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John F. Kennedy’s Forgotten Independence Day Address

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb
The Truth Network Radio
March 2, 2026 3:03 am

John F. Kennedy’s Forgotten Independence Day Address

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb

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March 2, 2026 3:03 am

President John F. Kennedy delivers a powerful speech on July 4, 1962, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, connecting the struggle for independence in America in the 18th century to the global struggle for freedom and liberty in the 20th century.

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Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. And we continue here with our American stories. On July 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave one of his very best and least known speeches. JFK was a patriot.

and though born to a family of wealth and privilege. served in the Pacific in World War II. In the Solomon Islands specifically, he and his navy mates ran into trouble on a torpedo patrol boat. ET 109. When asked how he came to be a World War II hero, which Kennedy was, He answered with his usual humor.

It was involuntary. They sank my boat. He won the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps medals. or his heroism. His brother Joseph, the oldest of nine Kennedy children, was killed in action during World War II while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot.

He was posthumously awarded The Navy Cross. The Kennedy family's love of country and devotion to country was on display in the war that saved Western civilization. and JFK's love and affection for the nation's founding document, Our Birth Certificate. Was on full display on that warm summer day in front of Independence Hall. the very building in which the fifty-six founders signed.

The Declaration of Independence. after the usual greetings and thanks. All fifty governors were present and a huge crowd. Kennedy got started. You and I Are the executives?

Of the Testament. handed down by those who gathered in this historic hall. 186 years ago today. For they gathered to affix their names to a document which was above all else. A document not of rhetoric.

But a bold decision. It was, it is true, a document of protest. But protests had been made before. It set forth their grievances with eloquence. But such eloquence had been heard before.

But what distinguished this paper? From all the others. was the final irrevocable decision. Let it talk. to assert the independence of free states.

in place of colonies. And to commit to that, Donald. their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Kennedy then connected the struggle for independence in America in the 18th century. to the struggle for independence across the globe, in the 20th century.

Today, 186 years later, that declaration. Who's yellowing parchment? and fading, almost illegible lines I saw her in the past week in the National Archives in Washington. is still A revolutionary document. To read it today.

is to hear a trumpet call. For that declaration unleashed. Not merely a revolution against the British. but a revolution in human affairs. Its authors were highly conscious.

of its worldwide implications. And George Washington declared. that liberty and self-government Were in his words. Finally state. on the experiment.

entrusted. to the hands of the American people. This prophecy has been borne out For 186 years. This doctrine of national independence has shaken the globe. And it remains the most powerful force anywhere in the world today.

There are those. struggling to eke out. a bare existence. in a barren land. who have never heard of free enterprise.

but who cherish the idea of independence. There are those who are grappling. With overpowering problems of illiteracy. And ill health. and who are ill-equipped.

to hold free elections. But they are determined to hold fast. to their national independence. Even those unwilling or unable. to take part in any struggle between East and West.

are strongly on the side of their own. National independence. Kennedy then propelled the founder's vision to the present, his present. and the great global struggle happening under his watch. the struggle between communism and nations around the world longing to be free.

If there is a single issue in the world which divides the world, It is independence. The independence of Berlin. or Laos or Vietnam. The longing for independence behind the Iron Curtain. The peaceful transition to independence in those newly emerging areas.

Whose troubles some hope to exploit. The theory of independence. is as old as man himself. And it was not invented in this hall. But it was in this hall.

that the theory became a practice. That the word went out to all. In Thomas Jefferson's phrase, that the God who gave us life gave us liberty. At the same time. Ed?

And today, this nation. Conceived in a revolution. Nurtured in liberty, Maturing in independence. has no intention. of abdicating its leadership.

In that worldwide movement for independence to any nation or society committed to systematic human oppression. And here is how President John F. Kennedy. Close things out. On July 4th, nineteen sixty two, in front of Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On Washington's birthday in 1861, standing right there. President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Spoke at this hall. on his way to the nation's capital. And he paid a brief.

But eloquent tribute to the man who wrote Move that for? and who died. for the Declaration of Independence. It's essence he said. Was its promise not only of liberty?

to the people of this country. but hope to the world. Hope that in due time The weight should be lifted. From the shoulders of all men. and that all should have an equal chance.

On this fourth day of July, 1962. We who are gathered At this same hair. entrusted with the fate And future? of our states and nation. Declare now all thou.

To do our part. to lift the weight. from the shoulders of all. to join other men and nations. in preserving both peace and freedom.

and to regard any threat. To the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all. And for the support. I'm for this apartment. of this declaration.

with a firm reliance and the protection of divine providence. We mutually pledge to each other. Our large. Our fortunes. and our sacred honor.

People. And you've been listening to President John F. Kennedy. On July 4th, 1962, giving what is one of his great speeches. of his presidency.

one we bring to you every July 4th And we bring to you a couple of other times each year as well, 'cause it's so worth hearing now and then. John F. Kennedy's July 4th speech at Independence Hall. nineteen sixty two here. on our American story.

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Mm-hmm.

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