare and the nuclear arms
race encouraged the development of even
more dangerous munitions Kennedy himself
had championed a ban on nuclear weapons
testing both as a senator and during his
presidential campaign
however the Cuban Missile Crisis of
October 1962
definitively to both JFK and Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev that the
planets destruction due to nuclear war
was all but inevitable as long as
hostilities remained between the US and
the USSR it took less than two weeks of
negotiations for a treaty between the
two countries to be signed on August 5th
1963 banning nuclear testing everywhere
but underground courage and
understanding and lodged Friday’s
achievement but a special long road in
quest of man’s essential number-3
integrating the University of Alabama
Kennedy’s public support of Martin
Luther King jr. was a deciding factor
during his presidential campaign once in
office
JFK’s administration made significant
efforts to ensure the civil rights of
African Americans nonetheless the racial
segregation of schools remained an issue
tensions boiled over in Alabama On June
11th 1963 when Governor George Wallace
made his so-called stand in the
schoolhouse door attempting to prevent
two black students from being admitted
to UA Kennedy responded by federalizing
the Alabama National Guard and Wallace
was ordered to step aside the president
then addressed the nation stating that
civil rights were as much a moral issue
as a political one they had a right to
expect the land would be fair but the
Constitution will be colorblind as
justice Harlan said at an intersection
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed
such discrimination and was a lasting
legacy of Kennedy’s leadership I think
the passage of the civil rights bill is
a lasting tribute to the memory of the
late John Fitzgerald Kennedy
number two handling the Cuban Missile
Crisis in October of 1962 it was
confirmed to United States government
officials the Sicilia Union had
positioned nuclear weapons within Cuba
putting the entire continental US at
risk of a potential missile strike on
October 22nd in an address to the nation
President Kennedy warned that unchecked
aggression would lead to war but his
goal was a peaceful resolution to the
Cuban
for crisis our goal is not the victory
of might but the vindication of right he
then deployed a military blockade to
quarantine Cuba and prevent more weapons
from being delivered and demanded the
existing weapons be dismantled through
diplomatic negotiations the Americans
and Soviets reached an agreement with
both countries dismantling the offensive
nuclear missiles in question number one
delivering his inaugural address after
winning one of the tightest elections in
almost half a century John F Kennedy
appeared before a nation divided by
civil rights issues and fearful of a
foreign superpower to deliver his first
speech as president of the United States
on January 20th 1961 in what was the
first inaugural address televised in
color President Kennedy spoke directly
to the American public calling for unity
within the country and asked
international allies for cooperation
towards peace ultimately the sentiment
that closed out JFK’s inaugural speech
has since come to define not only john f
kennedy’s presidency but also his legacy
and so my fellow America and not what
your country can do for you at what you
can do for your country
[Music]
Please follow and like us: