The 35th President of the United States - Article Example

JOHN F KENNEDY: A PROFILE "Ask not what your country can do for you” echoes the voice of the 35th president of the USA through the ages. There have been many sides to this question and it has been echoed through time. Through the ages, several books have tried to unearth the truth behind the 35th president of the United States of America. He was the first president to be born in the twentieth Century and was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald. He was mourned by people throughout the world. He was renowned as the person who established the Peace Corps and he fought for the rights of African Americans. Childhood and Education John F. Kennedy was born from the line of Irish immigrants, Joseph Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was born in the Massachusetts in the suburbs of Boston. His father was a businessman, a banker and a movie producer. The childhood of John was a very happy one. His brothers Bobby and Ted also entered politics after John, and Bobby was also assassinated like John, while he was running for president (Potter). The would-be president was the second son among nine children. The name John F Kennedy was given to the child to honor his grandfather, the father of his mother, John Francis Fitzgerald, who was the mayor Boston. Though his name was John, the small blue eyed baby came to be called Jack. His father was an Irish Catholic, who had decided that he would be a millionaire by the age of 35. In spite of prejudices and presumptions, he was determined to succeed. Even Jack’s grandparents carved out a place for themselves in Boston politics. So Jack had little trouble enjoying life throughout his young age and lived a very comfortable life. During vacations the children enjoyed swimming, sailing and playing touch football. With considerable support from the elders, the children, especially boys enjoyed competing with each other. His elder brother was a bit heavier than him and Jack often suffered injuries in the not-so-serious clashes they had with each other. At one time, Jack had to have twenty-eight stitches, from a bicycle crash between the two brothers. The boy is referred as someone with “clever individualist mind” by the Head master of his school. But he was not the best student. His father did not force his children to be geniuses, but he really wished them to be good citizens with “good judgment and understanding”. Soon he joined Harvard University, after his elder brother Joe. But it was during his Harvard years that he had the accident that ruptured a disc in his spine. The accident was severe and he had spine problems for the rest of his life (John F. Kennedy). In 1937, Jack’s father was appointed the United States Ambassador to England and the whole family moved to England. Joe and Jack stayed in America, to pursue their studies. It was Joe who declared that he was going to become the President of America, to his family and no one doubted him for a moment, because of his personality and his perseverance. The younger one was only average and Jack seemed somewhat less ambitious to everyone. But fate was to decide otherwise later. He was interested in European politics and when his father went to England, he became more eager to pursue his fascination. He soon became well versed in the politics of Europe. The War Hitler had come to power in Germany and Benito Mussolini was ruling Italy. These two nations had ambitious designs on their neighbors and it was evident that Europe was moving inevitably towards war. Soon their worst fears were realized and Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and World War was unleashed for the second time during the first half of the century. Jack’s thesis, turned out to be a treatment of how unexpectant England was, about a war with Germany. It was published on 1940, under the title ‘Why England Slept’. Soon Jack graduated from Harvard University, and along with his brother joined the Navy. Joe went to Europe and Jack was made Lieutenant, and was given charge of a torpedo boat. The mission of the boat was to stop the German soldiers receiving supplies via ships. But on the night of August 2, 1943, Lt. Kennedy’s boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer coming towards them at full speed. Two of his crew died instantly, and Kennedy suffered an injury to his back once again. All men jumped overboard and clung to a piece of the boat still floating on water. They landed on an island, with Kennedy clutching a strap from his comrade’s life belt with his teeth, thus saving his life too. Next day, Jack and his crew were saved. But during the war, the elder brother Joe was killed while on a mission over Europe. First Citizen After the war, the hero was decorated with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. After considering whether to be a writer or a teacher, his father convinced young Kennedy to run for Congressional seat in Massachusetts. He was elected to the House of Representatives and became Senator in 1952. He got married to Jacqueline Bouvier at the age of 24. As fate would have it, he was taken sick with his back starting to hurt again and he underwent two operations. While convalescing, he wrote the book ‘Profiles in Courage’ and received the Pulitzer prize for the book in1957. It was during this same year that his daughter Caroline was born. His popularity increased day by day and he decided that he would run to be President when the next round of elections came. He along with Lyndon B. Johnson as vice president made a run for it, during the general elections on November 1, 1960. He was elected and became the youngest American President in history. His wife gave birth to their second child John Kennedy Jr. He was the first catholic president of the United States. With the famous introductory speech, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th American President, on January 20, 1961. He made a pledge to fight the common enemies of man namely, “tyranny, poverty disease and war”. JFK’s role in the stand off between US and USSR But things were not so easy in the international scenario, for the young President. The ‘Cold War’ hung over everyone’s head like the Sword of Damocles. He knew that if there was a war millions of people would die. This was so due to the basic difference between the Communist regime in USSR and the democratic system of USA. Both the countries lived in mutual mistrust and spend a lot of money in building up their nuclear arsenal. The crisis over the divided city of Berlin and the fight over the deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba, were all nuclear flashpoints (Biographies & Profiles.John F. Kennedy). With inaugural address that promised to “pay any price” to “assure the survival and the success of liberty”, and at the same time countered with the pledge to “begin anew the quest for peace” , the Soviet Block was left guessing as to the real motives behind the man. He had kept his options open. He knew that “the barbarian may have taken the knife out of his teeth to smile, but the knife is still in his fist”. A summit was considered to be the way out. “It is far better that we meet at the summit than at the brink”. Both sides were aware of crushing economic burden, the horror of nuclear war and pollution by the nuclear tests. When JFK received the Democratic nomination in July 1960, Khrushchev looked for “a spirit of Soviet-American cooperation” which the two countries shared “during the war”. In general the Soviet leader assumed an attitude of general peaceful coexistence. But then Yuri Gagarin had been successfully send to space and United States was seen to be lagging in the Space frontier. To be second in space meant second in everything. Then, the attempted coup in Cuba, complicated things further. The Landing on the Bay of Pigs had complicated things further. Even though it was visualized by the CIA as an internal affair, the blame had naturally come down upon America and ultimately to the President himself. He accepted the failure and was very miserable. Finally, through diplomatic and non-diplomatic channels a stage was set for both leaders to meet at the Vienna summit. The meeting happened on June 3 1961. The administration’s support for the Batista regime was supposedly creating an Anti American feeling in Cuba according to the Soviet leader, along with many places like Germany and Iran. The attempts of the president to block the growth the People’s Republic of China and intervention in Taiwan all came under attack in the summit. Though the formal meeting ended in nothing tangible, the young US president, even at the last moment tried to convey to the Soviet leader that the happenings in Germany was of deeper interest to America. The nation would try to keep American intervention in the Soviet side of Germany to a minimum. The Soviet leader took this as an attempt by US to “humiliate the USSR” and such a move “cannot be accepted”. Matters went from bad to worse in the final words that were exchanged between the two leaders. Though Moscow talked about “equally agreeable” meeting, the president of the United States was in a somber mood and the New York Times reported that “the conference, which started well yesterday, ended in hard controversy”. It was as if the Soviet leader believed the US president lacked the guts and left him out to prove it. The President sensed this and talked about it to Renton, a friend cum journalist. The ultimate outcome was the belief among the Allied block that any talking would only make Khrushchev feel that the Allies would “not do what is necessary to stop him”. It turned out that America had to be ready to undertake nuclear war if necessary. Thus the meeting between Kennedy and Khrushchev had served only to heighten the crisis and later led to the flexing of muscles between the two countries, and to full scale nuclear war (Reynolds). . How JFK worked for African Americans. Next area that fell under his action plan was the suffering that the African Americans faced in America. Though the law of the land permitted no segregation, there were still many institutions, especially schools, which did not obey this law. Racial Discrimination still existed in the open in public places like restaurants, movie theatres, public places and even in buses. The President wanted to end this. He exhorted fellow Americans on television, saying that the nation was founded by men of different nations and backgrounds and that “all men are created equal”. He wanted a sudden end to “one hundred years of delay” since President Lincoln. He wanted all Americans to enjoy a good and happy life in the United States (Biographies & Profiles.John F. Kennedy). It is said of Kennedy that he died as much of a freedom fighter as did Abraham Lincoln. The only difference is that he was martyred after America had been freed from the clutches of slavery. Though America was free, segregation had not died, in America. JFK went forward sacrifice much of his popularity and public support to fight against this racial segregation. He stood for the principle that all men are created equal. Even though a very practical politician, JFK went to his death, believing that the future of America was coupled with the future of African Americans. It is said that even though Abe Lincoln fought slavery, he was opposed to giving Negroes social and political equality. He, just before his death, Lincoln recommended suffrage only for Negro veterans and Negroes who were “very intelligent”. But President Kennedy on the other hand did not consider Negroes different from other Americans. He considered anyone with a sixth-grade education fit enough to vote and did not appoint Negroes to Negroes-only jobs. Kennedy invited Negroes to functions at the White house social functions on a non segregatory basis. He has done more than any other President towards stopping racial discrimination. He desegregated Universities, Schools, the Navy and even housing committees. He set in motion extensive programs to root out causes of juvenile delinquencies and school dropouts. Even the Presidential ceremonial guard was revamped to include Negro citizens. Thus it is said that Kennedy did more than Abraham Lincoln himself in fighting segregation against Negroes (John F kennedy ebony). The man and his method He led a very busy life and worked long hours. He used to get up at seven and worked very late into the night, often till midnight. He read six newspapers while he ate his breakfast and met important people throughout the day. He was always a man who wanted the best for his country and wanted to make sure that the decisions were always sound ones for his country. He believed that America should move on to the New Frontier, which was a new way to think and act. He dreamt of an ideal world which respected democracy and freedom. He wanted America to move into the future and be a pioneer in fostering health and discoveries in science. He created the Peace Corps which provides men and means around the world wherever there was the need. Americans could volunteer to work in this, even to this day, in areas like farming, education health care and construction. He fostered the Space technology in the USA. While trying to defeat the Soviet Union, in the knowledge frontier, he spared to effort or money to unravel the mysteries of space. It was through his initiative that the funds for landing a man on the moon were made a reality. He asked men like scientists, artists, writers, poets, musician’s actors and athletes into the White House. He believed that White House should be a place to celebrate the history and culture of America. His wife was a great housekeeper and shared her husband’s interest in the culture of America. She decorated the White House to truly reflect America’s history. Everyone was surprised at the wonderful change and impressed by her hard work. Even though one of the busiest men in the world, the President found time enough to spend with his wife and his two children, Caroline and John-John (Reynolds). The Tragic End But on November 21, 1963, while in Texas, he was shot to death by Lee Harvey Oswald. He himself was shot to death by Jack Ruby and the death of JFK still remains a mystery. People of the United States were shocked to hear about the death of the youngest President. Hundreds of thousands of men and women gathered in Washington to attend the funeral while millions watched throughout the world. The man and his mission is still remembered for the leadership, personality and accomplishments. Many admired the calm nature with which he made decisions, and he inspired many a person with his erudite speeches. A man who lived and died for his country, that was, John F. Kennedy (Biographies & Profiles.John F. Kennedy ). Works cited: Biographies & Profiles.John F. Kennedy, The 35th President of the United States.2010. March 30,2010. John F. Kennedy. 2010. March 30, 2010. John F kennedy ebony. Chicago: The Johnson publishing company. 1964. Potter, Steve John F. Kennedy, a photo illustrated biography , Mankato:Bridgestone books 1996. Reynolds, David. Summits Six meetings that shaped the twentieth Century ,New York: Basic Books 2007. Read More