--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe history will come to view 9/11…" description: "\"I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on par with November 22, 1963, the date on which John F. Kennedy was murdered, cutting short a pre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/jon-meacham-2863_1960s_i-believe-history-will-come-to-view-9-11_707440.png" --- # I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on… ![“I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on par with November 22, 1963, the date on which John F. Kennedy was murdered, cutting short a presidency that was growing ever more promising. Dreams died that day in Dallas; it is easy to imagine the 1960s turning out rather differently had…” quote by Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/jon-meacham-2863_1960s_i-believe-history-will-come-to-view-9-11_707440.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/jon-meacham-2863_1960s_i-believe-history-will-come-to-view-9-11_707440.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/jon-meacham-2863_1960s_i-believe-history-will-come-to-view-9-11_707440.png) > “I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on par with November 22, 1963, the date on which John F. Kennedy was murdered, cutting short a presidency that was growing ever more promising. Dreams died that day in Dallas; it is easy to imagine the 1960s turning out rather differently had President Kennedy lived.” [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote compares the impact of 9/11 to the assassination of JFK, suggesting both events abruptly ended promising futures and altered history. **In simple terms:** Both tragedies cut short hopeful eras. Key Takeaway Recognize how sudden events reshape societies. Themes history politics tragedy legacy counterfactuals Mood reflective somber Type analytical historical When to use this quote - Public policy debates - educational curricula - media coverage - memorial planning Key Concepts Historical analysis political disruption national trauma Questions to Reflect On - How might the 1960s have differed if JFK survived? - What lessons can we draw from comparing national tragedies? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify complex historical trajectories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1960s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) [1963 Date](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1963-date-4052237/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dallas/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [John kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-kennedy/) [Kennedy Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kennedy-lived-5587964/) [Kennedy Murdered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kennedy-murdered-3464283/) [November](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/november/) [Presidency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidency/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-kennedy/) [Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [There is one instance that we cite in the report where in one of the conversations a member of organized crime is talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-stokes/there-is-one-instance-that-we-cite-in-the-report-where-in-one-of-the/) [Louis Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-stokes/) > [“One biographer said Kennedy lived along the line where charm became power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-farris/one-biographer-said-kennedy-lived-along-the-line-where-charm-became/) [Scott Farris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-farris/) > [I would like you to consider the difference in the time from 1963 to date. The FBI, at that time, was headed by Mr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sherman-cooper/i-would-like-you-to-consider-the-difference-in-the-time-from-1963-to/) [John Sherman Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sherman-cooper/) > [“The Jackal was perfectly aware that in 1963 General de Gaulle was not only the President of France; he was also the most closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-forsyth/the-jackal-was-perfectly-aware-that-in-1963-general-de-gaulle-was-not/) [Frederick Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-forsyth/) > [Growing up I used to ... one of my heroes growing up was President John F. Kennedy. And I actually have a memory box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/growing-up-i-used-to-one-of-my-heroes-growing-up-was-president-john-f/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The Chinese say that you should never, ever buy a used desk unless you know the history of it. They claim that if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-chinese-say-that-you-should-never-ever-buy-a-used-desk-unless-you/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [And Hale was devoted to President Kennedy, and there was some talk following the assassination that Hale had warned the President not to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-boggs/and-hale-was-devoted-to-president-kennedy-and-there-was-some-talk/) [Lindy Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-boggs/) > [John F. Kennedy, who seized the White House from Richard Nixon in a frenzied campaign that turned a whole generation of young Americans into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/john-f-kennedy-who-seized-the-white-house-from-richard-nixon-in-a/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [I had been in so many towns and cities in America with John Kennedy, but I was not with him in Dallas, Texas, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-salinger/i-had-been-in-so-many-towns-and-cities-in-america-with-john-kennedy/) [Pierre Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-salinger/) > [President John F. Kennedy died at approximately 1:00 CST today, here in Dallas. He died of a gunshot wound to the brain. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-kilduff/president-john-f-kennedy-died-at-approximately-1-00-cst-today-here-in/) [Malcolm Kilduff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-kilduff/) > [When sudden death takes a president, opportunities for new beginnings flourish among the ambitious and the tensions among such people can be dramatic, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/when-sudden-death-takes-a-president-opportunities-for-new-beginnings/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [People don't realize what they had till it's gone. Like President Kennedy, there was no one like him, the Beatles, and my man Elvis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/people-don-t-realize-what-they-had-till-it-s-gone-like-president/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [“Lydon Johnson realized he really was President, that his identity had changed by President Kennedy's shocking death, when aides who had been like family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/lydon-johnson-realized-he-really-was-president-that-his-identity-had/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [When President Kennedy set us on a path to the Moon in the 1960s, he knew exactly why - to produce a photo-op that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/when-president-kennedy-set-us-on-a-path-to-the-moon-in-the-1960s-he/) [Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/) > [It's amazing to me that, in the 42 years since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women today still receive fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-honda/it-s-amazing-to-me-that-in-the-42-years-since-president-kennedy/) [Mike Honda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-honda/) ## More by Jon Meacham > [Scripture is not inerrant; believers are called to interpret biblical texts in light of tradition and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/scripture-is-not-inerrant-believers-are-called-to-interpret-biblical/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [We are now living in a post-Roosevelt, post-Reagan universe. What comes next will not be post-partisan, because faction is an intrinsic human impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/we-are-now-living-in-a-post-roosevelt-post-reagan-universe-what-comes/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“his other hand. Sensitive to his guest’s affliction, Churchill realized that “every step” was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/his-other-hand-sensitive-to-his-guest-s-affliction-churchill-realized/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Too many activists have convinced themselves that they have a monopoly on truth. A little humility and a sense of history could move us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/too-many-activists-have-convinced-themselves-that-they-have-a/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [In the fullness of time, I suspect that bigotry against homosexuals will seem as repugnant as racial prejudice does today. Or so one hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/in-the-fullness-of-time-i-suspect-that-bigotry-against-homosexuals/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Mysteries and thrillers are not the same things, though they are literary siblings. Roughly put, I would say the distinction is that mysteries emphasize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/mysteries-and-thrillers-are-not-the-same-things-though-they-are/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“When Lincoln was running for the House of Representatives from Illinois, he was charged with being “a scoffer at religion,” wrote the historian William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/when-lincoln-was-running-for-the-house-of-representatives-from/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“The Man who has not Music in his Soul, Or is not touch’d with Concord of sweet Sounds, Is fit for Treason, Stratagems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/the-man-who-has-not-music-in-his-soul-or-is-not-touch-d-with-concord/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [I am an Episcopalian who takes the faith of my fathers seriously, and I would, I think, be disheartened if my own young children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/i-am-an-episcopalian-who-takes-the-faith-of-my-fathers-seriously-and/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Only the most unapologetic biblical fundamentalists, for instance, take every biblical injunction literally. If we all took all scripture at the same level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/only-the-most-unapologetic-biblical-fundamentalists-for-instance-take/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“There was, of course, a more immediate point to frequent gatherings of lawmakers, diplomats, and cabinet officers at the president’s table. It tends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/there-was-of-course-a-more-immediate-point-to-frequent-gatherings-of/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“For Jefferson, William and Mary was largely about what university life is supposed to be about: reading books, enjoying the company of like-minded, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/for-jefferson-william-and-mary-was-largely-about-what-university-life/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [One wonders whether the Obama re-election campaign may be on the right track as it seeks to apply the you-break-it-you-own-it rule to Bush and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/one-wonders-whether-the-obama-re-election-campaign-may-be-on-the/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Reagan is the Republican FDR, an exemplar of presidential greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/reagan-is-the-republican-fdr-an-exemplar-of-presidential-greatness/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) [Explore all 146 Jon Meacham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) [Browse all 486 1960s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on par with November 22, 1963, the date on which John F. Kennedy was murdered, cutting short a presidency that was growing ever more promising. 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