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President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

 

The short Presidency of John F. Kennedy was an exciting one with the Bay of Pigs Cuban invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought us close to nuclear war, the start of our military involvement in Vietnam, the Space Program, the struggle for Civil Rights in the South and his stirring speech at the Berlin Wall.

Many people remember the most famous line from his Inaugural Address:  

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."

But another sentence has even more enduring relevance in our current fight for freedom and against fascism 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, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Fewer still remember that Kennedy cut taxes and thus stimulated economic growth and prosperity. But everyone who lived during those days remembers the special aura about the Kennedy Presidency often likened to Camelot: The sophisticated and articulate President, the beautiful and cultured First Lady, the young children, and the excitement they brought to our nation's government. There are many who date their commitment to public service to the Kennedy Presidency, including President Bill Clinton. 

Below are both autographs and memorabilia from that "brief, shining moment" in our nation's history.