John F. Kennedy Quote

In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration, and when peace comes we will gladly convert not our swords into plowshares, but our bombs into peaceful reactors, and our planes into space vessels. "Pursue peace," the Bible tells us, and we shall pursue it with every effort and every energy that we possess. But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

John F. Kennedy: "Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Civic Auditorium, Seattle, WA," September 6, 1960. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley.

Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Civic Auditorium, Seattle, WA