“Ich bin ein Berliner” Speech (June 26, 1963)John F. KennedyIn Berlin, Germany, President Kennedy commends Berliners on their spirit and dedication to democracy and expresses his solidarity with them through the words "as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner! (I am a Berliner)." The speech is given in front of the Berlin wall, this wall was built under the command of the Soviet Union to separate the West (democratic side) and the East (the communist side), the wall stood for 29 years.

This transcript contains the published text of the speech, not the actual words spoken.

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sic nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope and the determination of the city of West Berlin. While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of. the Communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your Mayor has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.

What is true of this city is true of Germany—real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you, as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

Document analysis questions (Answer on your poster board)

1. Sourcing: Where did JFK give this speech in Berlin? Why do you think he chose this location?2. Analysis: What point is JFK attempting to make when he continues to say, “Let them come to Berlin”?3. Close reading: JFK says there will never be long lasting peace in Europe until what happens?4. Compare and contrast: How does JFK compare and contrast freedom and communism throughout the speech, make specific references.5. Close reading: What does “Ich bin ein Berliner” mean?6. Analysis: What impact would this speech have on the people of Berlin? Explain your reasoning (2-3 sentences)

Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.

After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and U.S. demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.

In 1963, there were signs of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In his commencement address at American University, President Kennedy urged Americans to reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe for diversity. Two actions also signaled a warming in relations between the superpowers: the establishment of a teletype "Hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963.

In language very different from his inaugural address, President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963, "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

Space race

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the space race was on. The Soviets' triumph jarred the American people and sparked a vigorous response in the federal government to make sure the United States did not fall behind its Communist rival.

A new space program, Project Mercury, was initiated two years later, during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. Seven men were selected to take part in the program: Scott Carpenter, Leroy Gordon Cooper, John Glenn Jr., Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald "Deke" Slayton. Project Mercury's goals were to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate the ability of astronauts to function in space, and recover astronauts and spacecraft safely.

Then, in 1961, the nation suffered another shock when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. The United States, it seemed, was still falling behind.

President Kennedy's Challenge

President Kennedy understood the need to restore America's confidence and intended not merely to match the Soviets, but surpass them. On May 25, 1961, he stood before Congress to deliver a special message on "urgent national needs." He asked for an additional $7 billion to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the

goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nation's lagging space efforts. Skeptics questioned the ability of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to meet the president's timetable. Within a year, however, Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom became the first two Americans to travel into space.

An American in Orbit

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit Earth. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Friendship 7 capsule carrying Glenn reached a maximum altitude of 162 miles and an orbital velocity of 17,500 miles per hour. After more than four hours in space, having circled the earth three times, Glenn piloted the Friendship 7 back into the atmosphere and landed in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda.

Glenn's success helped inspire the great army of people working to reach the Moon. Medical researchers, engineers, test pilots, machinists, factory workers, businessmen, and industrialists from across the country worked together to achieve this goal. By May 1963, astronauts Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra Jr., and L. Gordon Cooper had also orbited Earth. Each mission lasted longer than the one before and gathered more data.

To the Moon

As space exploration continued through the 1960s, the United States was on its way to the Moon. Project Gemini was the second NASA spaceflight program. Its goals were to perfect the entry and re-entry maneuvers of a spacecraft and conduct further tests on how individuals are affected by long periods of space travel. The Apollo Program followed Project Gemini. Its goal was to land humans on the moon and assure their safe return to Earth. On

July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.—realized President Kennedy's dream.

Civil rights movement

When John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, African Americans throughout much of the South were denied the right to vote, barred from public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and could not expect justice from the courts. In the North, black Americans also faced discrimination in housing, employment, education, and many other areas. But the civil rights movement had made important progress, and change was on the way.

The Freedom Rides

President Kennedy may have been reluctant to push ahead with civil rights legislation, but millions of African Americans would not wait. Eventually, the administration was compelled to act. For decades, seating on buses in the South had been segregated, along with bus station waiting rooms, rest rooms, and restaurants. In May 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), led by James Farmer, organized integrated Freedom Rides to defy segregation in interstate transportation. Freedom riders were arrested in North Carolina and beaten in South Carolina. In Alabama, a bus was burned and the riders attacked with baseball bats and tire irons. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals to protect the freedom riders and urged the Interstate Commerce Commission to order the desegregation of interstate travel.

The March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

In August 1963, more than 200,000 Americans of all races celebrated the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation by joining the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Key civil rights figures led the march, including A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, and Whitney Young. But the most memorable moment came when Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Later that fall, the comprehensive civil rights bill cleared several hurdles in Congress and won the endorsement of House and Senate Republican leaders. It was not passed, however, before November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated. The bill was left in the hands of Lyndon B. Johnson. Before becoming vice president, Johnson had served more than two decades in Congress as a congressman and senator from Texas. He used his connections with southern white congressional leaders, and with the assistance of Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department and the outpouring of emotion after the president's assassination, the Civil Rights Act was passed as a way to honor President Kennedy. Provisions of the legislation included: (1) protecting African Americans against discrimination in voter qualification tests; (2) outlawing discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; (3) authorizing the U.S. Attorney General's Office to file legal suits to enforce desegregation in public schools; (4) authorizing the withdrawal of federal funds from programs practicing discrimination; and (5) outlawing discrimination in employment in any business exceeding 25 people and creating an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review complaints.

Passed on July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act was a crucial step in achieving the civil rights movement's initial goal: full legal equality.

Timeline

June 17, 1946: ·JFK wins the Democratic primary for Massachusetts' Eleventh Congressional District.

November 1946: ·JFK is elected to the House of Representatives.

Fall 1948: ·JFK is elected to a second term in the House. While on a trip to England, he is diagnosed with Addison's disease. His condition is kept secret from the public.

1950-1953: · Korean War.

February 1950: ·Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy claims to have a list of Communists employed in the State Department. The era of "McCarthyism" begins.

November 1950: ·JFK is elected to a third term in the House.

November 1952: ·JFK defeats Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. to win election to the United States Senate. In the presidential election, Dwight Eisenhower and his running mate, Richard Nixon, defeat Adlai Stevenson.

September 12, 1953: ·JFK marries Jacqueline Bouvier.

December 2, 1954: ·Joseph McCarthy is censured by the U.S. Senate. JFK abstains from voting on the resolution.

1955-1956: ·JFK "writes" Profiles in Courage, a history of heroic American senators. In fact, the book is largely written by his speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen.

Summer 1956: ·At the Democratic National Convention, Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver edges JFK out to become Adlai Stevenson's running mate.

November 1956: ·Eisenhower crushes Stevenson and wins re-election.

1957: · Profiles in Courage is awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

November 27, 1957: ·Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, JFK's daughter, is born.

November 1958: ·JFK wins re-election to the Senate by a comfortable margin.

July 1960: ·JFK wins the Democratic nomination for president and picks Lyndon Johnson as his running mate.

November 8, 1960: ·JFK defeats Nixon and becomes president.

November 25, 1960: ·Birth of John F. Kennedy, Jr.

January 20, 1961: ·John F. Kennedy is sworn in as President of the United States.

March 1961: ·JFK announces the establishment of the Peace Corps.

April 1961: ·Attempted U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba ends in disaster at the Bay of Pigs.

June 1961: ·JFK and Nikita Khrushchev hold a summit in Vienna.

August 1961: ·U.S.A. and Latin American nations join in the "Alliance for Progress."

March 1962: ·JFK forces the steel industry to eliminate a price increase.

October 16, 1962: ·The U.S. obtains photos of Soviet missile emplacements in Cuba, bringing about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

October 22, 1962: ·JFK announces naval quarantine of Cuba.

October 28, 1962: ·Soviet Union agrees to remove its missiles from Cuba.

June 1963: ·JFK calls civil rights struggle a "moral crisis" for America.

August 5, 1963: ·U.S. and Soviet Union agree to a nuclear test-ban treaty.

Early November, 1963: ·U.S.-backed coup overthrows the government of South Vietnam, replaces it with a military dictatorship.

November 22, 1963: ·JFK is assassinated while riding through the streets of Dallas, Texas. Lyndon Johnson becomes president.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Space race

Civil rights movement

Timeline