Born into a wealthy and famous family, John Kennedy was a privileged youth. He was well educated at private schools and prestigious universities. He joined the Navy in 1941 as was sent to the South Pacific during World War II. He was given command of PT 109 (patrol-torpedo boat). In 1943 his boat was hit by a Japanese destroyer. Heroically, he helped many of the marooned crew to safety. As a result, he was award the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. (There is a movie about this, PT-109)
After the war, Kennedy had aspirations of being a journalist. The cries of political life became too strong and in 1946, he ran and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Massachusetts. He began his term in Congress in 1947 at age 29. He ran twice more before he changed course and ran for U.S. Senate in 1952. Early in his term as a Senator he was forced to have back surgery. During his recovery, he wrote his Pulitzer Prize winning biography “Profiles in Courage”.
He chose to run for President in 1960. His opponent was a well known and former Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy’s youthful and vibrant charisma was a major issue is deciding the election. This was particularly evident in the first-ever televise debates. He was elected by a narrow margin of 120,000 votes and became the youngest man ever elected to the presidency.
In his inaugural address he called on all Americans to join together to end poverty, continue the progress of the United States and fight to win the Cold War against communism. It is here you hear one of his most famous quotes, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.
He was energetic, decisive, and charismatic. Although he is one of the most loved presidents of all time, his leadership was at times controversial and he was not liked by groups of Americans and foreign citizens. Many of the changes he was encouraging were not well received. It is this controversy which led to many of the conspiracy theories surrounding his death.
Unfortunately, just over 1,000 days into his presidency, he was publicly assassinated.
What qualities are necessary to be a great and effective president? How do you think the age of television changed the role of the president and how elections are run? How do you think the use of television, Internet and instant access to news will continue to shape our world, our leaders, and our ideas?
