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Kennedy, John F. (1917-1963) [Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy to the National Rural Electric Cooperation Association]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05628 Author/Creator: Kennedy, John F. (1917-1963) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Typed document Date: 11 February 1959 Pagination: 24 p. ; 26.8 x 20.5 cm. Order a Copy

Speech given in Washington, D.C. on the topic of rural electrification. Advocates continuing the development of electricity championed by Senator George W. Norris during the New Deal. Argues that electric power will be central to America's expanding economy. Criticizes the policies of the Eisenhower administration and expresses his own desire to protect the REA. Discusses the need to harness and clean the Potomac River. Ties the need to increase generating capacity with the need to keep apace with the Soviet Union, claiming that "The hard, tough question for the next decade...is whether any free society...can meet the single-minded advance of the Communists." With several autograph notations and deletions by Kennedy, especially on the verso of the last page.

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1917-1963
Norris, George W. (George William), 1861-1944

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