December 11 1961 Remarks Un Delegation Women

### About this speech John F. Kennedy December 11, 1961 Source John F. Kennedy Presidential Library President Kennedy meets with a delegation of female representatives from the United Nations at the White House. He mentions his commitment to the ideas that led to the United Nations' founding and speaks with hope for how it may be used to promote diplomacy in the future. Rather than posting the full speech video, which is the Miller Center's customary practice, this video contains only an excerpt (bolded in the transcript). It was the only video material available from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, which owns the copyright of this video. Please contact the Foundation if you are interested in using the footage. Audio of the full speech is available for download below. [Presidential Speeches](/the-presidency/presidential-speeches) | John F. Kennedy Presidency ## December 11, 1961: Remarks to a U.N. Delegation of Women [Play Video](https://d4q9blt8qjhv3.cloudfront.net/video/mp4/512K/spe_1961_1211_kennedy.mp4)   Fast-forward 10 seconds 0:00 [ Download audio ](https://d4q9blt8qjhv3.cloudfront.net/audio/spe_1961_1211_kennedy.mp3 "\(opens in a new window\)") Embed Your browser does not support the video tag. [Miller Center: December 11, 1961: Remarks to a U.N. Delegation of Women](https://uvamiller.prod.acquia-sites.com/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-11-1961-remarks-un-delegation-women) Download media * [Download Full Video](https:/
/d4q9blt8qjhv3.cloudfront.net/video/mp4/512K/spe_1961_1211_kennedy.mp4?download=1) * [Download Audio](https://d4q9blt8qjhv3.cloudfront.net/audio/spe_1961_1211_kennedy.mp3?download=1) View Transcript ### Transcript LADIES, I want to express my great satisfaction in welcoming you to the White House. And also as a citizen not merely of the United States but also as an inhabitant of the globe in difficult times I want to express my appreciation to you and the appreciation of the people of this country for your efforts in the United Nations. I was present in 1945 at San Francisco, as a member of the press, at the time that the United Nations was born. **I know that at different times in the last 15 or 16 years this organization has come under criticism in many countries--I am sure all of yours, and my own here in the United States.** **But recalling what Robert Frost, one of our poets, once said, "Don't take down the fence until you know why it was put up," I have a strong conviction that we should seek to strengthen the United Nations and make it the kind of instrument which all of us hope it will be.** **I don't think, really, in any sense, the United Nations has failed as a concept. I think occasionally we fail it. And the more that we can do to strengthen the idea of a community of the world, to seek to develop manners by which the tensions of the world and the problems of the world can be solved in an orderly and peaceful way, I think that's in the common interest of all.** T
he United Nations has survived 16 difficult years. Countries once unknown have come into existence and are playing important parts in the United Nations. It has come to the present day and plays a most important part in the lives of all of us. So I congratulate you for the work that you have done. We want you to know that you are very welcome to this country. We are glad that you are seeing something-however much we all admire New York, we are glad you are seeing something of the United States besides New York. And we hope that while you are visiting here you will come not only to Washington and New York, which in a sense are rather special parts of this country, but also go perhaps even to Boston and even further West. I want to thank you very much indeed. I want to say that I had not expected that the standard of revolt would be raised in the royal pavilion here, but I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians, but I want you to know that we are grateful to have you as both today. Thank you very much. View Transcript Previous [December 7, 1961: Address in Miami at the Opening of the AFL-CIO Convention](/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-7-1961-address-miami-opening-afl-cio-convention) Next [January 11, 1962: State of the Union Address](/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-11-1962-state-union-address) ### More John F. Kennedy speeches [View all John F
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