President John F. Kennedy
By: Linda Chen
Early Life
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline Massachusetts. Both the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys were wealthy, prominent Irish Catholic Boston families. Kennedy grandfather (Father's side) P.J. Kennedy, was a wealthy banker and liquor trader and his other grandfather (mother's side) , John E. Fitzgerald was a skilled politician who served as a congressman and as the mayor of Boston. JFK's mother Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald was a Boston debutante and his father Joseph Kennedy Sr. was a successful banker who made a fortune on the stock market after World War I.
As a young child Kennedy was a poor student and a mischievous boy. He attended a Catholic boys boarding school in Connecticut called Canterbury. In school he excelled at English and history because these were the subjects he enjoyed but about flunked Latin in which he had no interest learning.
After graduating from Canterbury and spending one semester at Princeton Kennedy was then transferred to Harvard University in 1936. There he excelled occasionally in the classes he enjoyed.
After College
Journal to Presidency
In 1952 seeking greater influence and a larger platform Kennedy challenged Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge for his seat in the U.S. Senate. Once again backed by his father's vast financial resources Kennedy hired his younger brother Robert as his campaign manager. Nonetheless Kennedy won this election also. People claimed that it was this time when the citizens wanted someone like Kennedy, smart, handsome, and well educated.
In 1956, Kennedy was almost selected as Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson's running mate, but was passed over for Estes Kefauver from Tennessee. Four years later, Kennedy decided to run for president.
In the 1960 Democratic primaries, Kennedy outmaneuvered his main opponent, Hubert Humphrey. Selecting Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate Kennedy faced Vice President Richard Nixon in the general election. The election was displayed on a series of televised national debates which Kennedy beat Nixon. Kennedy who was an experienced and skilled debater and by appearing relaxed and healthy on screen compared to his tense opponent. On November 8, 1960, Kennedy defeated Nixon by a thin margin to become the 35th president of the United States of America.
JFK's Family
Accomplishments
- Kennedy was the 2nd youngest president after Roosevelt. Kennedy who was 43 and Roosevelt who was 42.
- Kennedy created the Peace Corps by executive order in 1961. By the end of the century over 170,000 Peace Corps volunteers would serve in 135 countries.
- Kennedy created the Alliance for Progress to foster greater economic ties with Latin America, in hopes of helping poverty and minimizing the spread of communism in the region.
- April 15, 1961 Kennedy authorized a covert mission to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro with a group of 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban refugees. (Bay of Pigs Invasion) the mission proved an failure, causing Kennedy great embarrassment.
- October 1962 discovering that the Soviet Union had sent nuclear missiles to Cuba, Kennedy blockaded the island and vowed to defend the United States at any cost.
- After several of the tensest days in history during which the world seemed on the edge of nuclear war, the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in return for Kennedy's promise not to invade Cuba and to remove American missiles from Turkey.
- In June 1963, Kennedy successfully negotiated the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with Great Britain and the Soviet Union, helping to ease Cold War tensions. It was one of his proudest accomplishments.