January 20, 1961 - Poet Robert Frost Reads Poem at John F. Kennedy's Inauguration

now i have the honor to present one of america's most distinguished poets who will deliver an original composition mr robert frost [Applause] [Music] [Applause] first the dedication summing summoning artists to participate in the august occasions of the state seems something for us all to celebrate and today is for my cause a day of day and his be poetry's old-fashioned praise who was the one who was the first to think of such a thing this tribute for them to be his that here i bring is about i'm not having a good life is about the new order of the ages it's about the new order of the ages the gods that in their latin are founding sages god gave us his approval out gentlemen [Music] this was to be a purpose to the poem i can say to you without seeing it the forum goes like this the land was ours before we were the land she was our land more than a hundred years before we were her people she was ours in massachusetts and virginia but we were england still colonial possessing what we still were unpossessed by possessed by what we now know more possess something we were withholding may this week until we found out that it was ourselves we were withholding from our land of living and forthwith found salvation and surrender such as we were we gave ourselves outright the deed of gifts was many days of war to the land vaguely realizing westward but still i'm storied heartless unenhanced such as she was such as she would become has become and i and for this occasion let me change that to what she will become and this poem what i was leading up to was the dedication of the forum to the president-elect grand old man robert cross we had a poet laureate in the country he would certainly be a little change he made at the end was made at the chain at the request of president kennedy

Channel: HelmerReenberg

Views: 62,274

Keywords: JFK, Rare Film, Historical Footage, POTUS, VPOTUS, FLOTUS, Democratic Party, Chief Executive, Famous, Politics, Politician, Sixties, Cold War, American History, Washington DC, The Capitol

Id: AILGO3gVlTU

Length: 4min 32sec (272 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 15 2021