John F. Kennedy's 1957 Algeria Speech - by Gregory D Cleva Hardcover

About the Book

John F. Kennedy's 1957 speech calling for Algerian independence is one of his most important and controversial-but least recognized-speeches, although many Kennedy books are careful to mention it and indicate its importance. This book discusses all the major aspects of Kennedy...

Book Synopsis

John F. Kennedy's 1957 speech calling for Algerian independence is one of his most important and controversial--but least recognized--speeches, although many Kennedy books are careful to mention it and indicate its importance. This book discusses all the major aspects of Kennedy's speech from its preparation to its aftermath.

Review Quotes

An extraordinarily authoritative and lucid exposition about JFK's most ambitious and risky pre-Presidential venture to break new ground on the subject of American power and the African anti-colonial revolution.

In John F. Kennedy's 1957 Algeria Speech, Cleva provides a meticulously researched account of a moment when the young senator firmly established his foreign policy credentials in a speech that offered an escape from the constraints of Cold War dogma. Cleva notes the significance of the speech for Kennedy's political ambitions, of course, but he gives the reader much more by carefully situating it in its global context. As a result, this is an important study for those seeking to understand what sets Kennedy apart in the post-World War II history of U.S. foreign policy.

Senator John F. Kennedy's 1957 speech on Algeria, highly controversial at the time, has been largely overlooked since his presidency. Cleva's careful evaluation of the speech and its Cold War context shows that Kennedy, six years before the American University speech of 1963, was already thinking in terms of viable alternatives to US policies on colonialism and the Cold War, policies that the US foreign policy establishment was convinced (erroneously) that it had no choice but to follow.

About the Author

Gregory D. Cleva is independent scholar and lecturer in American foreign policy at the George Mason University/Osher Life-Long Learning Institute, and a retired foreign affairs analyst for the US Department of Defense.