John Fitzgerald Kennedy was sworn into office on Friday, January 20, 1961 as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. Shortly after, he delivered his inaugural speech, claimed by some to be one of the greatest American speeches. The speech was 1364 words and was aired on television and played on the radio. The speech was given on the lawn of the United States capital building and Kennedy spoke to not only the people of the United States, but to international viewers and listeners as well. Kennedy’s purpose of his inaugural speech was not only to accept his position as President, but also to state and highlight his objectives and agenda during his time in office. He began his speech by acknowledging the presence of previous presidents, vice presidents, people of the House, and listeners and viewers. He differed from using anecdotes, jokes, or statistics, or by boosting about his victory, but instead spoke of freedom and change. “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change.” The message of the speech, or the central idea, was that the United States was a country of strong force and power, that would fight for its freedom, but would try and maintain peaceful relationships with other countries, while building on the relationships with already established allies. Also, Kennedy also spoke to establish optimism and idealism in the United States. The targeted audiences were the younger generation and our allies and foes in other countries. Kennedy spoke, “To those old allies,” “To those new States,” “To those peoples in the huts and villages,” “To our sister republics,” and “to those nations who make themselves our adversary.” Also, he spoke to the younger viewers, stating “each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national