JFK reads the Declaration of Independence … July 4, 1957 … to honor USA and Mayflower II

Senator John F. Kennedy and Mayflower II were both in New York City on July 4, 1957.

Two week earlier he stood at her helm and symbolically guided the 1620 Pilgrim ship replica.  Soon he hoped to guide the great ship-of-state called the United States of America as its president.

JFK decided to join the festivities by reading the full text of the Declaration of Independence on WQXR radio so listeners throughout the tri-state region would get to know the sound of his voice. It was his way of using his distinctive voice to add a personal touch to the nation’s 181st birthday on July 4, 1957.  The oration took nearly twelve minutes, beginning with these famous words:   

“WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

 We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—”

John F. Kennedy’s voice inspires all who hear him read the full text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1957: