John F. Kennedy
Katie Prock
Who was John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before he became the president. As President, Kennedy put the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the Alliance of Progress into place. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, at a parade in Dallas, Texas. The picture at the right shows John F Kennedy.
Early Life
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Both sides of his family were very wealthy and were both prominent Irish Catholic Boston families. John was the second oldest of nine extraordinary siblings. One of his sisters is Eunice Kennedy, the founder of Special Olympics, his brother Robert Kennedy was a U.S. attorney general and his brother Ted Kennedy was one of the most powerful senators in American history. Despite being constantly reprimanded by his father, John Kennedy was a bad student and a mischievous boy. He attended a Catholic boarding school and excelled in English and history, but flunked Latin, which he had no interest in. Although Kennedy was obviously brilliant, he remained a mediocre student. Kennedy went on to attending an elite prep school and later spent one semester at Princeton and then transferred to Harvard University. Here, he finally got serious about his studies. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Navy and after he was sent home from the Navy, he ran for U.S. House of Representatives. The picture at the left shows a younger John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy Becomes President
After becoming bored with his job at the Senate, Kennedy decided that he wanted to focus more on international issues posed by the Cold War, so four years later he decided to run for president. On November 8, 1960 Kennedy defeated his opponent Nixon by a very thin margin and became the 35th president of the United States. This made him the second youngest president in history and also the first Catholic president. Kennedy sought to inspire all Americans to be more active citizens.
John F. Kennedy delivering his legendary inaugural speech.
John and Jackie Kennedy and their two kids.
John and Jackie Kennedy at their wedding
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
On November 21, 1963, Kennedy and his wife, Jackie flew to Dallas, Texas. The next day the two of them and the Texas governor rode through downtown Dallas in a Convertible and from an upstairs window, Lee Harvey Oswald, an ex-marine, shot Kennedy twice in the head. Kennedy died shortly after at a local hospital. Oswald was assassinated two days later.
My Reaction
I really enjoyed learning about President Kennedy. It is really interesting that he started out in school being a really bad student and not seeing any potential in himself. Then 40 years later he became the president, that is really interesting and kind of ironic. I also thought that his assassination was really interesting to learn about. I couldn't even imagine why someone would want to assassinate him. I would love to learn more about John F. Kennedy.
Works Cited
John F. Kennedy." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
The Legacy of John F. Kennedy." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.