John F. Kennedy Spoke for World Peace at American University

John F. Kennedy

“I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.”

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy stood on a stage at American University in Washington DC and spoke these words. He also said that to speak of peace is: “to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived—yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.”

In this particular speech, President Kennedy praised, not a person, but the moral value of a higher peace.

All good ceremonial speeches convey values: what is good, and what is bad? What should we praise, and what should we condemn? So it was with Kennedy’s speech that day. Although most commencement speeches offer personal reflections or give the graduates life advice, Kennedy guided his audience toward Universal values. He spoke for peace, progress, and hope. In today’s more cynical milieu, we need to remember his message all the more. For Kennedy spoke of moral excellence, not national arrogance. He spoke of setting a good example for other nations, not of dominating other nations. He reminded the graduates, and the nation, and the world, that true world peace requires justice, morality, and hope. Instead of dreaming of the wonderful past, Kennedy looked forward to an inspiring future. Kennedy guided his audience – the graduates, the nation, and the world – toward a future of higher values.

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Commemorative Plaque at The American University

First, Kennedy redefined the word “peace.” To Kennedy, peace was not merely the absence of war. Peace did not mean that the United States would wield military power to enforce an uneasy peace on a reluctant world:

“What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave.”

No, in contrast to that limited definition of peace, Kennedy offered a higher value. To Kennedy, peace meant an opportunity to thrive, for everyone to have better lives: 

“I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children—not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women—not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”

Phrases like “America First,” proudly shouted by antisemites in the 1940s, and repeated by today’s Republican Party, imply domination. The America First Committee of 1940-1941 called Jews warmongers and echoed Nazi ideology. “America First” implies isolation and a bit of arrogance. In contrast, President Kennedy, a decorated combat veteran of World War II, saw a better way. As he concluded his speech, he rejected war and its horrors:

“The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough—more than enough of—war and hate and oppression.”

“As the world knows,” Kennedy insisted. I shudder to ask: does the world still know that today?

Kennedy did not mistake peace for weakness, for the nation must always be prepared for war:

“We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it.”

Instead, Kennedy sought world peace that arose, not from selfishness or arrogance, but from justice and security:

“But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on—not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.”

And, with that assurance, Kennedy concluded. He did not give the graduates insights into how to get a job or to live a satisfying personal life. Instead, he advised the graduates about their moral place in the universe. This speech led directly to treaties limiting nuclear arms. Alas, Kennedy spoke for a time, that has, I fear, vanished in the mists, when peace arose not from power, but from justice.

Yet, Kennedy taught a lesson that the world needs to remember even as I write. It is a lesson that every American needs to remember on every election day. It regards a value that requires us to let hope replace fear.

No, John Kennedy was no more perfect than anyone else. He did, however, understand that the United States of America must use its power, influence, and values for the greater peace. That forgotten wisdom still lingers. Let us pursue that value today. 

by William D. Harpine

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Theoretical Note: In rhetorical theory, a ceremonial speech (or epideictic speech) either praises or blames, and usually expresses values for the audience to emulate. Some of the greatest speeches, with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address serving as the pinnacle, have fallen under this genre.

Personal note: My father, Casper Allen Harpine, Jr., received his law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1956. American University is one of several outstanding universities found in the United States of America’s capital city.

Copyright ©2026 by William D. Harpine

Image of John F. Kennedy, official White House photo, public domain

Image of commemorative plaque, The American University, used by permission

John F. Kennedy's 1960 Labor Day Speech

John F. Kennedy

“American labor has insisted upon, and won, the highest wages and best working conditions in the world.” 

So said future president John F. Kennedy on Labor Day in 1960, as he launched his successful campaign for president. Most Labor Day speeches are political, for the rights of workers raise political questions. John Kennedy transcended the nickel and dollar economic issues, which were important enough in themselves, and insisted that only organized labor could protect the United States of America’s democratic form of government.

In this speech, pointedly delivered at Cadillac Square in Detroit, home of the motor vehicle industry and its unionized workers, John Kennedy called the Dwight Eisenhower administration anti-labor. President Eisenhower was not running for reelection, but the Republican Party had nominated Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, to be their candidate.

Blaming economic downturns on the administration, Kennedy asked his pro-labor crowd to separate pomposity from economic troubles:

“But not even the rose-colored glasses monotonously peddled by the present administration with Madison Avenue slogans can hide the problems. There have been two recessions within 7 years, and there are economists who believe a third is coming.”

Then, building to his theme, John Kennedy insisted that the labor union movement protected the United States from dictatorial rule. The labor union movement

Cadillac Square in 2022

protected, he said, the rights of working people:

“Collective bargaining has always been the bedrock of the American labor movement. I hope that you will continue to anchor your movement to this foundation. Free collective bargaining is good for the entire Nation. In my view, it is the only alternative to State regulation of wages and prices–a path which leads far down the grim road of totalitarianism.”

That slippery slope may seem overstated, but Kennedy, the future president, insisted that collective bargaining by labor unions protected, not only the United States’ economy, but, indeed, the entire political system. That is a bigger issue indeed:

“Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor - those who would cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized - do a disservice to the cause of democracy.”

Following a well-worn rhetorical path, speaking 75 years ago, Kennedy transcended the immediate issue. By calling organized labor the foundation of American government, Kennedy elevated the issue past the question of bargaining for wages.

Then, turning the tables on the Republicans, he complained about economic stagnation. He accused the Republicans of turning American prosperity into a political game:

“The administration has played politics with this issue–as well as with the minimum wage, health care for the aged, school construction, and housing programs.”

In his conclusion, on Labor Day in 1960, Kennedy raised his transcending argument to a spiritual level:

“In the crucial years ahead, organized labor will have much to contribute to the cause of democracy. May I say, then, God bless you in your efforts. May they be rewarded in the creation of a better world for all who seek freedom.”

We hear rhetoric like this all the time, although John Kennedy did an excellent job of it. Politicians say things like, We are not just talking about education! We are talking about the foundation of civilization, or We are not just talking about one church’s rights. No, we are talking about the entire First Amendment. And so forth.

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On the one hand, transcending arguments boost a speech’s power. Transcending arguments give political policies an ideological context. On the other hand, transcending arguments obstruct our attempts to debate policy issues. We are no longer talking about whether we should raise the minimum wage, or whether a church has the right to violate health or building codes. Once the argument has transcended, we need to confront the ideology before we can discuss practical actions. When arguments transcend practical issues, the transcendence harms the already challenging need to discuss, debate, and compromise.

Nevertheless, was not John Kennedy prescient? In the years since, a series of conservative economic policies have, indeed, suppressed the minimum wage, limited workers’ rights, and reduced protections for collective bargaining. Kennedy stated a judgment between workers’ rights, compared with the rights of the people who conservatives call “job creators.” We are always tempted to say that our opponents are not merely wrong, but evil. However, when at that point, how do we work together? The political and economic conflict between workers and owners remains with us today. Are there any easy answers? I don’t see any.

Still, by staking himself to the labor movement, John Kennedy celebrated Labor Day in its inevitably political vein and began his successful march to the White House.

by William D. Harpine  

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Personal Note:

Many thanks to the hard-working people whose labor makes America great. Fond memories of Grandfather Michael Feduska and Uncle Harry Waslo, who worked in Pennsylvania's steel mills, and Grandmother Anna Feduska, who raised chickens. Less fond memories of my own brief, long-ago employment collecting people's trash for $1.80 an hour. 

Happy Labor Day to all! 

Research Note:

Professor Suzanne McCorkle wrote brilliantly about transcending arguments in her 1980 article, “The Transcending Claim as a Strategy of Pseudo-Argument.” She posits that transcending arguments create the false impression that speakers have proven something when they have merely changed the issue, or that they have proven something more important than what they want their listeners to think. She makes a good point. Something to consider. Her article is behind a paywall, but a good library might find a copy for you.

Professor David Zarefsky offers a more positive view of transcendence in argument. His essay is a chapter in Topical Themes in Argumentation Theory: Twenty Exploratory Studies. If the book seems too expensive, you might find it in a large university library.

Copyright © 2025 by William D. Harpine

Image of John F. Kennedy: Official White House photo, public domain

Image of Bagley Fountain, Cadillac Square by w_lemay, Creative Commons License,

 via Wikimedia Commons