John Steinbeck and his wife Elaine were invited to attend the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, which took place on January 20, 1961. Steinbeck would write to JFK to thank him for the invitation and to praise his inaugural address, to which JFK responded with his own letter of appreciation (see below). John Steinbeck took his road trip around America during the final months of the presidential campaigns, submitting his absentee ballot while in California (ironically, his home state). Shortly after the inauguration, Steinbeck began writing his account of the trip, Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962). The story of his attendance of the inauguration is in the original manuscript, but for whatever reason Steinbeck ultimately chose not to include this in the final published version.
