Difference between revisions of "John F. Kennedy" - New World Encyclopedia
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*The JFK memorial park in Co. Wexford, Ireland. Kennedy visited Ireland in 1963, and his descendents came from Co. Wexford. | *The JFK memorial park in Co. Wexford, Ireland. Kennedy visited Ireland in 1963, and his descendents came from Co. Wexford. | ||
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*Kennedy was the only Roman Catholic ever to serve as president, and a Fourth Degree [[Knights of Columbus|Knight of Columbus]]. | *Kennedy was the only Roman Catholic ever to serve as president, and a Fourth Degree [[Knights of Columbus|Knight of Columbus]]. | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 02:11, 15 May 2006
- For other persons named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation).
| [[Image:{{{image name}}}|225px|center|John Fitzgerald Kennedy]] | |
| Term of office | {{{date1}}} – {{{date2}}} |
| Preceded by | {{{preceded}}} |
| Succeeded by | {{{succeeded}}} |
| Date of birth | {{{date of birth}}} |
| Place of birth | {{{place of birth}}} |
| Date of death | {{{date of death}}} |
| Place of death | {{{place of death}}} |
| Spouse | {{{wife}}} |
| Political party | Democratic |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, [[1917]November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or "Jack Kennedy", was the 35th President of the United States. Elected in 1961,served until his assassination in 1963. A member of the politically prominent Kennedy family, he is considered an icon. JFK was cited for exceptional bravery during WW11, rescuing fellow sailors in the South Pacific. JFK served in Congress 1946-60 and was elected President in 1960.
Major events during his presidency included the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. JFK created the Peace Corps. in order to encourage young people in America, to serve the world, living for the sake of others. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Official investigations later determined Lee Harvey Oswald to be the culprit.
Military service
JFK volunteered for the U.S. Army,spring of 1941, but was rejected,because of his back.The U.S. Navy accepted him in September of that year with the influence of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), a former naval attaché to Ambassador Joseph Kennedy. He served in the office that supplied bulletins and briefing information for the [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy], as an ensign. During this assignment the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. It was also during this time that he began a romantic relationship with [Inga Arvad], a suspected Nazi spy. When JFK was transferred to the ONI field office in [South Carolina], the relationship ended. He attended the Naval Reserve Officers Training School and Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center before being assigned for duty in [Panama] and the [[Pacific Theater of Operations|Pacific theater]. JFK earned the rank of [lieutenant], during the Pacific Theatre, commanding a PT boat.[1]
August 2nd,1943 JFK's boat, the [Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109|PT-109]', was taking part in a night-time military raid near (New Georgia), near the Soloman Islands, it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy was thrown across the deck, injuring his already troubled spine. Kennedy somehow towed a wounded man three miles through the ocean, arriving on an island where his crew was rescued. Kennedy said that he blacked out for periods of time during the ordeal. For these actions, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, awarded for heroism not involving conflict with the enemy under the following citation:
- For heroism the rescue of 3 men following the ramming and sinking of his motor torpedo boat while attempting a torpedo attack on a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands area on the night of Aug 12, 1943. Lt. KENNEDY, Capt. of the boat, directed the rescue of the crew and personally rescued 3 men, one of whom was seriously injured. During the following 6 days, he succeeded in getting his crew ashore, and after swimming many hours attempting to secure aid and food, finally effected the rescue of the men. His courage, endurance and excellent leadership contributed to the saving of several lives and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Service.
Kennedy's other decorations from the Second World War include the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in early 1945, just a few months before Japan surrendered.
In May 2002, a National Geographic expedition found what is believed to be the wreckage of the PT-109 in the Solomon Islands [2].
==
The 1000 Day Presidency: 1961-1963
Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he called all Americans to the duty as citizens. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", he demanded. He asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." [3] His most important cabinet appointment was that of his brother Robert Kennedy to be Attorney General. Dean Rusk became Secretary of State, and industrialist Robert McNamara became Secretary of Defense. Kennedy's old rival Adlai Stevenson was sent off to the United Nations. Kennedy called his program "The New Frontier" and hoped to reignite a new wave of youthful idealism.
Domestic policies
As senator, Kennedy had shown limited interest in domestic affairs apart from labor union corruption. As president he ignored that issue. Working with his high-powered economic advisors led by Walter Heller he proposed a Keynesian program known as the New Frontier to stimulate the economy to counter the lagging economic growth of the Eisenhower years. The New Frontier called for reduction of unemployment, an increase in education funding, more spending on public housing, and reducing the income tax. These proposals did not pass Congress. Despite some success in helping Speaker Sam Rayburn weaken the powers of Howard Smith's Rules Committee in 1961, the Congress was still effectively controlled by the Conservative Coalition of Republicans and southern Democrats; the alignment remained unchanged after the status-quo midterm elections of 1962. The tax cuts were eventually enacted after his death as well.
Civil rights
A new issue that Kennedy had not anticipated blazed into view as the civil rights movement in the South, led by Martin Luther King, produced dramatic confrontations with segregationist Democrats, especially governors George Wallace of Alabama, and Ross Barnett of Mississippi. A month before the 1962 election Kennedy sent federal marshals and Army MPs to enforce a federal court order that African American student James Meredith be admitted to the University of Mississippi. Violent resistance by townspeople left two civilians dead, hundreds injured, and 166 federals injured. The confrontation in Alabama in 1963 was nonviolent, and boosted Wallace’s visibility as a leader of southern Democrats. Kennedy ignored the risks to his southern base and spoke out in favor of civil rights legislation, but as in so many instances, no legislation was passed.
Foreign policies
President Kennedy was primarily interested in foreign policy, and a supporter of the Containment policy to prevent Communist expansion. Weeks after his memorable inaugural address sounded the tocsin for vigorous anti-communism, he encountered disaster when his attempt to roll back Communism in Cuba failed. Kennedy approved a plan devised during Eisenhower's last year in office that called for an invasion under the direction and control of the CIA. On April 17 in what is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles, called "Brigade 2506" landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba hoping to spark a popular rebellion to depose Castro. The CIA had underestimated popular support for Castro, made multiple mistakes in devising and carrying out the plan, failed to provide the air support that was promised but withdrawn by Kennedy at the last minute, and failed to develop an exit strategy. The exiles did not rally the Cuban people as expected; in two days Castro's forces captured most of the invaders. Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors. After 20 months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for $53 million worth of food and medicine. The incident was a major embarrassment for Kennedy, but he took full responsibility. Historians in 2006 ranked the debacle as the #8 worst presidential mistake ever made.[4]
On the more positive side Kennedy created the Peace Corps and promoted development aid to Latin America.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, sensing weakness, pushed hard on the Berlin issue, and was able to build the Berlin Wall. Kennedy refused to surrender West Berlin and went to the city, proclaiming "Ich bin ein Berliner!" ("I am a Berliner!") Khrushchev and Castro went too far in 1962, secretly setting up medium range missiles in Cuba equipped with nuclear warheads that threatened the southeast as far as Atlanta. In the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy rejected invasion plans but imposed a blockade and demanded the missiles be removed immediately. Khrushchev publicly backed down, but privately got Kennedy to remove American missiles from Turkey, while Castro secured the promise that the United States would never invade his island. The Cuban missile crisis reversed JFK’s image of ineptness in foreign policy. However his quiet, continuous escalation of military involvement in the Vietnam War culminated in the assassination of Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem, which was tacitly approved by Kennedy.
Support of space programs
Kennedy was eager for the United States to lead the way in the space race. Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev's son Sergei has said that JFK approached his father twice for a 'joint venture' in space exploration in June 1961 and Autumn 1963. On the first occasion Russia was far ahead of America, and Khrushchev then said 'nyet' ("no"). Kennedy later made a speech at Rice University in September 1962, in which he said, "no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space" and "we choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." [5]. On the second approach to Khrushchev, the Soviet premier was persuaded that cost sharing was beneficial, and American space technology was forging ahead - the U.S. had launched a geostationary satellite, and Kennedy had asked Congress to approve more than 22 billion dollars for Project Apollo, which had the goal of landing an American man on the Moon before the end of the decade. Khrushchev agreed to a joint venture in Autumn 1963, but JFK died in November before the agreement could be formalized. In 1969, six years after Kennedy's death, the Project Apollo goal was finally realized when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first to land on the Moon.
Administration and Cabinet
|align="left"|President||align="left" |John F. Kennedy||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Vice President||align="left"|Lyndon B. Johnson||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|State||align="left"|Dean Rusk||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Treasury||align="left"|C. Douglas Dillon||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Defense||align="left"|Robert S. McNamara||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Justice||align="left"|Robert F. Kennedy||align="left"|1961–1964
|-
|align="left"|Postmaster General||align="left"|J. Edward Day||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|John A. Gronouski||align="left"|1963
|-
|align="left"|Interior||align="left"|Stewart L. Udall||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Agriculture||align="left"|Orville L. Freeman||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Commerce||align="left"|Luther H. Hodges||align="left"|1961–1963
|-
|align="left"|Labor||align="left"|Arthur J. Goldberg||align="left"|1961–1962
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|W. Willard Wirtz||align="left"|1962–1963
|-
|align="left"|HEW||align="left"|Abraham A. Ribicoff||align="left"|1961–1962
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|Anthony J. Celebrezze||align="left"|1962–1963
|}
Supreme Court appointments
Kennedy appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Byron Raymond White 1962
- Arthur Joseph Goldberg 1962
Image, social life and family
Both Kennedy and his wife "Jackie" were very young in comparison to earlier presidents and first ladies, and were both extraordinarily popular in ways more common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion trends and becoming the subjects of numerous photo spreads in popular magazines.
The Kennedys brought a new life and vigor to the atmosphere of the White House. They believed that the White House should be a place to celebrate American history, culture, and achievement, and invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, musicians, actors, Nobel Prize winners and athletes to visit. Jacqueline Kennedy also gathered new art and furniture and eventually restored all the rooms in the White House. Behind the glamorous facade, the Kennedys also suffered many personal tragedies. Jacqueline suffered a miscarriage in 1955, and gave birth to a stillborn daughter in 1956. The death of their newborn son Patrick Bouvier Kennedy in August 1963 was a great loss.
The charisma of Kennedy and his family led to the figurative designation of "Camelot" for his administration, credited by his widow to his affection for the contemporary Broadway musical of the same name.
Kennedy is the third most admired person in the 20th century, according to Gallup.
Assassination and aftermath
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Friday, November 22, 1963 at 12:30 pm CST while on a political trip through Texas. He was the fourth U.S. President to be assassinated, and the eighth to die while in office. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged at 7:00 pm for killing Dallas policeman, J.D. Tippit, by "murder with malice", and also charged at 11:30 pm for the murder of the president (there being no charge of "assassination" of a president at that time). Oswald was fatally shot less than two days later, in a Dallas police station by Jack Ruby. Because of his own murder, Oswald's guilt or innocence was never determined in a court of law. Five days after Oswald was killed, the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, created the Warren Commission, chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren, to investigate the assassination. It concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. A later investigation in the 1970s by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) also concluded that Oswald was the assassin, however, it added that he was likely part of a conspiracy to kill the president, although the committee did not uncover sufficient evidence to identify any other members of the conspiracy.The assassination is still the subject of widespread speculation, and has spawned a number of Kennedy assassination theories.
Memorials
Kennedy's legacy has been memorialized in various aspects of American culture. To name a few:
- New York Idlewild International Airport was renamed JFK on December 24, 1963. Even though the airport was renamed "John F. Kennedy International Airport," most people refer to it as "JFK," its IATA code.
- The USS John F. Kennedy was awarded on April 30, 1964 as a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.
- The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library opened in 1979 as Kennedy's official presidential library.
- John F. Kennedy University opened in Pleasant Hill, California in 1964 as a school for adult education.
- John F. Kennedy National Historic Site preserves his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1971 in Washington, DC as a living memorial to him.
- A British memorial at Runnymede, England, as well as a memorial bust near Regent's Park in London.
- John F. Kennedy Blvd in Montreal, Canada as well as a large bust on the said Boulevard.
- A memorial on the harbor at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
- Cape Canaveral was renamed Cape Kennedy in 1963, but reverted to its original name in 1973; John F. Kennedy Space Center, however, retained its name.
- Hundreds of schools across the U.S were also renamed in his honor.
- Kennedy was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.
- His portrait now appears on the United States half dollar coin.
- The JFK memorial park in Co. Wexford, Ireland. Kennedy visited Ireland in 1963, and his descendents came from Co. Wexford.
Trivia
- At the age of 43, Kennedy was the youngest person to be elected president. (Theodore Roosevelt became president at a younger age, but he became president after McKinley's assassination.) He was also the first 20th century-born American president. (Kennedy was the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president of the United States. Among presidents born in the 20th century, LBJ was born first.)
- Kennedy was also the last President to die while still in office, the last Democrat from the North to be elected, and the last to be elected while serving in the U.S. Senate.
- Kennedy was the only Roman Catholic ever to serve as president, and a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Secondary sources
- Brauer, Carl. John F. Kennedy and the Second Reconstruction (1977), on civil rights
- Burner, David. John F. Kennedy and a New Generation (1988)
- Dallek, Robert (2003). An Unfinished Life : John F. Kennedy, 1917 1963. Brown, Little. ISBN 0316172383. scholarly biography; special attention to medical issues
- Freedman, Lawrence. Kennedy's Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam (2000)
- Fursenko, Aleksandr and Timothy Naftali. One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958-1964 (1997)
- Giglio, James. The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1991), standard scholarly overview.
- Harper, Paul, and Joann P. Krieg eds. John F. Kennedy: The Promise Revisited (1988) scholarly articles on presidency.
- Harris, Seymour E. The Economics of the Political Parties, with Special Attention to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy (1962)
- Heath, Jim F. Decade of Disillusionment: The Kennedy-Johnson Years (1976)
- Kunz; Diane B. The Diplomacy of the Crucial Decade: American Foreign Relations during the 1960s (1994)
- O'Brien, Michael. John F. Kennedy: A Biography (2005) long and detailed
- Parmet, Herbert. JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1983)
- Reeves, Richard. President Kennedy: Profile of Power (1993)
- Reeves, Thomas. A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy (1991) negative assessment
- Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (1965) by a close advisor.
- Sorenson, Theodore. Kennedy (1966) by a close advisor.
Primary sources
- Goldzwig, Steven R. and George N. Dionisopoulos, eds. In a Perilous Hour: The Public Address of John F. Kennedy, text and analysis of key speeches (1995)
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