John F. Kennedy

For other people named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation).

"JFK" redirects here. For other uses, see JFK (disambiguation).

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
Vice President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Succeeded by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Personal details
Born	May 29, 1917 Brookline, Massachusetts
Died	November 22, 1963 Dallas, Texas
Nationality	american
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Signature

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. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. A member of the politically prominent Irish-American Kennedy family, he is considered an icon of American liberalism. During World War II, he was cited for exceptional bravery and heroism while rescuing a fellow sailor in the South Pacific. Kennedy served his home state of Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress during 1947–1960, as both a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. He was elected President in 1960 in one of the closest elections in American history. He is the only Roman Catholic to serve as President.

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. In academic rankings of U.S. presidents, scholars usually grade Kennedy above average, but among general public polls he is often regarded as among the greatest Presidents. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Official investigations later determined Lee Harvey Oswald to be the culprit. His assassination is considered a defining moment in U.S. history due to its traumatic impact on the nation, its impact on the political history of the ensuing decades, his subsequent branding as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations, and for the mystery and conspiracy allegations that surround it.

Early life and education

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald.

Kennedy attended Edward Devotion School for four years (kindergarten in 1922 to third grade), followed by a stint at the Dexter School in Boston, a year at Canterbury School, and then Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, one of the country's most elite private boarding schools for boys, from which he graduated in 1935. On September 25, 1935, he sailed to London with his parents and his sister Kathleen. There he enrolled at the London School of Economics with the intention of studying political economy for a year under the tutelage of Professor Harold Laski, but an illness hospitalized him shortly after his enrollment. His father insisted he return to the US. Later that fall of 1935, he enrolled in Princeton University, but was forced to leave after contracting jaundice. The next fall, he began attending Harvard College. Kennedy traveled to Europe twice during his years at Harvard, visiting Britain, while his father was serving as ambassador to the Court of St. James's. In 1937, Kennedy was prescribed steroids to control his colitis, which only increased his medical problems causing him to develop osteoporosis of the lower lumbar spine [1]. After graduating Harvard, he attended Stanford University’s business school for a few months and then traveled to South America.

In 1940, Kennedy wrote his honors thesis, entitled "Why England Slept," about the British dealings concerning the Munich Agreement. He initially intended for his thesis to be for college use only, but his father encouraged him to publish it in a book. He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June 1940. His thesis was published in 1940 and became a bestseller. [2]

Years later, it was revealed that Kennedy had been diagnosed as a young man with Addison's Disease, a rare endocrine disorder. This and other medical disorders were kept from the press and public throughout Kennedy's lifetime.

Military service

Main article: PT-109

In spring 1941, Kennedy volunteered for the U.S. Army but was rejected, mainly because of his troublesome back. Nevertheless, 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. As an ensign, he served in the office that supplied bulletins and briefing information for the Secretary of the Navy. It was during this assignment that the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. He attended the Naval Reserve Officers Training School and Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center before being assigned for duty in Panama and eventually the Pacific theater. He participated in various commands in the Pacific theater and earned the rank of lieutenant, commanding a patrol torpedo (PT) boat.[3]

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J.F. Kennedy on his navy patrol boat, PT 109

On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's boat, the PT-109, was taking part in a nighttime military raid near New Georgia (near the Solomon Islands) when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy was thrown across the deck, injuring his already-troubled back. Still, Kennedy towed a wounded man three miles (5 km) in the ocean, arriving at an island where his crew was subsequently rescued. Kennedy said that he blacked out for periods of time during the life-threatening ordeal. For these actions, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal 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 1–2, 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 affected 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 Naval Service.

Kennedy's other decorations in World War II included 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 [4].

Early political career

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A young Senator Kennedy in 1953

After World War II, Kennedy entered politics, partly to fill the void of his popular brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., on whom his family had pinned many of their hopes but who was killed in the war. In 1946, Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in an overwhelmingly Democratic district to become mayor of Boston, and Kennedy ran for that seat, beating his Republican opponent by a large margin. He was a congressman for six years but had a mixed voting record, often diverging from President Harry S. Truman and the rest of the Democratic Party. In 1952, he defeated incumbent Republican Henry Cabot Lodge for the U.S. Senate. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12, 1953. He underwent several spinal operations in the two following years, nearly dying (receiving the Catholic faith's "last rites" four times during his life), and was often absent from the Senate. During this period, he published Profiles in Courage, highlighting eight instances in which U.S. Senators risked their careers by standing by their personal beliefs. The book was awarded the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.

1960 presidential election

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Kennedy and Richard Nixon shake hands before one of the 1960 televised debates

Main article: United States presidential election, 1960

In 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States. In the Democratic primary election, he faced challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, and Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee in 1952 and 1956, who was not officially running but was a favorite "write-in" candidate. Kennedy won key primaries like Wisconsin and West Virginia. In the latter state, Kennedy made a visit to a coal mine, and talked to the mine workers to win their support; most people in that conservative, mostly Protestant state were deeply suspicious about Kennedy being a Catholic. Kennedy emerged as a universally acceptable candidate for the party after that victory. On July 13, 1960, the Democratic Party nominated Kennedy as its candidate for President. Kennedy asked Johnson to be his Vice-Presidential candidate, despite clashes between the two during the primary elections. He needed Johnson's strength in the South to win what was considered likely to be the closest election since 1916. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, Cuba, and whether both the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the U.S. To allay fears that his Roman Catholicism would impact his decision-making, he said in a famous speech in Houston, Texas (to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association), on September 12, 1960, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me." [5] Kennedy also brought up the point of whether one-quarter of Americans were relegated to second-class citizenship just because they were Catholic.

In September and October, Kennedy debated Republican candidate Vice President Richard Nixon in the first televised U.S. presidential debates. During the debates, Nixon looked tense and uncomfortable, while Kennedy was composed, which led the television audience to deem Kennedy the winner, although radio listeners in general thought Nixon had won or the debate was a draw. [6] Nixon did not wear make-up during the debate, unlike Kennedy. The debates are considered a political landmark: the point at which the medium of television played an important role in politics.

Presidency

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Kennedy gives his memorable inauguration address

Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", he said. He also 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." [7]

Foreign policies

Kennedy meeting with Berlin mayor Willy Brandt, March 1961

Cuba and the Bay of Pigs Scandal

On April 17, 1961, Kennedy gave orders allowing a previously planned invasion of Cuba to proceed. With support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in what is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1,500 U.S.-trained Cuban exiles, called "Brigade 2506", returned to the island in the hope of deposing Fidel Castro. However, the United States did not offer air support, and the CIA underestimated popular support for Castro and made several mistakes in devising and carrying out the plan. By April 19, Castro's government had killed or captured most of the invading exiles and 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 personal responsibility for the debacle. [8]

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962, when American U-2 spy planes took photographs of a Soviet intermediate-range ballistic missile site under construction in Cuba. Here Kennedy faced a dilemma: if the U.S. attacked the sites it might lead to nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. If the U.S. did nothing, it would endure the perpetual threat of nuclear weapons within its region—in such close proximity that if the weapons were launched pre-emptively, the U.S. may have been unable to retaliate. Another fear was that the U.S. would appear to the world as weak in its own hemisphere. Many military officials and cabinet members pressed for an air assault on the missile sites, but Kennedy ordered a naval blockade in which the U.S. Navy inspected all ships. He began negotiations with the Soviets and, a week later, he and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reached an agreement. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles while the U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and also secretly promised to remove U.S. ballistic missiles from Turkey within six months. Following this incident, which brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or since, Kennedy was more cautious in confronting the Soviet Union.

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Official White House portrait

Latin America and Communism

Arguing that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable", Kennedy sought to contain communism in Latin America by establishing the Alliance for Progress, which sent aid to troubled countries in the region and sought greater human rights standards in the region. He worked closely with Puerto Rican Governor Luis Muñoz Marín for the development of the Alliance of Progress, as well as developments on the autonomy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Peace Corps

As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy created the Peace Corps. Through this program, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction.

Vietnam

Kennedy used limited military action to contain the spread of communism. Determined to stand firm against the spread of communism, Kennedy's policy included political, economic, and military support for the unstable South Vietnamese government, which included sending 18,000 military advisors and U.S. Special Forces to the area. Kennedy also agreed to the use of napalm, defoliants, free-fire zones and jet planes. U.S. involvement in the area continually escalated until regular U.S. forces were directly fighting the Vietnam War in the next administration. The Kennedy Administration increased military support, but it was not working. By July 1963 Kennedy faced a crisis in Vietnam. The Administration's response was to assist in the coup d'état of the President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem (LeFeber, "America, Russia and the Cold War", p. 233). In 1963, South Vietnamese generals overthrew the Diem government, by assassinating Diem. Kennedy sanctioned Diem's overthrow. One reason for the support was a fear that Diem might negotiate a neutralist coalition government which included Communists, as had occurred in Laos in 1962. Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, remarked "This kind of neutralism...is tantamount to surrender."

West Berlin Speech

On June 26, 1963, Kennedy visited West Berlin and gave a public speech criticizing communism. While Kennedy was speaking, some people on the other side of the wall in East Berlin were applauding Kennedy and showing their distaste for Soviet control. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an example of the failures of communism: "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in." The speech is known for its famous phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner".

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy pushed for the adoption of a Limited or Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but did not prohibit testing underground. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to the treaty. Kennedy signed the treaty into law in August 1963.

Ireland

On the occasion of his visit to Ireland in 1963, President Kennedy joined with Irish President Eamon de Valera to form The American Irish Foundation. The mission of this organization was to foster connections between Americans of Irish descent and the country of their ancestry. Kennedy furthered these connections of cultural solidarity by accepting a grant of armorial bearings from the Chief Herald of Ireland.

Further information: The Ireland Funds

He also visited the original cottage where previous Kennedys had lived before emigrating to America, and said, "This is where it all began...."

Domestic policies

Kennedy called his domestic program the "New Frontier." It ambitiously promised federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, and government intervention to halt the recession. Kennedy also promised an end to racial discrimination. In 1963, he proposed a tax reform that included income tax cuts, but this was not passed by Congress until 1964, after his death. Few of Kennedy's major programs passed Congress during his lifetime, although, under his successor Lyndon Johnson, Congress did vote them through in 1964-65.

Civil rights

The turbulent end of state-sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most pressing domestic issues of Kennedy's era. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools would no longer be permitted. However, many schools, especially in southern states, did not obey the Supreme Court's injunction. Segregation on buses, in restaurants, movie theaters, bathrooms, and other public places remained. Kennedy supported racial integration and civil rights, and during the 1960 campaign he telephoned Coretta Scott King; wife of the jailed Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., which perhaps drew some additional black support to his candidacy.

In 1962, James Meredith tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi, but he was prevented from doing so by white students. Kennedy responded by sending some 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to ensure that Meredith could enroll in his first class. Kennedy also assigned federal marshals to protect Freedom Riders.

As President, Kennedy initially believed the grassroots movement for civil rights would only anger many Southern whites and make it even more difficult to pass civil rights laws through Congress, which was dominated by Southern Democrats, and he distanced himself from it. As a result, many civil rights leaders viewed Kennedy as unsupportive of their efforts.

On June 11, President Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling. George Wallace moved aside after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard. That evening Kennedy gave his famous civil rights address on national television and radio. [9] Kennedy proposed what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [10] [11]

Space program

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JFK looks at the space craft Friendship 7, the spacecraft that made three earth orbits, piloted by astronaut John Glenn

Kennedy was eager for the United States to lead the way in the space race. Sergei Khrushchev says JFK approached his father, Nikita, twice about a "joint venture" in space exploration—in June 1961 and Autumn 1963. On the first occasion, Russia was far ahead of America in terms of space technology. JFK 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."[12]. On the second approach to Khrushchev, the Russian was persuaded that cost-sharing was beneficial and American space technology was forging ahead. The U.S. had launched a geo-stationary satellite and Kennedy had asked Congress to approve more than $22 billion for the Apollo Project, 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. On July 20, 1969, almost six years after Kennedy's death, the Project Apollo's goal was realized when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon.

Cabinet

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Kennedy's Cabinet meets during the Cuban Missile Crisis

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	John F. Kennedy	1961–1963
Vice President	Lyndon B. Johnson	1961–1963
State	Dean Rusk	1961–1963
Treasury	C. Douglas Dillon	1961–1963
Defense	Robert S. McNamara	1961–1963
Justice	Robert F. Kennedy	1961–1963
Postmaster General	J. Edward Day	1961–1963
	John A. Gronouski	1963
Interior	Stewart L. Udall	1961–1963
Agriculture	Orville L. Freeman	1961–1963
Commerce	Luther H. Hodges	1961–1963
Labor	Arthur J. Goldberg	1961–1962
	W. Willard Wirtz	1962–1963
HEW	Abraham A. Ribicoff	1961–1962
	Anthony J. Celebrezze	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

Further information: Kennedy political family

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 Kennedy brothers during the 1960 campaign: John, Robert, and Edward (Ted)

The Kennedys brought new life and vigor — a favorite word of Kennedy — 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 they invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, musicians, actors, Nobel Prize winners and athletes to visit, notwithstanding Kennedy's own well-known middle-brow intellectual and aesthetic tastes. Jacqueline Kennedy also bought new art and furniture and eventually restored all the rooms in the White House.

The White House also seemed like a more fun, youthful place, because of the Kennedys' two young children, Caroline and John Jr. (who came to be known in the popular press as "John-John" though years later Jacqueline Kennedy denied that the family called him by that name). Outside the White House lawn, the Kennedys established a preschool, swimming pool, and tree house. Jackie did not like the children to be photographed, and during her frequent absences, Kennedy asked photographers to come and photograph the children in the Oval Office. He was quoted as saying, "Jackie's not here, so you´d better come over right away." The resulting photos are probably the most famous of the children, and especially John Jr. in particular, after he was photographed playing underneath the President’s desk.

The President was closely tied to popular culture. Things such as "Twisting at the White House" and "Camelot" (the popular Broadway play) were part of the JFK culture. Vaughn Meader's "First Family" comedy album—an album parodying the President, First Lady, their family and administration—sold about 4 million copies. On May 19, 1962 Marilyn Monroe sang for the president at a large birthday party in Madison Square Garden.

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. Although the daughter was unnamed, later reports indicated that the Kennedys had intended to call her Arabella. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery next to her parents with a marker reading "Daughter". The death of their newborn son in August 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, was a great loss. In the years following the Kennedy presidency it came to be known that Kennedy carried on numerous extra-marital dalliances throughout his presidency, all connived at by those members of the presidential staff and members of the press who were aware of them at the time. This has lent considerable nuance to the well-honed public relations of the time.

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. She gave an interview to Theodore H. White where she mentioned Camelot (the musical), and White later said that he had "found the headline".

Assassination

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President Kennedy, Jackie, and Governor John Connally in the Presidential limousine shortly before the assassination

Main article: John F. Kennedy assassination

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. CST on Friday, November 22, 1963, while on a political trip through Texas. President Kennedy was fatally wounded in the back and side of the head. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged at 7:00 p.m. for killing a Dallas policeman by "murder with malice", and he was also charged at 11:30 p.m. for the murder of the President (there was no charge for the "assassination" of a President at that time). Oswald was fatally shot less than two days later in a Dallas police station by Jack Ruby. Texas Governor John Conally survived the bullet he received. Five days after Oswald was killed, 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 it was likely that he was part of a conspiracy to kill the President, and that it was likely one additional shot (that missed) was fired from another location. The HSCA did not find sufficient evidence to identify any other members of a conspiracy. The Assassination was captured on Super 8 mm film by Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder. The film shows the President clutching his throat when the first bullet to wound him entered his neck. We see the President's head recoil from the force of the bullet that entered his skull. There is visible blood splatter, and then the President slumps to his left onto the seat. The President's wife proceeds to climb onto the trunk of the car.

Historians have proposed several Kennedy assassination theories which contradict the various theories that have been proposed by the American government's official reports. There is no consensus among investigations carried out by the American government on the number of bullets fired at the President, the direction from which all the bullets were fired, and which of the bullets struck the President, and Governor John Connally, who was wounded in the attack.

Oswald denied shooting anyone, and he claimed that he was being set up as a "patsy". He claimed the photograph of him holding the alleged murder weapon was a fabrication. However, because of his own murder, Oswald's guilt or innocence was never determined in a court of law. Some critics contend that Oswald was not involved at all and that he was framed.

Among the multitude of supposed conspirators in the assassination are the CIA, the Mafia, the KGB, Fidel Castro, exiled Cubans and extremist Latin Americans, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the military-industrial complex. These conspiracy theories were first brought to public attention by author Mark Lane, and when New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison began an investigation into the murder and brought the only trial regarding the murder of John Kennedy-- the defendant, Clay Shaw was acquitted by the jury after less than one hour deliberation.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested just 80 minutes after Kennedy was assassinated.

Legacy and memorials

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The world mourned the assassinated President.

Television became the primary source by which people were kept informed of events surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination. Newspapers were kept as souvenirs rather than sources of updated information. U.S. networks switched to 24-hour news coverage for the first time ever. Kennedy’s state funeral procession and the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald were all broadcast live in America and in other places around the world.

The assassination had an effect on nearly everyone, not only in the U.S., but also among the world population. Many vividly remember where they were when first learning of the news that Kennedy was assassinated. U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson said of the assassination that, "all of us...will bear the grief of his death until the day of ours."

Ultimately, the death of President Kennedy and the ensuing confusion surrounding the facts of his assassination are of political and historical importance insofar as they marked a decline in the faith of the American people in the political establishment — a point made by commentators from Gore Vidal to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Coupled with the murder of his own brother Senator Robert F. Kennedy and that of Martin Luther King, Jr., the five tumultuous years from 1963 to 1968 signaled a growing disillusionment within the well of hope for political / social change that so defined the lives of those who lived through the 1960's. Kennedy's introduction of the U.S. to the Vietnam War preceded President Johnson's escalation of a conflict which contributed to a decade of national difficulties and disappointment on the political landscape. The Watergate scandal of President Richard Nixon's administration is widely recognized as being the final stroke in this process of diminishing trust in government.

Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery

On March 14, 1967, Kennedy's body was moved to a permanent burial place and memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Kennedy is buried with his wife and their deceased children, and his brother Robert is also buried nearby. His grave is lit with an "Eternal Flame." Kennedy and William Howard Taft are the only two U.S. Presidents buried at Arlington.

Many of Kennedy's speeches (and especially his inaugural address) are considered iconic, and despite his relatively short term in office and lack of major legislative changes during his term, Americans regularly vote him as one of the best Presidents, in the same league as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some excerpts of Kennedy's inaugural address are engraved on a plaque at his grave at Arlington.

Kennedy is also sometimes credited with giving American Catholics the full recognition they deserved as American citizens. He is also seen as responsible for giving Catholics full opportunities in politics outside of the Northeast.

Memorials

Kennedy's legacy has been memorialized in various aspects of American culture. They include:

Kennedy commemorated at the site of his famous 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech in West Berlin

• New York International Airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24, 1963. Short forms of this, particularly "JFK", have replaced its former commonly used nickname "Idlewild".
• NASA's Launch Operations Center at Cape Canaveral was renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Cape Canaveral itself was likewise renamed Cape Kennedy, but reverted to its original name in 1973.
• The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy was named on April 30, 1964.
• 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.
• The John F. Kennedy National Historic Site preserves his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
• The Harvard Institute of Politics serves as a living memorial that promotes public service in his name.
• The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1971 in Washington, D.C., as a living memorial to him.
• A new, unnamed bridge spanning the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, completed four days ahead of Kennedy's assassination, was afterwards quickly named the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge.

Hundreds of schools across the U.S were also renamed in his honor.

Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Kennedy's portrait now appears on the United States half dollar coin.

Criticism

A famous handbill/poster circulated on November 21, 1963 in Dallas, Texas—one day before the assassination of John F. Kennedy

However, a number of critics argue that his reputation is undeserved. Although he was young and charismatic, he had little chance to achieve much of his vision during his presidency. Under this reasoning, his immense popularity was the result of the optimistic beginnings of many programs declared to be of great benefit to the United States, its people, and various global issues, and, the national trauma of his assassination. The Civil Rights Act that he sent to Congress in June 1963 was, at least in part, conceived by his brother and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and it was signed into law by his successor, Lyndon Johnson, in 1964.

Some critics point out that Kennedy started the process which lead to the U.S. getting involved in a complete war in Vietnam. They point to Kennedy sending over 18,000 military advisors and introducing napalm, defoliants, strategic hamlet, free-fire zones and jet planes to the Vietnam conflict, which the previous administration was not willing to do--encouraging President Johnson to escalate U.S. involvement.

It is suggested by Kennedy's critics that his failure to disclose the severity of his health concerns represented something of a failure of professional integrity; he was treated privately for Addison's disease.

According to the US Senate Church Committee, Kennedy carried on an affair with Judith Campbell Exner, who was simultaneously having an affair with Sam Giancana, the boss of the Chicago Mafia, while Giancana was conspiring with the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro.

Seymour Hersh's The Dark Side of Camelot (1998) presents one such critical analysis of the Kennedy administration, stating that Kennedy "was probably one of the unhealthiest men ever to sit in the Oval Office," because of Addison's Disease, a bad back, as well as recurring childhood illnesses venereal infections. Robert Dallek's An Unfinished Life (2003) is a more traditional biography but contains a lot of detail about Kennedy's health issues. Thomas Reeves' A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy is a sharply critical research text for Kennedy's "revisionism." Noam Chomsky, in his book Rethinking Camelot: JFK, the Vietnam War, and US Political Culture (1993), presents a thesis on the Kennedy administration in opposition to the one that lingers in the memory of many Americans.

Source:[13]

Trivia

• Kennedy is the only Roman Catholic to serve as President of the United States.
• Kennedy was the last President to die while still in office, the last Democrat from the North to be elected, and the last president to be elected while serving in the U.S. Senate.
• Kennedy was the first 20th-century-born U.S. President. (Although he was the first person born in the 20th century to serve as U.S. President, LBJ was the first American president born in the 20th century (chronologically)).
• Kennedy was younger than five of his succesors: Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.
• Kennedy was a collector of scrimshaw carvings made by sailors from bones of whales and other marine mammals. His interest in scrimshaw helped to popularize this particular folk art.
• Of all the Presidents in U.S. history, Kennedy has the most public schools named after him.
• Kennedy had the shortest life span of any President and is the first US President to be survived by both of his parents.
• Commander of his PT boat squadron was future Attorney General John Mitchell.

Kennedy in film

• PT 109 (1963): played by Cliff Robertson
• The Missiles of October (1974, TV): played by William Devane
• The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977): played by William Jordan
• Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye (1977, TV): played by Paul Rudd
• Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977, TV): played by Sam Chew Jr.
• King (1978, TV): played by William Jordan
• Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981, TV): played by James Franciscus
• Blood Feud (1983, TV): played by Sam Groom
• Kennedy (1983, TV): played by Martin Sheen
• Prince Jack (1985): played by Robert Hogan
• Robert Kennedy & His Times (1985, TV): played by Cliff De Young
• J. Edgar Hoover (1987, TV): played by Art Hindle
• LBJ: The Early Years (1987, TV): played by Charles Frank
• Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988, TV): played by David Gillum
• The Kennedys of Massachusetts (1990, TV): played by Steven Weber
• JFK (1991): Film about the assassination; Kennedy played by Steve Reed
• Malcolm X (1992): played by Steve Reed
• Ruby (1992): played by Gérard David and Kevin Wiggins
• Sinatra (1992, TV): played by James F. Kelly
• J.F.K.: Reckless Youth (1993, TV): played by Patrick Dempsey
• Forrest Gump (1994): played by Jed Gillin
• Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996, TV): played by Perry Stephens
• The Rat Pack (1998, TV): played by William L. Petersen
• Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1999, TV): played by Matt Norklun
• Thirteen Days (2000): played by Bruce Greenwood
• Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000, TV): played by Tim Matheson, who at the time was also playing a fictional vice-president on the series The West Wing.
• Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot (2001, TV): played by Daniel Hugh Kelly
• Bubba Ho-Tep (2002): played by Ossie Davis
• Power and Beauty (2002, TV): played by Kevin Anderson
• RFK (2002, TV): played by Martin Donovan
• America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story (2003, TV): played by Randy Triggs

See also

• G.I. Joe figure as PT-109 commander
• Kennedy assassination theories
• State funeral of John F. Kennedy
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• John F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Robert F. Kennedy assassination
• Kennedy Compound
• John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts
• U.S. presidential election, 1960
• History of the United States (1945–1964)
• Jesuit Ivy
• Peace Corps
• John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
• John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede, England
• Kennedy Memorial Trust
• Five cents John Kennedy, postage stamp
• Whiz Kids
• Evelyn Lincoln, personal secretary to the President
• Kennedy Doctrine
• Lincoln/Kennedy Coincidences
• Coincidence theory
• Kennedy curse
• "Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy"
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References

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)

Secondary sources

• Brauer, Carl. John F. Kennedy and the Second Reconstruction (1977)
• Burner, David. John F. Kennedy and a New Generation (1988)
• Dallek, Robert (2003). An Unfinished Life : John F. Kennedy, 1917 - 1963. Brown, Little. ISBN 0-316-17238-3.
• 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 of policies
• 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)
• Hersh, Seymour (1997) The Dark Side of Camelot Highly negative assessment
• Heath, Jim F. Decade of Disillusionment: The Kennedy–Johnson Years (1976) general survey of decade
• 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), the most detailed biography
• Parmet, Herbert. JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1983)
• Piper, Michael Collins. " Final Judgment" 2004 (sixth edition). American Free Press.
• Reeves, Richard. President Kennedy: Profile of Power (1993) balanced assessment of policies
• Reeves, Thomas. A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy (1991) hostile assessment of his character flaws
• 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.

External links

• Video Footage of John F. Kennedy
• Another Video Footage of John F. Kennedy
• John F. Kennedy's Will
• John F. Kennedy Library
• John F. Kennedy Birthplace National Historic Site
• The White House Biography
• JFK at the Avalon Project
• JFK's Secret White House Recordings @ University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs
• Armigerous American Presidents Series
• The JFK Years And Popular Culture
• Audio clips of Kennedy's speeches and other commentary
• JFK Reloaded - Recreate the assassination of JFK
• InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Nelley Connally (TV Interview with in-car eye witness of Kennedy assassination)
• Assassination of President Kennedy Encyclopaedia
• McAdams website about JFK
• article: Facts and Fiction in the Kennedy Assassination
• John F. Kennedy in United States Census Records
• Medical and Health history of John F. Kennedy
• Works by John F. Kennedy at Project Gutenberg
• St. John the Liberal?
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• Gretchen Rubin radio interview. November 4, 2005 on Up To Date.
• See John F. Kennedy's inaugural address from the National Archives.
• Presidents of the United States [14]
• Archive.org collection of audio recordings.

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