preview

John Fitzgerald Kennedy And Joseph Kennedy

Better Essays

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Joseph Kennedy on May 29th 1917. Jack was born into an Irish Catholic family who resided in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. His great grandparents had emigrated from Ireland and worked hard to become successful against the prejudice for the Irish. His namesake, his maternal grandfather became the mayor of Boston. Jake was the second oldest in a family of nine children. He grew up in a family that was very wealthy and had lots of opportunity. In 1936 he entered Harvard where he played football and was an average student. In 1937 his father became the U.S. Ambassador to England. His father’s service piqued his interest in world politics. It inspired him to …show more content…

On July 13, 1960, the Democratic Party elected him as their candidate. Once Jack was chosen he picked his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was well known, as a senator from Texas. In September, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon debated in front of a national audience. “The first ever televised Presidential debates helped Kennedy and defined the importance of television in elections.” “During the crucial TV debates between Nixon and Kennedy, Nixon felt he had to play down the anti-Castro rhetoric because of his personal involvement. On the other hand, JFK, who did not benefit from official knowledge and because of his closeness with the Cubans, forcefully challenged Nixon and took the initiative on that subject during the debates. The edge gained from that single subject may have provided JFK with the votes that gave him his narrow victory.” On November 8, 1960, JFK won the election against the Republican Vice President, Richardson M. Nixon. In that same month his son John Jr. was born. Kennedy was the youngest President at the age of 43, and still is today. He was the 35th president and the first Catholic president. J.F.K.’s swearing in took place on January 20, 1961. One of his most famous quotes from that day in his speech was “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Jack wanted mankind to come together to oppose against certain things but mainly war, and war

Get Access