Prepared by the Department of Education and Public Programs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
1 - Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of
themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to
respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment.
Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3- Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their
knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their
understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context,
graphics).
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process
elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and nonprint texts.
MA Framework
5.27: Identify rhetorically functional sentence structure.
15.7: Evaluate how an author’s choice of words advances the theme or purpose of a work.
15.9: Identify, analyze and evaluate an author’s use of rhetorical devices in persuasive argument.
Historical Background and Context
On January 20, 1961, a clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court held the large Fitzgerald family Bible as
John F. Kennedy took the oath of office to become the nation’s 35th president. Against a
backdrop of deep snow and sunshine, more than twenty thousand people huddled in 20-degree
temperatures on the east front of the Capitol to witness the event. Kennedy, having removed his
topcoat and projecting both youth and vigor, delivered what has become a landmark inaugural
address.
His audience reached far beyond those gathered before him to people around the world. In
preparing for this moment, he sought both to inspire the nation and to send a message abroad
signaling the challenges of the Cold War and his hope for peace in the nuclear age. He also
wanted to be brief. As he’d remarked to his close advisor, Ted Sorensen, ―I don’t want people to
think I’m a windbag.‖
He assigned Sorensen the task of studying other inaugural speeches and Lincoln’s Gettysburg
Address to glean the secrets of successful addresses. The finely-crafted delivered speech had
been revised and reworked numerous times by Kennedy and Sorensen until the President-elect
was satisfied. Though not the shortest of inaugural addresses, Kennedy’s was shorter than most
at 1,355 words in length and, like Lincoln’s famous speech, was comprised of short phrases and
words. In addition to message, word choice and length, he recognized that captivating his
audience required a powerful delivery. On the day before and on the morning of Inauguration