Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-045-002
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning President Kennedy's address at the 1963 commencement ceremony for American University held at the John M. Reeves Athletic Center in Washington, D.C. In his speech the President asks the graduates to re-examine their attitudes towards peace, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War, famously remarking, "If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity." The President also announces that he, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan have agreed to hold discussions concerning a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. Finally, he explains that the United States will not conduct atmospheric nuclear tests on the condition that other countries uphold this same promise. Materials in this folder include various memoranda, a draft by Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, a press copy, a reading copy with handwritten notations by the President, and a mimeographed copy of the speech, in addition to telegrams, a program for the ceremony, a copy of the spring edition of American University's Lodestar, and a summary of foreign press reactions to the address.