KENNEDY, John F. (1917–1963). Profiles in Courage. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. [With:] Typed speech, “Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy […] Charles Boswell Dinner”, Indianapolis, 2 October 1959.

Inscribed copy (“John Kennedy”) to press secretary Pierre Salinger’s parents; with Kennedy’s annotated typed speech from the 1959 Indianapolis mayoral election, criticizing the Soviet Union and gesturing towards his own candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

During a long convalescence from spinal surgery Senator Kennedy began a collection of biographies of politicians distinguished for taking unpopular stands. The work's working title was Courage in the Senate, but it was published as Profiles in Courage. The book rapidly became a best-seller and Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. This copy is inscribed by Kennedy on the front free endpaper: To Mr. + Mrs. Jerry Carlson | with very best wishes | John Kennedy. These are the parents of Pierre Salinger, Kennedy’s press secretary first as a senator and then as president. Salinger implemented the first live television broadcasts of White House press conferences and was “the first presidential spokesman to become a celebrity in his own right” (Purdum, “Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary to Kennedy, Dies at 79”, NYT, 2004).

Included is Kennedy’s typed speech from a dinner supporting Indianapolis mayor Charles Boswell ahead of the November mayoral election. Kennedy’s confidence was well placed, as one month later Boswell was elected with 57.4% of the vote. However, Kennedy uses this speech to address matters of foreign policy (specifically the Soviet Union), perhaps bolstering his reputation as a Senator ahead of his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, which he would announce three months later.

Weeks earlier at the invitation of President Eisenhower, Nikita Khrushchev completed a state visit to great media attention, becoming the first leader of the Soviet Union to visit the Western Hemisphere and appearing to calm mounting fears of nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers. “But even though Mr. Khrushchev is no longer in every American headline, he should still be in every American mind”, Kennedy warns, noting his own meeting with Khruschev during the state visit; “Mr. Khruschev is no fool.” He emphasizes Khrushchev’s unwavering belief in communism, his intent on overcoming capitalism and his confidence in America’s decline as a global power.

Kennedy expresses his optimism for the future of America as a capitalism society (“Mr. Khruschev may have known his Marx – but his Marx did not know the United States of America”), criticizes Eisenhower as weak and ineffective (“We gained nothing tangible, nothing enforceable, nothing essential to the achievement of our foreign political objectives”) and concludes by calling for strong, new Democratic leadership: “The Democratic Party has traditionally been the party of strong leadership […] The time has come for a return to that kind of leadership – and the time is now, in Indianapolis in 1959 and throughout the nation in 1960.” Months before announcing his presidential campaign, Kennedy is seen here positioning himself as more than a Senator, but as a leader who can stand on the global stage, confront Khruschev and defend America.
The speech has minor annotations (in four hands, possibly including Kennedy’s and Salinger’s) that add exclamations and question marks, underline phrases and correct typos.

Octavo (slight dampstain in gutter of preliminaries including title-page). Publisher’s quarter black cloth and blue linen, spine lettered in gold; original dust-jacket (small tears in at head of spine and upper and lower panels, chipping along folds, spine lightly faded); quarter red half morocco box by Asprey. Provenance: Jerry and Jehanne Carlson, parents of Kennedy’s White House press secretary Pierre Salinger (inscribed on front free flyleaf “To Mr. + Mrs. Jerry Carlson | with very best wishes | John Kennedy”; dedication instructions laid in “Mr. + Mrs. Jerry Carlson | (for Pierre Salinger)”).

[With:] “Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy | Democrat – Mass. | Indianapolis, Indiana, Oct. 2, 1959, 6PM | Mayor Charles Boswell Dinner”. 20 pages on 20 leaves, 280 × 215mm (staple holes in upper left corner, repaired tear in p.1 upper left corner). Custom blue cloth folder and box.