John F. Kennedy is routinely characterized as one of America's greatest orators. His inaugural address is considered one of the greatest speeches in American public discourse of the twentieth century and is generally counted among the greatest speeches in United States history. Virtually everyone who commented on the speech considered it a success. JFK was known as a people's person, which greatly influenced his speech. His speech was famous for its eloquence and its call to duty: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” (JFK). In the speech JFK used several literary terms throughout the speech to identify important parts of the speech. It also plays into the hard-line rhetoric of the Cold War that reduced global politics to an apocalyptic battle between democracy and communism, and how it intends to get the United States out of the depression we were in. John F. Kennedy was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Kennedy's young life was privileged thanks to his father's success. In 1926 he moved to New York City, Kennedy's early academic achievements were unimpressive for a man who would later be arguably America's most intellectual president. Kennedy was not intelligent but attended Harvard University because of his father's wealth. A trip to Europe changed President JFK's outlook on education and his life cause. He spent the summer traveling through Europe and in the fall returned to Harvard where he excelled in politics and government courses. In 1946 Kennedy began his first of several campaigns for public office known for his slogan “A new generation offers a leader” (Kennedy). At 29, Kennedy won his first election as a U.S. representative in Massachusetts' 11th congressional district. While still in Kennedy's eyes in Congress...half of the document...freedom seemed, indefinite and permanent, a bold departure from the cautious policies of the past. Assessing the legacy of John F. Kennedy's inaugural address is difficult. Kennedy will always be seen as a man whose young, vibrant life and presidency were tragically cut short. He was the sincere young visionary who could change the world. From the beginning, Kennedy's inaugural address was recognized as a well-written and successful speech. Kennedy's speech undoubtedly possessed the literary style and elegance of a great inaugural address. It rehearsed the common values ​​of the typical inaugural and aimed to unite the audience in a common cause. Many Americans were personally inspired by Kennedy's inaugural address: it was clearly much more than a "mere" ceremonial speech. Kennedy's inaugural address proposed a new vision of the United States.