I was about to say how special this night is that you all beat me to it which is great. Welcome. I am the executive director of the Jfk Library Foundation and on behalf of our colleagues in the library we are thrilled you could be here all forms are great but tonight it is a treat because its also the beginning of the centennial weekend and we planned this months ago we literally thought would be the best pair a speaker and moderator we could get for this historic time . This is we have and we are thrilled they are both here. [applause] first a few brief announcements first the underwriters and sponsors including our media is spent on sponsors and for the centennial. We are kicking off the centennial about what were doing over the next few days but over the next few days there are opportunities from seeing a new exhibit with 100 items with those that have never been seen publicly before opening tomorrow. Doing a peace corps day we have an astronaut here as part of the attribute to nasa and then the navy to honor the service in just 100 years to the minute to have two teams flying overhead and then we will be eating a cake. We need help with this to serve 1000 people designed by the same company that did the cake for their engagement many years ago. So tonight literally standing room only in this auditorium and an overflow any other auditorium and we are also thrilled we are streaming this and watching parties in places including the jfk museum in hyannis and others and those that are participating in line we have many distinguished guests and at the risk of offending some but there are many members of the board and because its our centennial we invite the colleagues around the country. And with the president ial library from Franklin Roosevelt, harry truman, carter, george h. W. Bush and Clinton Library for the foundation. Former United States senator and wife and former ambassador Nicholas Burns and several members of the new england consul general for us. After the first hour of dialogue there is a chance for questions and microphones on either ill. If you are streaming tweeters somebody read the question i get up in line. And then to graciously sign books afterwards if you have them great, if not the bookstore has them. Go out to help the traffic flow to go smoothly. If you havent read this yet the americans spirit who we are and what we stand for i just asked mr. Mcculloch question in our but i promise i wont do that the mr. Charlie gibson. Based on the apposite inca speak for most people who know him even though i just met him listening on the news 34 years anchoring abc news cohosting Good Morning America interviewing anybody including nine us president s it is a remarkable history he and his lovely wife are here tonight and David Mccullough first i feel bad he has a been recognized very much in his life. [laughter] everybody has two pulitzer prize. And to National Book awards and the Francis Parkman price twice, and the president ial medal of freedom, the nations highest civilian honor. Everyone i know has been recognized by 54 honorary degrees actually no one else i now please join me to welcome this amazing panel. [applause] and as they come up and take questions those are pretty concise questions. But the most famous tweeter in the world probably isnt watching. [laughter] i will get one of those i shudder to think what it might be. But we do look forward to this it is a treat for me as a very undistinguished history major and college to talk to david who is something of a legend. And we do together in the Kennedy Library which leaves me to wonder how many books will be in the trump president ial library . [laughter] [applause] and in an interview with the Washington Post said he never read a book about a president either biography or a book about the presidency. He might someday he said. [laughter] he doesnt read books because his mind reaches beyond that. [laughter] i began to think about the great president s over the years who have been avid readers of history, many wrote history including kennedy and even those who didnt have the benefit of College Education like truman reading history all their lives and then realize the role of a leader the presidency or leadership of any kind history matters. If i have one message to get across in my work in gatherings like this is that history matters. A lot. [applause] we are slipping in our responsibility of teaching history a number of us are evangelical preachers. And i am astonished that the jean people dont know about the country and its story. One young lady came up to me after i gave a talk and said she wanted to thank me for coming to campus because until she heard my talk that day she had no idea all the original 13 colonies were on the east coast. [laughter] and another one asked in the q a. Aside from truman and adams have any other president s have you interviewed . [laughter] there may not be many books in the president ial library but one hell of an edifice. Which leads me to the second question. What steps did jackson have taken to prevent the civil war . [laughter] we could go all night. [laughter] i have no more questions. [laughter] can you believe it . I want to restore our recognition why we are the way we are. And that is important as grade school and high school and college and university and advanced degree isnt essential, and how it we were brought up at home and raised to behave. [applause] kindness, tolerance, empathy and hard work. And in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania where people worked hard but that counted how you appreciated by other people my father used to say charlie drinks too much but hes a good worker or fred is a terrible exaggerator telling stories but if youre a good worker that gives all other feelings. We got to working very very hard doing the right brothers book two young men never had the chance to go to college ever finish high school that brought up to have a purpose in life. And then to use the english language. And so you read the letters that have survived. And humbling and the quality of the vocabulary and then to boast about yourself. Or get too big for your britches. And it impresses me even more given the situation we are in now. That kennedy almost never talked about himself. Did not use first person singular. No. Almost never. And then to go on and on to say the least with justification. You mentioned that and you say im searching for the quote that the first person singular never entered into so many others since. Name names. [laughter] and its what you do in public life and in many cases it is justified. You mentioned for 50 years youve been given a lot of speeches many extemporaneous. But i am curious why you want to do a book of speeches now and why you chose these 15 . When writing my book about harry truman i love the idea he went out for a walk every morning. So i thought to try that and then to start thinking in a way so last summer when the comments made by the republican candidate for the presidency to me were not only appalling but unimaginably out of place. So what can i do to provide to the counterpoint . And those on National Occasions such as a 200 anniversary of congress and the anniversary of the white house kennedys Memorial Service in dallas which i was asked to be the speaker. And commencement speeches i have given a particular occasions and the history of other organizations or universities. And found there were a great many i was voicing what really matters to me and history is fascinating and essential what it means to be alive. Why should we live our lives with this little bit of time that her biological clocks provide to have access to the whole realm going back hundreds of thousands of years . So looking where the speeches made the appropriate. And the help of my daughter who arranged all these talks that i gave and kept the records of what i said. The first time i finished and put it down he is writing in the times to be apropos to the current time and i have heard you say before and that they dont have a role of current politics. But i was talking before it came on the scene. And to read them a second time thinking what is a sentence or the paragraph or the point that could be taken to heart in politics right now . So each time looking in the speech whats the one point that could be taken to heart . I wont do each 112 out of but the first speech 1989 putting Margaret Chase smith and then ride the political victory on the four horsemen. Fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear. Maybe is perfect only if you had a sense of humor. [laughter] can you imagine somebody reading that currently . It would be wonderful. [laughter] and shes a woman and most people today who Margaret Chase was the most admirable political figure weve ever had. We dont have enough standing up now 1998 speech Benjamin Rush as other patriots of that time with original signers of the declaration of what mattered most to human relations and said i include candor and gentleness and disposition and then to add in 1998 words to the wise more than ever Benjamin Rush is one of my favorite characters from my past one of mother remarkable man of 18th century and the accomplished physician with the fair and humane treatment and to put them away in a cell as if they were animals. And extremely courageous in the ability to go into places with their yellow fever epidemic and one of the signers of the declaration of independence and was all of 30 years old forget how young those people were jefferson when he wrote the declaration was 33. Imagine. Washington at the Continental Army was 44 years old. We see them later with their white hair and very very young. A very encouraging fact of our story. I think we can ever know enough about the american revolution. By the way the new museum just opened in philadelphia is a must for all of us. And as a place to take your children and grandchildren for history. And brilliantly organized spectacular building and right in the center of the historic neighborhood just steps down the street. But we lived in the boston area take the reality of that era as part of the environment. Thats great. But i love kennedys profiles in courage and not aware yet what i wanted to do with my life and John Quincy Adams for example. And the first word i like and that quotation is civility which is a lost are in the Public Discourse of america today. And that that existed beyond people and their needs to be a common end. And those deep chasms of division in this country. The two sides seemed unalterably opposed when politics trumps policy. But the sense of National Goals is gone and party goals matter more than National Goals. What brings us out of this quick. Leadership of the best kind. To stand up for their convictions the backbone to do whats right irrespective and its mainly for the people. And the three segments of government legislative judicial and executive. But the fourth is the people. Maybe even decisive when someone reads about mortgages is what im going to do. Some in the government right now. Guilt happen of the necessity to survive. David will expect that pretty c7 to me, i believe, we are basically a country where 30 or 40 or 5060 percent of people are in the middle. And what government to get something done. And we aint doing it. David and doesnt mean that we wont. We have come from very hard and baffling times. Very pessimistic to times. David inappropriate behavior times as far as leadership. Bullying come through the mall. Im very we do come through them. These difficult times. These dark dark sky times. When you come through, were better for having done it read people talk about that was a simpler time back then. No it wasnt. There was a simpler time. Things have never been so bad are so dark. So for voting. Yes they have. And if you dont understand that, he dont understand the reality of our story. Like to point out the influenza epidemic with my parents and your parents probably went through pretty 1918 and 1919. 500,000 americans died of the disease. A disease that they they didnt know where it came from, didnt know if it would ever go away at all how to cure it. If that were to happen today, given the size of our population proportion to our population, 1,500,000 people would die. In less than one year. Now it imagine if there were in the nightly news overnight. Would all be even more terrified. Could be next in our family to die. Injustice and depression in the civil war, horrible times. But we came through them. Because we have the faith that we would and could. And because we understood that the much consequence, have accomplished alone. Has to be a joint effort. Thats what they have come back to and understand. Host the tolerance and insistence of truth in the good hearted and some the american people. Theyre theyre still playing them. Then you added, 2004 speech the you answered that 90 percent of american share those values. How does that square with what we did election last november. David this is not an answer. This is part of the answer. Lets not forget in the popular vote, Hillary Clinton one by almost 3m votes read so innocent though it was a landslide. And donald trump really one by very narrow margin. We have several major problems obviously. One is that that poison a big money involved here. The idea that members of congress dialing for dollars everyday. Half the time. The fact that where have become a nation of spectators. We sit around and watch things all of the time. Watch television, let somebody else do the performing to entertain us. Not to doing things as much as we should. And were not making anything on her own. Not getting out there having to solve these problems. The statue of everybody of course. Where eventually generous. Immensely ontopic. We care sincerely and with fervor about education still. And we should be infinitely proud whats been achieved in the last 200 years in the way of the greatest universities the world. The same problems. Yes the cost has gotten out of hand. But there is no institutions in Higher Learning anyone or comparable to our own. Omar has been in all of history. This is an immensely admiral an important accomplishment. Just as innocent and memorable that we are making advances in medicines such as no one ever imagined. I think that future historians will say looking back, the politics and the military and political upheavals all over the world. All very important. But look what was happening in medicine. Look what has happened just in our lifetime. We were looking at diseases the john kennedy in the new exhibit is about to open, the diseases the kennedy, rose kennedy, John Kennedys mother. When little file card that he had has as a child, and my wife and i each had two brothers who had infantile paralysis. Just even exist anymore. Scarlet fever. All of that spring to mention the dna or successful transplant organs. Spoiled. We have pin given so much that we are ungrateful and we should be making are teachers heroes. We should be celebrating them. [applause]. We should have major awards and statues, the Great Teachers that shaped the lives of so many people. I feel that our teachers are doing the most important work of any of us pretty and we all are to get behind them to make sure they understand we are all for them. [applause]. Host being married to an educator, i would second that. Before leave the subject of her current residence. We think john kennedy would think of trump steps pretty. David [laughter]. We all know. He would be embarrassed. He would be appalled. You wouldnt believe it. Weve never had anything like this happen. Never as anyone remotely so inappropriate the responsibilities of the presidency and the job. [applause]. And virtually everyday he makes sure that we know this ignores that we thoughts. [laughter]. Is if we have put someone in the pilot seat was never flown a plane. Kent doesnt think its important to know how to fly the plane. Just a little surprised about how much more complicated it is that he realized. [laughter]. Of the fact that this guy with healthcare, it was so complicated. I was in College History major. One of the things that a boy struck me would be through which history has seen through the different prisms produce social historians, economic historians political and demographic historians. Natural resources historians pretty goes on and on. But whatever prism you are looking through, you see history can see history differently. What kind of historian are you. David i am not a historian. I am not free to have no advanced degrees in history. Never studied history the way i would firework and academic. Im a writer. Who took up writing about people, real people and events that really happened. My job is to tell that accurately accurately as possible with the basic conviction that histories human. It is about people. But the Human Potential and limitations. It is about good people and bad people. Is about the home x. And its about stories the really happened. A big influence on me as a writer of history, was barbara, said that it no teaching history effectively writing about history. Tell stories. It is what i am trying to do. Im also trying to bring down to front and center stage, people live in the background more than they deserve to have been. John evans. Like the builders of the Brooklyn Bridge of the people who made it success at panama happen. And it women. Abigail adams. Now catherine wright, the sister of the two wright brothers. I dont think it wouldve succeeded and theyve never got an adequate credit for that. I hope that my book does that. Exist to the point where she has recognized pretty because not only have been important. But interesting. An admirable is human being. Host im also surprised as people who have been seen this heroes they do not care as well as the historian eyes is a renaissance and etc. I think john kennedy is very now read. David pending very well. Liberally in a point where we stand really pass judgments. Truman said have to wait 50 years for the dust to settle