“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”: A Signed Photograph of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, Showing Him Taking the Oath of Office

Kennedy’s inauguration inspired people all around the world, and thrilled them with the possibilities for the future

January 20, 1961, was a cold and clear day, and the nation’s capital was covered with a snowfall from the previous night. This was the day John F. Kennedy, the youngest man ever to be elected president, was to be inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States. In the 1960 campaign, Kennedy pledged “to get this country moving again,” but his youth and vigor, and not merely policy, played key roles in his election. This inauguration marked the moment that the country’s leadership was passing to a new generation. There was electricity in the air, as nearly one million people braved the subfreezing temperatures to personally catch a glimpse of Kennedy and hear what he had to say. Schools called assemblies so students could watch on TV; most people who could stayed home or returned home for lunch to do the same. Some 38 million people watched the event, which was the first presidential inauguration broadcast in color. The very air was vibrant with anticipation. No one alive today who saw that inauguration and Inaugural address will ever forget it.

Kennedy faced and would address the hard issues of the day – the Communist threat, a nuclear arms race, racial unrest, and economic distress. Assuming office in the midst of the Cold War, he understood that his inaugural address would have to instill confidence at home and respect abroad. The Inaugural ceremony took place at the newly renovated east front of the United States Capitol. It began with a religious invocation and prayers, and then Marian Anderson sang the national anthem. Choosing a black woman to take the podium was a departure from the past, and noted as such. Following that the nation’s foremost poet, Robert Frost, his white hair blowing in the breeze, recited his poem “The Gift Outright” – which said “The land was ours before we were the land’s.” This signaled the emphasis on culture that marked the Kennedy years. After that Kennedy was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Standing by him on the podium were Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, incoming Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, outgoing Vice President Richard M. Nixon (whom Kennedy had beaten in the 1960 election), JFK’s parents Joseph and Rose Kennedy, and many others.

Then Kennedy stepped forward to give his Inaugural Address. He started by saying we would defend human rights and liberty. “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans–born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage–and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” He then promised to help the poor around the world; in this you can see the Peace Corps already forming in his mind. “To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required–not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” He followed by promising to support the United Nations, and proposing a new alliance of nations in this hemisphere. That became the Alliance for Progress.

He next addressed the Cold War and promised to defuse it. In these lines one can see the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Space Program being born. Stop ratcheting up the Cold War, send a man to the man. It began here. “So let us begin anew–remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms–and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.”

“Let both sides join in creating a new endeavor,” he said, “not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” Yes, this was an idealistic and bold new approach, a thrilling one that would start right now.

He concluded with his most famous clarion call to action to make the U.S. and the world a better place. “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

So believing that democracy thrives only when citizens contribute their talents to the common good, and that it is up to leaders to inspire citizens to acts of sacrifice, he appealed to the noblest instincts, voicing a message that Americans were eager to hear. And when he exhorted Americans to “Ask not, what your country can do for you,” he did just that. He lifted the spirits of his listeners, even as he confronted the grim reality of the nuclear age. The speech was a sensation. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address is considered one of the three greatest ever given, ranking with Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first.

A sepia photograph of John F. Kennedy on the Capitol platform taking the oath of office on January 20, 1961, matted to make a 16.25″ x 15″ presentation, and inscribed and signed on the mat to Neil Letson. Letson was an architect who was instrumental in Jacqueline Kennedy’s famed renovation of the White House. Mrs. Kennedy wrote of Letson, “From the earliest days of President Kennedy Administration, Mr. Letson has been involved in plans for the restoration of The White House. His contributions to this project have been both valuable and productive.”

Attached to the back of the frame is a typed letter authenticating the signature from legendary autograph dealer Charles Hamilton, who noted it as “a great rarity.” It is, in fact, possibly unique, as we have never seen another in all our decades in the field. Some toning to the photograph. Signature strong.

A search of public sale records going back 40 years reveals that the only Kennedy Inaugural photograph was sold in the sale of the spectacular Sang Collection in 1979. We believe the photograph from the Sang Collection is this very one. As Hamilton notes, it became the property of noted collector Dr. David Light, who was active in the last three decades of the 20th century.