It was 50 years ago when a new generation received the peaceful torch of transitional power in this nation. John Fitzgerald Kennedy became President after taking the oath of office, and then delivered a 14-minute Inaugural Address. It was the fourth shortest address, but considered one of the most memorable ever spoken.

The address was co-drafted by Kennedy’s speech writer Ted Sorenson, and bears a resemblence to President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  

His administration would be metophorically compared to King Arthur’s Court, and nicknamed Camelot. A regal splendor shrouded The White House during his 1000-day term of office. At 43, Kennedy remains the youngest elected president in our history. Among his notable passages:

Let every nation know… 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.

Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.

(I know it sounds a bit bizarre, but) history tells us that it was a perfect beginning to something still considered quite special.