“A Personal Reflection on JFK’s Presidential Power to Purge Poverty:
Commemorating the 35th President of the United States.”
(May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
By Joe Colletti, PhD
Society of Urban Monks
November, 2013
John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) presidential power to purge poverty did not just include signing antipoverty legislation or creating anti-poverty programs as essential as they were. The influence of
his presidential power also stemmed from his ability to help people focus on what they could
accomplish, individually and collectively, in the years to come. He had an oratory skill that he
used to encourage others to take time out in order to recognize the trends and needs of the
decades to follow. He specifically urged others to reflect on the unsolved problems of pride,
prejudice, and poverty among others, and how they could elucidate and eliminate these
predicaments.
JFK also had a penchant for quoting Christian scriptures during his speeches and to make other
statements based upon such verses. These assertions supported the power of his presidency to
purge social injustices such as poverty and his ability to inspire others to reflect on the future.
Many of these quotes and statements can be found in the Religious Views of President John F.
Kennedy: In His Own Words which was compiled by the Rev. Nicholas A. Schneider and
published in 1965 a few years after JFK’s assassination. These avowals reveal a President who
increasingly promoted the purging of poverty during the little more than one thousand (1,036)
days of his presidency. These affirmations reveal a President who strove to bring the full power
of the Presidency to purge poverty.
JFK planned to use presidential power to purge poverty before he became President. During his
acceptance speech as the party’s nominee at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los
Angeles, he told the crowd that they were standing “on the edge of a New Frontier . . . of
unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats.” He also
told them that “The New Frontier is here whether we seek it or not.” He immediately stated
“Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved
problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and
prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”
During this speech he also challenged everyone by saying “I'm asking each of you to be pioneers
of this New Frontier.” He added
“My call is to the young in heart, regardless of age -- to the stout in spirit,
regardless of Party, to all who respond to the scriptural call: "Be strong and of
a good courage; be not afraid, neither be [thou] dismayed."
The first part of JFK’s quote is suggestive of two biblical verses—Acts 2.17 and Joel 2.28.
Whereas JFK is calling “the young in heart regardless of age,” and “the stout in spirit” to be
pioneers of the New Frontier, Acts chapter 2 describes how daring men and women of various
ages became the pioneers of the Christian Church and understood their boldness as a
fulfillment of a prophecy by the Prophet Joel, who declared that old men (and women) will
dream dreams and young men (and women) will see visions.
The second part of JFK’s quote—“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be
[thou] dismayed—“is from the Old Testament Book of Joshua chapter 1 verse 9b. JFK
immediately followed this quote by stating that
“For courage, not complacency, is our need today; leadership, not
salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and
lead vigorously.”
Six months later, on January 20, 1961, JKF became the 35th President of the United States. In his
inaugural address, he laid out his plan to use his presidential power to overcome “the common
enemies of humanity” which were tyranny, war, disease, and poverty. He called upon the
nations of the world to join the fight. He pledged that the United States would
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guarantee loyalty to old allies and faithful friends because “United, there is little we
cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures;”
promise new states “that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away
merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny;”
help “break the bonds of mass misery” for “those people in the huts and villages across
the globe” by assuring “our best efforts to help them help themselves for whatever
period is required;”
“convert our good words into good deeds” by assisting “our sister republics south of our
border” with “casting off the chains of poverty” in a “new alliance for progress;”
support the efforts of the United Nations; and
offer a quest for peace “to those nations who would make themselves our adversary.”
Regarding poverty, JFK believed that humanity holds in its “mortal hands the power to abolish
all forms of human poverty.” He also believed that “If a free society cannot help the many who
are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
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He also quoted from the Christian scriptures in his inaugural address. He called upon “all
corners of the earth” to heed “the command of Isaiah—to ‘undo the heavy burdens’…and to let
the oppressed go free,” which can be found in chapter 58 verse 6. He also stated that fellow
citizens should be “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” (which is from the Book of Romans
12.12) because of the opportunity to “assure a more fruitful life” for all humanity.
Anti-poverty Programs
One of JFK’s first presidential acts concerning poverty was to create the Peace Corps. He laid
the groundwork on October 14, 1960 by first challenging students at the University of Michigan
to give two years of their lives to helping people living in underdeveloped countries as “doctors,
technicians, or engineers” and “to contribute part of your life to this country” in a similar
manner. He established the program five months later by Executive Order and more than
200,000 volunteers have served through the Peace Corps to date.
JFK also laid the groundwork for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) which became the
domestic version of the Peace Corps. This anti-poverty program was created by Lyndon B.
Johnson who became President just 2 hours and eight minutes after JFK’s assassination.
Volunteers agreed to fight poverty in low-income communities primarily through educational
and vocational training programs for one year of full-time service.
Anti-poverty Legislation
Other actions during JFK’s presidency resulted in a significant number of anti-poverty legislation
bills passed by Congress and included the:
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Omnibus Housing Bill of 1961 which spurred the development of affordable housing for
low and middle income households;
 Social Security Amendments of 1961, 1962, and 1963 which increased benefits and the
provision of social services;
 School Lunch Act which provided free meals for poverty-stricken areas;
 Public Welfare Amendments of 1962 which increased the Federal share in the cost of
public assistance payments; and
 Equal Pay Act of 1963 which abolished wage disparity based on gender;
JFK would have used more of his presidential power to purge poverty if not for his
assassination. A month after JFK’s death, then Special Assistant to the President, Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr., published a eulogy in the Saturday Evening Post, December 14, 1963 JKF
memorial issue. Reflecting upon his last talks with JFK, Schlesinger wrote that while JFK “was
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musing about the legislative program for next January,” he said that 'The time has come to
organize a national assault on the causes of poverty, a comprehensive program, across the
board.'
Even with his presidential power, JFK knew from the very beginning of his presidency that
purging poverty would take time. After outlining his plan in his Inaugural Speech to overcome
“the common enemies of humanity,” which included poverty, he stated that
“All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the
first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in
our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”
How foretelling were these words. He began to purge poverty during the first 100 days of his
presidency. The job was not finished in the first 1,000 days or in the life of his administration,
which was cut short to just over 1,000 days because of his assassination. In his eulogy,
Schlesinger lamented the limited time of JFK’s administration by stating:
“The bright promise of his administration, as of his life, was cut short in
Dallas. When Abraham Lincoln died, when Franklin Roosevelt died, these
were profound national tragedies; but death came for Lincoln and Roosevelt
in the last act, at the end of their careers, when the victory for which they
had fought so hard was at last within the nation’s grasp. John Kennedy’s
death has greater pathos, because he had barely begun—because he had so
much to do, so much to give to his family, his nation, his world. His was a life
of incalculable and now of unfulfilled possibility.
Still, if he had not done all that he would have hoped to do, finished all that
he had so well begun, he had given the nation a new sense of itself—a new
spirit, a new style, a new conception of its role and destiny.”
Anti-poverty Speech
JFK knew that others have also “given the nation a new sense of itself—a new spirit, a new
style, a new conception of its role and destiny” and continuously encouraged others to do the
same during the coming decades up until the hours before his death.
On November 21, 1963, the evening before his assassination, he gave a speech in Houston
during a dinner that was given in honor of Congress member Albert Thomas. During the speech,
he focused on 27-year cycles. The first cycle was from 1936 to 1963 and the second was from
1963 to 1990.
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The first cycle focused on Thomas. JFK stated that Thomas had “a vision of the modern-day
Houston” when he was first elected 27 years earlier in 1936. There were “those who were
opposed to progress and growth, who preferred to defy or ignore the forces of change.”
However, Thomas and supporters prevailed as a force of change because of their “ability to
recognize the trends and needs of the future beginning in 1936. As a result, the city
experienced great achievements that brought social and financial prosperity.
JFK then shifted to the next 27 years to come—the period between 1963 and 1990. He stated
that if the country was to prosper, we must heed to the vision of “a new generation of
Americans.” He encouraged others to do what Thomas did and create a vision for the next 27
years. Thus, he challenged the people living in 1963 to think about the social and economic
needs of those who would be living in 1990 and beyond.
Some of the words that he used to encourage the people that were listening to this speech
came from the Old Testament. He declared
‘Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions,’1 the
bible tells us; and ‘where there is no vision, the people perish.’2
JFK also declared that Thomas, at age 65, was old enough to dream dreams and still young
enough to see visions.
After much reflection on JFK’s ability to encourage others to reflect on unsolved social
problems such as poverty, including how to elucidate and eliminate such problems, I want to
encourage adding two more 27-year cycles to JFK’s speech. The next cycle, which would be the
third cycle, is from 1990 to 2017. The following cycle is from 2017 to 2044.
Third Cycle: 1990 to 2017
By 1990, I was influenced by the writings of JFK and other world and national leaders that
helped me dream dreams and see visions about the purging of poverty. Thus, I consider myself
a product of JFK’s presidential power to purge poverty.
I primarily have been involved with ending homelessness, an extreme form of poverty, during
this third cycle of 27 years. During this period of time I have had the opportunity to work
alongside national and local leaders that have resulted in unprecedented decreases in national
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See Job 2.28
Proverbs 29.18
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and local homelessness. These decreases are a result of the tireless labor of researching,
promoting, and implementing evidence-based and best practices that were not prevalent prior
to 1990 and not yet fully practiced today. As a result, I can envision how homelessness can be
purged in the United States and will continue to help implement the evidence-based and best
practices during the last few years of this 27-year cycle. I will encourage others to do the same.
Fourth Cycle: 2017 - 2044
When the next cycle of 27 years begins in 2017, I will still be old enough to dream dreams and
young enough to see visions. Like JFK, I believe that we hold in our “mortal hands the power to
abolish all forms of human poverty” and if we “cannot help the many who are poor, (we)
cannot save the few who are rich.” I can see how homelessness can end in the United States
before this 27-year cycle ends in 2044. I can also see how purging this extreme form of poverty
will not happen unless many of us, in the spirit of JFK, take the time to recognize the negative
trends and needs that have been, and will be, created by extreme poverty.
We often commemorate people and events in order to inspire the old and young among us to
carry on the work of an individual like JFK and events inspired by an individual like JFK. Many of
us have memorialized JFK by repeating one well-known quote out of his inaugural address
which is
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
In answer to his own question, JFK would clearly urge us to purge poverty and to do so during
the next 27 years. Some of us have already dreamed his dream and seen his vision. As a result,
his presidential power to purge poverty continues to this very day.
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