TLS as president signed “John Kennedy,” one page, 6.75 x 8.75, White House letterhead, October 23, 1962. Letter to financier and political advisor Bernard Baruch, alluding to the the race-based riots surrounding the enrollment of James Meredith as the first African-American at the University of Mississippi. In full: "Thank you for your message. It was thoughtful of you to wire, and I am most appreciative of your word of approval regarding the incident in Mississippi." At the conclusion, Kennedy adds a succinct handwritten postscript: "Many thanks." Handsomely corner-mounted, matted, and framed with portraits of Kennedy and Meredith to an overall size of 24 x 27.5. In fine condition, with a small vertical tear at the center. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from JSA and two copies made from the original White House press releases of September 29, 1962, dealing with the very contentious back-and-forth between President Kennedy and infamous Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett, which resulted in JFK sending in hundreds of federal marshals to escort Meredith into the university.Inspired by President Kennedy's inaugural address, James Meredith—a veteran of the US Air Force—applied for admission to the all-white University of Mississippi, in an effort to put pressure on the administration to enforce civil rights for African-Americans. After a turbulent legal battle and conspiratorial opposition from the state government, Meredith was finally granted admission to the university and—amongst riots in the streets—enrolled on October 1, 1962. Despite the Kennedy administration's reluctance to use force, the president ordered the National Guard and federal troops to the campus, and two men were killed in the violent clashes that followed. Immediately following this domestic chaos in the South, President Kennedy had to deal with his greatest challenge on the international stage—the CIA had identified Soviet missiles in aerial photographs of Cuba earlier in October, and the Cuban Missile Crisis was at its height at the time he wrote this letter. On October 22nd, he imposed a naval blockade of Cuba and gave a nationwide televised address, announcing the discovery of the missiles and assuring America and its allies: 'It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.' A significant letter from a momentous time at home and abroad.Format: TLS