American history is not something dead and over. It is always alive,always growing, always unfinished.
Interpretation
American history is a continuous and evolving story rather than a completed narrative.
John F. Kennedy emphasizes that American history is a living entity, constantly shaped by new events, ideas, and challenges. It reflects the ongoing journey of a nation that continues to grow and adapt, suggesting that the past influences the present and future, making history a dynamic and unfinished process.
In practice
In a speech about national identity, you might highlight Kennedy's perspective on the vitality of American history.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
There must be people who remember World War II and the Holocaust who can help us get out of this rut.
Men make history, not the other way around.
One day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.
An historian should yield himself to his subject, become immersed in the place and period of his choice, standing apart from it now and then for a fresh view.
The great bulk of the legal voters of the South were men who owned no slaves; their homes were generally in the hills and poor country; their facilities for educating their children, even up to the point of reading and writing, were very limited; their interest in the contest was very meagre--what there was, if they had been capable of seeing it, was with the North; they too needed emancipation.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.