John F. Kennedy

Lesson Plans | Primary Sources | Valuable Links

Lesson Plans:

Birthplace of John F. Kennedy - A lesson plan that uses primary sources to explore the life and times of President Kennedy. Printable resources are provided

Eleanor Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy - Using primary source documents/letters between Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson Students will learn to read and interpret primary documents critically. Students will learn about the political styles and strengths of two of America's most important leaders during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Views of JFK / John F. Kennedy - Students will understand the following: Print sources show that Americans had strong reactions to many events involving John F. Kennedy as president. Personal interviews, conducted now, with people who lived through Kennedy’s administration can add insights into how Americans view JFK.

JFK: the 1960 election and Foreign Policy - Students will understand the following: Print sources show that Americans had strong reactions to many events involving John F. Kennedy.

Primary Source Documents:

JFK Assassination Records - Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. The Act mandated that all assassination-related material be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The resulting Collection consists of more than 5 million pages of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts (approximately 2,000 cubic feet of records). Most of the records are open for research.

Cuban Missile Crisis: A political perspective - Press releases, selected documents, photographs, audio clips and other material from the historic conference in Havana. Has previously secret documents.


Kennedy Speech on the Cuban Missile Crisis - In the following speech, President Kennedy announced to the American public the threat of Soviet nuclear capability in Cuba. The proximity of these nuclear missiles posed a threat to the East Coast of the United States. After this speech, many Americans felt nuclear war was imminent as U.S. ships confronted Soviet ships off the coast of Cuba.

Khrushchev announces withdrawal of missiles -On October 28, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev read the following message to U.S. President John F. Kennedy on Radio Moscow. He responded to Kennedy's letter, sent the day before, by stating that with America's promise not to invade Cuba, the nuclear weapons installed there are no longer necessary. However, he continued to denounce the use of U-2 spy planes over Soviet territory.

Valuable Links:

14 Days in October
Vintage JFK Films