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| John F Kennedy |
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despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.
Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in
1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12th, 1953. In 1955, while
recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize
in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years
later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with
the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote,
Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President.
His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do
for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his
campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country
on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a
massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty.
Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal
rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. His vision of America extended to the quality of
the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society.
He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of
human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American
idealism to the aid of developing nations. But the hard reality of the Communist challenge
remained.
Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and
trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a
failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy
replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength,
including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection
of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe.
Instead, the Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was
discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all
offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the
Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. The American response to the
Cuban crisis evidently persuaded Moscow of the futility of nuclear blackmail.
Kennedy now contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear
weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963.
The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of "a world of
law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion." His administration thus saw
the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.
Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in
1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12th, 1953. In 1955, while
recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize
in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years
later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with
the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote,
Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President.
His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do
for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his
campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country
on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a
massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty.
Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal
rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. His vision of America extended to the quality of
the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society.
He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of
human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American
idealism to the aid of developing nations. But the hard reality of the Communist challenge
remained.
Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and
trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a
failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy
replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength,
including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection
of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe.
Instead, the Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was
discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all
offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the
Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. The American response to the
Cuban crisis evidently persuaded Moscow of the futility of nuclear blackmail.
Kennedy now contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear
weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963.
The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of "a world of
law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion." His administration thus saw
the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.
Born on May 29th, 1917, John
Fitzgerald Kennedy was 35th
President of the United States.
JFK, as he is often referred to,
served from January 20th, 1961
until he was assassinated by Lee
Harvey Oswald on November 22nd,
1963.
Kennedy was the youngest man
elected President; he was the
youngest to die.
Graduating from Harvard in 1940,
he entered the Navy. In 1943, when
his PT boat was rammed and sunk
by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy,
Fitzgerald Kennedy was 35th
President of the United States.
JFK, as he is often referred to,
served from January 20th, 1961
until he was assassinated by Lee
Harvey Oswald on November 22nd,
1963.
Kennedy was the youngest man
elected President; he was the
youngest to die.
Graduating from Harvard in 1940,
he entered the Navy. In 1943, when
his PT boat was rammed and sunk
by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy,