New york. I thought, if i had said anything she would have thought i had been some sort of a nut. She never knew. , many times, itit is that way, in some cases. Whatever you are doing, you dont get into it if you are lazy. You have given us insight into the work you have done and the iconic photographs you have brought to the public guy. Hank you for sharing we have a facebook question from peter. On there resources people who died in detroit . You could be featured in our next program. Up next, the presidency with Edward Witmer and frederick loganville. Kennedy president ial Library Director moderates the discussion. This is about 90 minutes. Host good evening. Did you know that john f. Kennedy was the most photographed leader of his day . This may not surprise you. He used photography strategically to share values and vision for america. Ofwas also the golden age photography in america and that is why this is of interest to us and, hopefully, you. We focus on telling the stories of the american experience, from full cart, photography, painting , sculpture, craft, and media arts. Our exhibition can be viewed on the second floor in the graphic arts gallery and it is a premier event among many organized by the kennedy president ial library. Director of the Smithsonian Art Museum and we call ourselves sam for short. A group ofembled historians and scholars to talk about the Kennedy Administration and the legacy. Many of you remember the Kennedy Administration and the arc of history. We have members of congress and i want to recognize them and their staff for doing the peoples business. Recognizingme in congressman jim banks, david , and steny hoyer. We have asked representative ,oyer, the House Minority whip to introduce our moderator this evening. Thes the head of foundation. I want to note that this is being livestreamed and recorded by cspan. Please turn off your digital devices so that we can enjoy the program. Thank you for being here tonight with us. Thank you for the work that you do. I was told to introduce you. Graciously. Y i will try. Greatcicilline is a leader in the United States and represents rhode island as a former mayor of providence. Thank you for all that you do. Let the word go forth, to friend the torchike, that has been passed to a new generation of an scum of foreign in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by piece, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the undoing of human rights to which this nation has always been committed and to which we are committed to today, at home and around the world. Part of the inspired generation who listened to those whose life was changed. We are here to celebrate the life and legacy of the man who showed political courage by writing about it and living it. The life of our 35th resident propriated he was a gift outright. He gave of himself at every turn. From his bravery in the South Pacific to his steadfastness during the cuban missile crisis. Himthose of us who remember , it was a time of promise, renewal, progress. For those of us who do not, and his legacy has shaped our National Understanding of what Public Service means. In my office at the capital, there is a bust of john f. Kennedy and it is a miniature of the bust that is in the Kennedy Center that was given to me by and i was a 1973 member of the Maryland State Senate and she gave it to me. She knew what an impact kennedy made on my life. Valuesa reminder of the that he stood for and the kurds withwith the courage which she stood for them. John kennedy came to the campus of maryland and he spoke, as im sure he spoke to hundreds of thousands of young people in this audience, about what we could do to make a difference and what we ought to do to make a difference. In short, ask not what our country could do for us, but what we could do for our country. When president kennedy went to Amherst College to eulogize robert frost, he observed that a nation reveals itself by the men it produces and by the men it honors. Add,sure that we would all the women. Reveal, in our tributes, the vision that he espoused a positive vision, a hopeful vision, a vision of partnership oand mutual responsibility. America bolstered by the courage of its people. An america that is confident enough to say to our adversaries , let both sides joined in a new endeavor, not a new balance lawower, but a new world of , where the strong are just, the secure. The man im about to introduce graciously is charged with leading the institution who has the mission of preserving the legacy. Stephen serves as the executive director of the foundation that supports the work of the kennedy president ial library in boston and he arrived at the Kennedy Library foundation and brought with him a wealth of experience successfully leading academic, private sector, and government institutions. Like others inspired by the call of kennedy, he has pursued Public Service in many different forms. At the start of his career, he worked with Joseph Kennedy the ii to make Citizens Energy corporation to help lowincome families. Why didnt he let you get in the ads . As a state official, he oversaw programs serving the mentally ill. John kennedy had something to say about disabled children and he said that the children may be the victims of fate, they shall not be the victims of our neglect. Thank you for your work with the mentally ill. He wants to private sector firm to expand green energy technology. For a decade, he served as the director for the school of the blind. He did gods work. Thenks to his leadership, he school is the largest teacher of students who are blind. He led citizens schools, a National Nonprofit that helps middle schools provide low income students the opportunity to learn science, technology, engineering, and math. Steam in this institution, because the arts are so important. Or king to promote Safer Communities and safer schools. President kennedy would have been deeply proud that his memorial levirate is being led by a man who has his life spent in service of building a better america for all. Please join me in welcoming him to the podium. Host lets hear it again for congressman steny hoyer for his leadership. We are better because of the work that you and your colleagues do on the hill. It is a challenging time, but you are there and are moving us forward. That lets us sleep at night. Thank you for your service. We really appreciate it. Much. Nie, thank you so i really appreciate everything. Hat you and the team have done if you have not had a chance to see the photograph upstairs, take a look. I have seen them before and they are a remarkable collection of some fascinating views of john kennedy and his family. From an artistic perspective, it is well worth it. I will cut down my remarks. Distinguished academics and scholars. And are about to come out you have to stick with me for a minute. I will be quick and we will get to the guests in a minute. That 80 of the people alive today were born after the Kennedy Administration. 80 . One of the things we will talk about is why this is important and why is every year, there are surveys and he is always in five. P three, four, or 6 days. Only there for 103 it was cut short. Doesther thing is that pew a survey on trust in government. When john kennedy was there, he did televised press conferences conferences4 press that were live. I will not compare that to anybody else. I wouldnt do that, but he did it every 16 days, on average. The first five press conferences were watched by 60 million americans and they got to see somebody making decisions and he did one right after they have cakes. He didnt just do them when they were good news. He believed in transparency in government. Did their survey, 75 of people had trust in government. Before the election, that 75 went to 19 . Whattion for society is, do we do about this . Before the speakers come out, we are showing a video. They both have long and distinguished backgrounds and im going to summarize both of them. Ted directs the center at the library of congress and he taught at brown university. He is also the director of the study for the american speechnce and he was a writer for bill clinton and worked on the clinton library. He also has been the editor and author of nearly one dozen books. On the secretrked white house recordings. Overdent kennedy recorded 200 hours. He went through and put together a marvelous piece. If you have not had a chance to listen to that, i encourage that. If you know harvard, this is nothing less than remarkable. Got ast recent book Pulitzer Prize and come if you want to learn more and you have not read this, i encourage you to. The president of the society of historians for american populations and he is writing a biography on john kennedy. I am really excited. I know that i will learn a lot. There is a 30second video we can watch and that will kick off the program. Had suchbefore has man capacity control his environment, to end thursday and disease, human misery. Thisve the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world. Come on up. We are here as part of the and there activities have been over 100 events all over the country and internationally. Why is celebrating this important . Is thatnswer commemorations are important this is my view for the civic health of the nation. We do this because it helps bind us together and i think that it is an extraordinary story. President kennedy had a marvelous sense of humor. Wase was with us and if he 100, he would make a comment about overstaying his welcome. , 100 years agois , he was born. It is something that congressman hoyer referenced. He inspired us and inspired americans of an age of one it was possible to believe. Ass is powerful, especially a recent citizen of the country, and reminds americans of an age when it was possible to believe that politics could speak to our , to be moral yearnings harnessed to our highest aspirations. That is important. That is why we celebrate him. History is a civic brew. We have one history. This is one that is disorienting. Asis hard to imagine kennedy 100. He always looks young and charismatic. To john f. Presence kennedy that is unusual. Congressman hoyer read the lines from the opening sentences of the inaugural. There is an immediacy to the words of kennedy that lives with us. , he was a student of history studying in school, preparing for the profiles of courage, and , if we dont learn from history, we will repeat. I think the historical sense what, in my Research Historical sensibility is so , evenul and comes out when he is basically young guy. There was not cell phones, ipads, or anything else. He had one thing he could do, read. That historical sensibility was it shines through. And he wasber him quite shy. He is talking about himself and he said it was hard. He said that he would rather read a book and then talk a talk to a person. He was smaller than his older brother. His older brother was supposed to go into politics. There was a reserve that came from his reading that made him attractive, like he was holding Something Back and not giving you everything every second of the day. That is sometimes how it feels to us. ,e cannot even escape it especially days like yesterday and this week. There was something cerebral about him. He said what you needed to hear and not more. That was attractive. He is one of the most popular president s. You think about washington, he is right up there. Why is that . He had little time there. Johnson got more past. Why do you think this is . A great question. We cannot escape the tragic end of the presidency. It haunts all of us and i have thought about what i wanted to say and i think we should avoid the trap of thinking everything was utopian and perfect in the 1960s and politics disintegrated. We had Serious Problems and the end ofatred at his presidency. There was a lot achieved. Feel that historians the cuban missile crisis was the greatest crisis and it is an existential crisis that, if he had not led ably, there is a strong chance the world would have ended. It is a special achievement that overshadows most president ial achievements. It was high noon of american empire and culture. Everyone was doing interesting things. There was a new liberalism and a new conservatism. He represented the hopes and aspirations of a generation that was coming on the world stage and has not left. For if he was president only 1000 days, they were and 10 and he was an intense leader. Were intense days and he was an intense leader. They inspired us. And, i dont just mean americans. I am from sweden. I have talked with parents and other relatives about before i started this book project john f. Kennedy. The answer to your question is that it is not just americans. Not just americans who took something from what he said. It was not just the assassination. I have spoken to people about this. Some of this is what he did as president. That, if we had a global poll, he would still figure very highly. It seems to me that barack obama brought some of that, not just in the United States and abroad. There are interesting similarities. Next there are very few president ial speeches that we reread. There are not many outside of lincoln, roosevelt, kennedy. It is a small number. It is not just because he was handsome and young. There is great substance in those speeches. There is great wit. There is great perception of irony and brevity. Thealks about mortality in Great AmericanUniversity Speech in 19s is to three. That may be his best speech ever. One fact that historians have learned more about is that he had a difficult lifelong struggle with health and had Serious Health problems and he knew that a 100th birthday was out of the question. He would not have made it to this. He knew that life was short and precious and that feeling in his speeches. Certain is a authenticity that is often allusive. Elsuive. Means taking things seriously and expanding empathy. Americans, heany made his share of mistakes, there were ups and downs, but there was an authenticity there thati think explained popularity. You think about the mistakes and anything i admire about him is that he was self reflective and willing to learn. Between that and the cuban missile crisis, so much happened. We see pictures of the situation room and the hotline to russia. He started that. Sales navy seals, the green berets. It was, how can i do better and how can the system be better . That is a refreshing element that i have Great Respect for. We want the president to change in office. We do not want them to govern the way they campaigned. It is an impossible job. Effectively and, without bail takes, he would not have survived the cuban missile crisis. It was a terrible mistake and it and him the confidence irritation to rethink his system of governance and the mistakes are crucial to growth. He grew beautifully in his thinking about the cold war and it allowed him to go further. Rights a lot on civil and as a person was open to different ideas of a country that was extremely diverse and he was always listening. What do you think are the top accomplishments of the 1000 days . Handling of the cold war, broadly speaking, was an accomplishment. It seems that there are interesting things that happened in the year that followed the missile crisis. , he started something that would later be called detente. It grows out of a conviction from long before he became president. American power, American Military power, geopolitical power, it was greater than any nation and it was limited. He had a sense that the prospect of nuclear war let me put it this way, the prospect of superpower war in a nuclear age was an impossibility. That last year is here he important, in that regard. In comingwas late to the civil rights issue in a speech way, a remarkable credit 11, i give him for making civil rights a moral issue and that would be important later on. I think that the Space Program and his commitment to the Space Program would be another example of success in his administration , even if the fruits would not be seen until later. I agree with those three and awould add that he projected sense of confidence and of that hoste picked up on was inspired by his inaugural address. David mcauliffe was inspired to write history. People do different things. We can trace a lot of the great governance in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a book that we are aboutating that came out his significance and there was an essay about the immigration act that can be directly linked to him and his strong interest in immigration that was lifelong. We will never be the same country or go back to time go back in time to a country that was more uniform in color and more boring. Diversea wonderful and multichromatic society, even with all the problems. He made it more exciting. You have to include the peace corps. To is theing spoken excitement about infectious, it would turn out Public Service and what it can mean. I am worried that we have lost our confidence in ourselves in a way and it seems to me that they success of this administration was Public Service and making people excited about it. Clearly. One way was the Space Program. You can talk more about that. Our country and so little about this and, to put it in less thane, this was half of the Computing Power of whene in the audience and they said we would go to the moon, the reality is that they were not sure. They organize a country. There have been so many. Dvantages how did he have the instinct to do that at every level. He was a highly accomplished and he had written the first book of at a very young age. He was interested in achievers and he was not afraid of ideas. This is a thing i personally honor about kennedy. There is a confidence with w