Fifty years ago, on September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech on the U.S. space program, arguing that America should be the leader in space exploration and the first to land a man on the moon.  This address took place at Rice University in Houston.

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This is a 1962 Universal Newsreel of President John F. Kennedy's tour of several sites involved in research and development of the U.S. space program.  The trip included a stop at Cape Canaveral and the McDonnell plant in St. Louis to see the Mercury and Gemini space capsules.

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50 years ago on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered an address from the Oval Office on the Cuban Missile Crisis.  He stated that "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

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Universal Newsreel of John F. Kennedy's 1961 Presidential Inauguration.

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John F. Kennedy's first presidential inauguration took place on January 20, 1961. Two of President Kennedy’s best-known phrases came from his inaugural address: “... we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship ...” and, “... ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The U.S. Senate Recording Studio produced this video of highlights from that day's events.

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This June marks the 50th Anniversary of two of President John F. Kennedy’s most memorable speeches. On June 10th 1963, JFK delivered the commencement address at American University known as his “Peace Speech.” He called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  On June 26th 1963, President Kennedy took a harder line in West Berlin, famously stating that as a free man he took pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner.” This is a discussion from the Kennedy Presidential Library about the significance and lasting influence of these two addresses.

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Discussion on foreign policy during the Eisenhower years, with a special look at the Middle East including: The Eisenhower Doctrine that Ike articulated in a 1957 special message to Congress. To hold off any communist threats, he declared the sovereignty of Middle Eastern nations and declared, as he put it, America’s “deep respect for the rights and independence of every nation . . . “  This was part of a conference titled, “Ike Reconsidered: Lessons from the Eisenhower Legacy for the 21st Century,” co-hosted by Hunter College, CUNY, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute & the Eisenhower Foundation.

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June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University, when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  This is a conversation with two veteran journalists, Tom Brokaw and Nick Clooney, on the Kennedy presidency and the significance of his “Peace Speech.”  This program was hosted by American University’s School of Communication and the Newseum.

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Jeffrey Engel – director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas – discusses President George H.W. Bush’s motivations behind his enthusiastic push for German reunification in 1990.  Southern Methodist University hosted this event.

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This is a look at President Eisenhower’s views and actions in the area of civil rights, including the desegregation of the armed forces, his appointments of pro-civil rights Supreme Court justices and the dispatching of the 101st Airborne division to assist in the integration of Little Rock High School in Arkansas.  This discussion was part of a conference titled, “Ike Reconsidered: Lessons from the Eisenhower Legacy for the 21st Century,” co-hosted by Hunter College, City University of New York, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute & the Eisenhower Foundation.

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