John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address Honored With Google Logo (PICTURE, VIDEO)
First Posted: 01/20/11 08:35 AM Updated: 01/20/11 08:38 AM
Read More: JFK Inaugural Address, John F Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, Video, Technology News
Google has given its logo over to a collage of words honoring of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's first--and only--inaugural address.Clicking on the "Google Doodle," a word cloud that contains text from Kennedy's speech as well as an illustration of the former president, directs users to a search for "John F. Kennedy inaugural address."
The iconic speech, delivered Friday, January 20, 1961, took only 14 minutes to deliver, making it one of the shortest inaugural addresses in history. It included the now-famous phrase, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
The National Archives and Records Administration writes of the speech:
He wanted his address to be short and clear--devoid of partisan rhetoric and focused on foreign policy. He began constructing the speech in late November, working from a speech file kept by his secretary and soliciting suggestions from friends and advisors. While his colleagues submitted ideas and drafts, clergymen provided lists of Biblical quotations. The final product, however, was distinctly the work of Kennedy himself. Aides recount that every sentence was worked, reworked, and reduced. Kennedy wrote his thoughts in his nearly indecipherable longhand on a yellow legal pad.
