John Fitzgerald Kennedy
10/26/00
Mr. Yager

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Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 

Introduction
Previous Year
Presidency
Effects on our Nation
Conclusion
Images
Audio Clips
Movies
Bibliography

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Introduction

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a very interesting president and person. Elected in 1960, he was the thirty-fifth president of the United States and also the first Roman Catholic president. Serving during the Cold War era with World War II only fifteen years behind us, he led the nation through some of the great challenges this nation has seen. He started many of the programs that make this nation what it is today. He was a very influential person. His ideas for programs were ahead of their time. He inspired all who heard him speak. He is considered one of the most memorable presidents.

John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts in a small house. His father was a bank president and as he grew older the family moved to larger houses. He went to many schools as a child and was an athlete who was enthusiastic if not the best player. He went to Choate High School in Wallington, Connecticut, and when he graduated in 1936 he was voted “most likely to succeed” even though he graduated in the middle of his class.

In 1936 after he graduated, he enrolled in Harvard where he seriously injured his back playing football. In his Senior year he decided to write a thesis statement that would be published as a book. He analyzed the British behavior that led to the Munich Pact of 1938 in which Britain, France, and Italy agreed to give Czechoslovakian land to Germany. In 1940 the thesis was published under the title, Why England Slept.

In 1941 with war declared, Kennedy applied for the Army. He was rejected for his bad back. After a summer of exercising Kennedy was accepted into the Navy. In 1943 he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant junior grade and given command of the Patrol Torpedo boat 109 in the area he most wanted to be, the front lines. In the early morning of August 2, 1942 his boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Even though he was injured he rallied the survivors and got them to the shore of an island, swimming through hostile waters. He found two natives to carry a message for him to the nearest friendly outpost. For his bravery, he received the Purple Heart and the Marine Corps medal, but his back injury was aggravated by the incident and he contracted malaria. After he recovered, he was honorably discharged from the navy in early 1945.

After his discharge, Kennedy searched for a job. He decided to become a politician. His opportunity came when in 1946, a seat was vacated in the House of Representatives for the Boston area. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the seat as a Democrat early in the year. He ran against nine other candidates who all looked down upon him, but despite the opposition, he was elected in November of that year. He did not always vote with his party’s opinion because he did not agree with some of the items in the bills.

In 1952 he announced that he would run for the Massachusetts Senate seat against Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Even as Dwight Eisenhower,a Republican, won Massachusetts for the presidential election, Kennedy won the senate election by 70,000 votes. This shows that not everyone in Massachusetts voted with their party.

Kennedy was married on September 12, 1953 to Jacqueline Bouvier. They had two children, Caroline Bouvier, and John, Jr. From 1953 through 1955 he underwent several spinal operations, and while recovering he wrote a book titled, Profiles in Courage. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for biography.

In 1956 Kennedy decided to try for a higher office. He almost became the vice-presidential candidate that year when Adlai E. Stevenson had a convention nominate the vice-presidential candidate and Senator Estes Kefauver became the vice-presidential candidate.

In January 1960 he announced his candidacy for the presidency. Defeating opponents in several primaries, he was nominated on the first ballot. He appeared in many debates with his primary opponent, Richard M. Nixon, and he looked more like a president than Nixon, resulting in Kennedy winning more votes. Although he was predicted a winner, he only won by 119,450 votes out of nearly 69,000,000. In some states the votes were questionable but his opponent, Richard M. Nixon, decided not to request a recount because it might make the country look weak when it needed to appear strong. His electoral votes were 303-219.

At forty-three, Kennedy was the youngest person elected president, and the first Roman Catholic president. Theodore Roosevelt was a few months younger when he became president after William McKinley died in 1901.

Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961. He focused his speech on international affairs and achievements. In his inaugural speech he said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

He appointed his cabinet to satisfy his country's needs. Even though he was a Democrat, he appointed several Republicans as members. He made his brother Robert F. Kennedy the attorney general, which caused some people to ask whether or not he was doing it for family reasons.

Before the election Kennedy planned to initiate a program similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First “100 days.” Due to the closeness of the election, he decided it wasn’t wise to do so but in his first month he sent a record number of messages to Congress suggesting items including economic growth and medical care for the elderly.

The first major incident in Kennedy’s presidential career was “The Bay Of Pigs,” when in April 1961, a force of Cubans with training and support from the CIA, unsuccessfully invaded Cuba . Even though the invasion had been planned before Kennedy took office, he claimed full responsibility for the incident. Though the incident caused anti-American feelings in other countries, both political parties supported him enthusiastically.

From 1961 to 1962 Kennedy engaged in a great test of will with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviets had long wanted to sign a treaty with East Germany that would allow it to control access routes to Berlin. Kennedy talked with Khrushchev and made it clear that there would not be a treaty. In the months that followed, the tension was increased by Communists building a wall that prevented East Berliners from coming to the West.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was another incident our country had to deal with. On October 16, 1962, aerial reconnaissance discovered a Soviet missile base in Cuba. Acting quickly, Kennedy declared a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. The quarantine meant that every ship bound for Cuba could be stopped and searched for weapons. The quarantine was put in place and the world hesitated on the brink of nuclear war; everyone was relieved when Soviet ships bound for Cuba carrying missiles turned around and returned to the Soviet Union. Kennedy and Khrushchev met and Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile base in Cuba. With these conditions the US ended its quarantine and Kennedy received world-wide praise.

Just before the Cuban Missile Crisis the Soviet Union had began to conduct nuclear tests. Even though he was urged by Kennedy, Khrushchev refused to sign a treaty banning atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons. When Khrushchev did not accept the treaty, Kennedy ordered resumption of underground nuclear testing. In March 1962, after studies of possible Soviet advances, Kennedy reluctantly ordered atmospheric tests. Finally on August 5, 1963, Khrushchev agreed to sign a treaty ending atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons. Many other nations signed this same treaty and in October of that year, another treaty was signed in which they agreed not to place nuclear weapons in space.

The failure of “The Bay of Pigs” made Kennedy realize the weakness of the Latin-American countries due to economic distress. He began a ten- year program to improve these countries. In August of 1961, all the Latin-American countries joined this new “Progress Alliance” except for Cuba. Though the Alliance faced many challenges, it acquired the support from the vast majority of the Latin-American population.

On May 25, 1961, Kennedy addressed Congress. In this speech he said “...this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” With this speech he laid the foundations for the Apollo program in which Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.

Throughout his term the threat of Communist aggression was rising. It finally happened when China invaded India in 1962. Kennedy immediately started airlifting arms to India, but he felt that this wasn’t enough. so he reshaped our economy and sent volunteers from the Peace Corps that he had founded in 1961. The Peace Corps were people that went to foreign countries and taught them to do things like dig wells and grow food.

Kennedy was insistent that the U.S. keep relations with Europe on good terms in order to meet the Communist threat. Kennedy’s prospect for a unified Europe were thwarted by the French President Charles de Gaulle. Charles de Gaulle threatened the goals of NATO and vetoed Britain's entry into the Common Market.

Civil Rights was one of the more difficult problems Kennedy faced. Throughout his career he had taken a moderate stand on civil rights. In 1963 he addressed the nation on the issue and sent a message to Congress requesting an extensive legislation regarding Civil Rights, but it was delayed by Congress and did not pass until after his death.

In November 1963 Kennedy traveled to Texas for a tour to make speeches. On November 22, as he was riding in an open car an assassin fired on the President and wounded the Governor of Texas, John Connally. Kennedy was hit twice, in the base of the neck and in the head. He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was proclaimed dead half an hour later. On November 24, amid worldwide mourning President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, with the leaders of twente-nine nations present, and an Eternal Flame was lit by his wife.

On the day of his assassination the police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald for the President’s murder. Two days later Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby. Even after Oswald's death the nation was determined to discover who had killed the President. After an extensive investigation, it was ruled by the Earl Warren Commission that Oswald had fired the shots that killed the President, with no control from organized crime or other nations.

Kennedy greatly affected our nation. He set long-range goals on the abolishment of segregation and peace on Earth. He also set goals for the space program and started the Peace Corps to strengthen peace and justice in the world.

He was not only a national inspiration but a worldwide source of courage and hope. He traveled to Europe and helped them through hardships and times of tension.

He made many speeches with quotes worth remembering, but it not possible to list them all in the short period of time that is available. Some of the more memorable are: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.”, “ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”, “...this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth”, and “Ich bein ein Berliner” (I am a jelly donut). What he meant to say was “I am a citizen of Berlin” which is “Ich bein Berliner” but the “ein” changes the meaning to “I am a jelly donut”.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a great president, husband, and father. He was not only a national leader, but a world-wide figure. He was loved by many of the nations in the world and they gladly would have had him as a leader. He led us through the Cold War and planted the seeds of world-wide peace. Even though those seeds are not ready to be harvested, they are sprouting as the world progresses and someday they will be ready and there will be peace on Earth.