Kennedy's bravery did not go unnoticed. For his deeds in August 1943 he subsequently received the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Injuries sustained during his courageous exploits and an attack of malaria ended Kennedy's active military service, however. Later in 1943 he returned to the United States, and in 1945 he was honorably discharged from the navy.
After leaving the navy, Kennedy, like many other young men who had served their country during World War II. had to make a decision about his literature career. At Harvard he had become increasingly interested in government. but he did hot originally plan to seek public office. Members of the Kennedy family had expected that the eldest son. navy pilot Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., would enter politics - a hope cut short when he was killed in a plane crash during the war Deeply affected by his older brother's death. Jonh Kennedy in 1945 compiled a memorial volume. As We Remember Joe. which was privately printed. Shortly afterwards he determined to pursue the career that had been the choice of his late brother
Appropriately. Kennedy sought his first elective office in Easl Boston, the low-income area with a large immigrant population that several decades before had been the scene of both his grandfathers political activities. Announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the US House of Representatives in the 11th Congressional District early in 1946, Kennedy, with the assistance of his family and friends, campaigned hard and long against several of the party's veterans and won the primary. Since the district was overwhelmingly Democratic, Kennedy's victory in the primary virtually guaranteed his election in the November contest. As expected, on November 5, 1946, he easily defeated his Republican rival and at the age of 29 began his political career as a member of the House of Representatives.
East Boston voters returned Kennedy to Congress in 1948 and 1950, and for the six years he represented the 11th District he continuously worked to expand federal programs, such as public housing, social security, and minimum wage laws. that benefited his constituents. However, in 1952 the young politician decided against running for another term In the House. Instead he sought the Senate seat held by the Republican Henry Cabot Lodge.
The incumbent Lodge was well known and popular throughout Massachusetts; in contrast, Kennedy had almost no following outside of Boston. But from the moment he announced his candidacy for the Senate, Kennedy, assisted by his family, friends, and thousands of volunteers, conducted a massive and intense grassroots campaign. This hard work brought results: on November 4, 1952, when the landslide presidential victory of Dwight D. Eisenhower carried hundreds of other Republican candidates into local, state, and federal offices throughout the nation, the Democratic Kennedy defeated Lodge by a narrow margin to become the junior senator from Massachusetts.
On September 12,1953, Kennedy married the beautiful and socially prominent Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, who was 12 years his junior. Shortly after their marriage, Kennedy became increasingly disabled by an old spinal injury, and in October 1954 and again in February 1955 he underwent serious surgery. A product of the months of convalescence that followed was his Profiles in Courage, a study of American statesmen who had risked their political careers for what they believed to be the needs of their nation. Published in 1956, Profiles in Courage immediately became a bestseller, and in May 1957 it won for its author the Pulitzer Prize for biography.
During his years in the House and for the first half of his Senate term, Kennedy concerned himself primarily with the issues that particularly interested or affected his Massachusetts constituents. However, when he resumed his congressional duties alter Ins prolonged convalescence, national rather than local or state affairs primarily attracted his attention.
His determination to run for higher office became evident at the Democratic National Convention in 1956. Adam Stevenson, the party's presidential nominee, declined to name a running male. and instead left the choice of a vice presidential candidate to a vote of the delegates. Seizing this opportunity. Kennedy mounted a strong, if last-minute, campaign lorshe nomination in which he was narrowly defeated by Senator Lstes Kefauver of Tennessee Kennedy's efforts were no entirely unrewarded however. He proved himself to be a formidable contender and. perhaps more important, lie came to the attention of the millions of television viewers across the nation who watched; the eonvention proceeding. He was redeemed to the US Senate in 1958.
Shortly after defeat of Stevenson in 1956. Kennedy launched a nationwide campaign to gain the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination. During the tour intervening years, ihe Massachusetts senator developed the organisation that would help him win his goal. Through his personal appearances, ami writings, he also made himself known to the voters ol the United Stales. Kennedy's tactics were successful He won all the state primaries he entered in 1960 including a critical contest in West Virginia, where an overwhelmingly Protestant electorate dispelled the notion that a Catholic candidate could not be victorious - and he also earned the endorsement of a number of state party conventions.
The Democratic National Convention of 1960 selected Kennedy as its presidential candidate on the first ballot. Then, to the surprise of many, Kennedy asked Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, who had himself aspired to the first place on the ticket, to be his running mate. Johnson agreed, and the Demoeralic slate was complete. For its ticket, the Republican National Convention in I960 chose Vice President Richard Millions Nixon and Kennedy's earlier political rival. Henry Cabot Lodge.
Throughout the fall of 1960, Kennedy and Nixon waged tireless campaigns to win popular support. Kennedy drew strength from the organization he had put together and from the fact that registered Democratic voters outnumbered their Republican counterparts. Nixon's strength stemmed from his close association with the popular President Eisenhower and from his own experience as Vice President, which suggested an ability to hold his own with. representatives of the Soviet Union in foreign affairs. The turning point of the 1960 presidential race, however, may have been the series of four televised debates between the candidates, which gave voters an opportunity to assess their positions on important issues, and unintentionally also tested each man's television "presence." Kennedy excelled in the latter area and political experts have since claimed that his ability to exploit the mass media may have been a significant factor in the outcome of the election.
On November 8, I960, the voters of the United States cast a record 68.8 million ballots, and selected Kcnnedy over Nixon by the narrow margin of fewer than 120,000 votes in the closest popular vote in the nation's history. In the Electoral College the tally was 303 votes to 21 John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961. A number of notable Americans participated in the ceremonies: Richard Cardinal Gushing of Boston offered the invocation, Marian Anderson sang the national anthem, and Robert Frost read one of his poems. Kennedy's inaugural address, urging Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country," was memorable. The new Chief Executive also asserted, "Now the trumpet summons us again ... to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle... against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself."
Both challenges were in keeping with what observers would later mark as Kennedy's greatest contribution: a quality of leadership that extracted from others their best efforts toward specific goals. Many felt themselves influenced by his later reminder to a group of young people visiting the White House - that "the Greeks defined happiness as the full use of your powers along the lines of excellence."
Whether because of his-leadership, the climate of the times, or the conjunction of the two, Kennedy's term as President coincided with a marked transformation in the mood of the nation. Before that, complacent in their peace-time prosperity, most Americans were preoccupied with individual concerns. Now came a widespread awareness of needs not previously recognized. No longer could Americans ignore pressing problems that confronted them both at home and abroad, and increasingly, they showed a willingness to try to effect meaningful changes. The new mood was one of challenge, but also one of hope.
As he had promised in his inaugural address, Kennedy successfully sought the enactment of programs designed to assist the "people in the huts and villages of half the world." The Alliance for Progress, a program- ambitious but ultimately less than successful - for the economic growth and social improvement of Latin America, was launched in August 1961 at an Inter American Conference at Punta del Este, Uruguay. The Peace Corps,
which offered Americans a unique opportunity to spend approximately two years living and working with peoples in underdeveloped countries, was a more successful attempt to aid emerging nations throughout the world.
In the realm of foreign affairs, Kennedy's record was a mixture of notable triumphs and dangerous setbacks. He allowed the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out plans laid before his administration for an invasion of Cuba by anti-Communist refugees from that island. Between 1,400 and 1,500 exiles landed on April 17, 1961, at the Bay of Pigs, but suffered defeat when an anticipated mass insurrection by the Cuban people failed to materialize. Severely embarrassed, the administration nevertheless successfully encouraged the creation of a private committee, which ransomed 1,178 invasion prisoners for $62 million.
Cuban Premier Fidel Castro, after repelling the Bay of Pigs invasion, turned to the Soviet Union for military support and allowed the Russians to install secret missile sites in Cuba. From these locations, 90 miles from US soil, the USSR could launch missiles capable of striking deep into the American heartland. Reconnaissance by US observation planes uncovered the Soviet activities. Taking a decisive stand President Kennedy, on October 22, 1962, announced that the United States would prevent the delivery of offensive weapons to Cuba. Kennedy demanded that the USSR abandon the bases and threatened that the United States would "regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union." After a week of intense negotiations. Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev agreed to dismantle all the installations in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba.
President Kennedy gave wholehearted support to American efforts in space exploration. During his administration the nation increased its expenditures in that area fivefold, and the President promised that an American would land on the moon before the end of the 1960s. (On July 20,1969, two American astronauts fulfilled the President's pledge by becoming the first human beings to set foot on the lunar surface.)
During his presidential campaign, Kennedy had stressed the necessity of improving the American economy, which was then suffering from a recession. His aim was to follow a fiscally moderate course, and the achievement of a bal_anced budget was one of his major goals. As President he managed to stimulate the sluggish economy by accelerating federal purchasing and construction programs, by the early release of more than $ 1 billion in state highway funds, and by putting $ 1 billion in credit into the home construction industry.
During his administration, however, increasing hostility developed between the White House and the business community. Anxious to prevent inflation, the President gave special attention to the steel industry, whose price-wage structure affected so many other aspects of the economy. After steel manufacturers insisted on raising their prices in April 1962, Kennedy, by applying strong economic pressure, forced the producers to return to the earlier lower price levels. His victory earned him the enmity of many business people, however.
Kennedy sympathized with the aspirations of black Americans, but he included no comprehensive civil rights legislation in his New Frontier program, fearing that the introduction into a conservative Congress of such measures would imperil all his other proposals. The President relied, instead, on his executive powers and on the enforcement of existing voting rights laws. He forbade discrimination in new federally aided housing, appointed a large number of blacks to high offices, and supported Justice Department efforts to secure voting rights and to end segregation in interstate commerce. In 1962 he used regular army troops and federalized National Guard units to force the admission of a black, James Meredith, to the University of Mississippi, and in 1963 he used federal National Guardsmen to watch over the integration of the University of Alabama.
Despite his broad visions of the American future, Kennedy enjoyed limited success in translating his ideas into legislative reality. A coalition of Republicans and conservative southern Democrats in the 87th Congress stopped many of his plans for the introduction of social measures. And even after the Demo_ratic Party increased its majority on Capitol Hill in the 1962 elections. Congress was slow to cooperate, although it probably was ready to do so just before his presidency came to an end.
John F. Kennedy presided over the execlusive branch of the United States government for only a little more than 1,000 days. During that time American involvement in Vietnam and other areas of Southeast Asia increased moderately, but the beginnings of a thaw in the cold war were also noticeable, and in 1963 the. Soviet Union and the United States signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Kennedy's years in the White House were also marked by increased social consciousness by the US government. With the Great Society program of his successor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Congress eventually enacted a number of Kennedy's proposals, including medical care for the elderly and greater opportunities for black Americans.
In addition to his various governmental programs, Kennedy's presidency was also no_table for a new, vital style. John and Jacqueline Kennedy and their two children, Caroline and John Jr., quickly captured the imagination of the nation, and their activities were widely reported by the media. Cer_tainly the Kennedys exuded a youthful vi-brance, and their interests seemed unending. Jacqueline Kennedy was responsible for redecorating the public rooms of the White House and inviting a glittering array of cul_tural and intellectual leaders to the executive mansion.
An assassin's bullet abruptly ended the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on Novem_ber 22,1963, as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, Texas. The entire nation mourned the tragic death of the Chief Executive. Many millions watched on television as the 35th President was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963.
Every state of the United States and almost every nation in the world has erected memorials to Kennedy. One of the monu_ments dearest to his family is the house at 83 Seals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, where the late President's parents lived from 1914 until 1921 and where four of their chil_dren - including John - were bom. The house was repurchased by the Kennedys in 1966 and was designated a National Historic Site by Congress in 1967. On May 29, 1969, the 52nd anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth, the family turned over the deed of the house to the National Park Service.
Both of President Kennedy's younger brothers, Robert F. and Edward M. Kennedy, served in the Senate. Many of the former President's compatriots hoped to see his goals and promise carried forward when Robert Kennedy, who had served as his at_torney general and closest adviser, an_nounced early in 1968 that he would seek the Democratic nomination for President. In another tragedy that shook the nation to its roots, Robert Kennedy was shot down by an assassin just after claiming victory in the California presidential primary. He died in Los Angeles just over 25 hours later, on June 6,1968.
NAME | SERVED | ACHIEVEMENTS |
| 1. George Washington | 1789-1797 | The first President, he determined in large measure what the job of President should be. Held the country together during its early days and gave it a chance to grow. Ranked by historians as a "great" President. |
| 2. John Adams | 1797-1801 | Saved his country from an unnecessary war. Ranked by historians as a "near great" President. |
| 3. Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | Bought the Louisiana Territory and doubled the size of the country. Made sure the government stayed in the hands of the people. Ranked by historians as a "great" or "near great" President. |
| 4. James Madison | 1809-1817 | Allowed the country to get into unnecessary war, but made peace as quickly as possible. Ranked by historians as an "average" President. |
| 5. James Monroe | 1817-1825 | Took Florida from Spain. Created the Monroe Doctrine. Signed the Missouri Compromise. Ranked as one of the best of the "average" President. |
| 6. John Quincy Adams | 1825—1829 | Rated by some historians as a failure because little was done during his term. Some historians rank him as "average". |
| 7. Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Did more to show how great the powers of the office were than any President after Washington. Used these powers to help make laws. Ranked by historians as a "great" or "near great" President. |
| 8. Martin Van Buren | 1837-1841 | Was caught in one of the nation's worst financial depressions. This was unfairly blamed on him. Ranked by historians as an "average" President. |
| 9. William Henry Harrison | 1841 | Was President for only one month. |
| 10. John Tyler | 1841-1845 | Made clear that on the death a President the Vice President became President with all the powers of the office. Served as a President without a party. Ranked by most historians as "below average". |
| 11 .James Knox Polk | 1845-1849 | Bullied a small, weak nation (Mexico) into fighting a war it did not want, but added California and much of the South-west to the United States. Settled the Canadian border without war. Ranked by historians as a "near great" President. |
| 12. Zachary Taylor | 1849-1850 | Knew little about the duties of a President but faced his problems honestly though with little political talent. Served only two years. Ranked by many historians as "below average." |
| 13. Millard Fillmore | 1850-1853 | Sent the U. S. fleet to open trade with Japan. Helped pass the Great Compromise of 1850. Ranked by historians as "below average." |
| 14. Franklin Pierce | 1853-1857 | Put through the Gadsden Purchase acquiring what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico. Favored the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened the door to the Civil War. Ranked by historians as "below average." |
| 15. James Buchanan | 1857-1861 | Faced the final breakup of the nation over slavery. Tried hard to prevent war but made matters worse instead of better. Ranked by historians as "below average." |
| 16. Abraham Lincoln | 1861-1865 | Held the nation together in its most difficult time. In a speech at the Gettysburg battlefield he said it was the people's duty to make sure "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." More than any other one man, he helped make these words come true. Ranked by historians as a truly "great" President. |
| 17. Andrew Johnson | 1865-1869 | Took office in a. time of great trouble. Fought for what he believed was right, but did not have the power to persuade and lead men. Was impeached by Congress and came within one vote of being removed from office. Ranked by historians from "near great" to "below average." |
| 18. Ulysses Simpson Grant | 1869-1877 | Was personally honest, but many of the men around him were crooks. His administration was one of the most dishonest in American history. One of the three Presidents rated as a "failure". |
| 19. Ruthertord Birchard Hayes | 1877-1881 | Ended the period of Reconstruction. Tried to reform the federal government after the Grant administration. Tried to improve the civil service system, but met with little success. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 20. James Abram Garfield | 1881 | Was killed only a few months after taking office. Yet his death may have done more to improve honesty in government than he could have done had he lived. |
| 21. Chester Alan Arthur | 1881-1885 | Helped pass the first effective civil service laws and administered them honestly. Helped develop a modern navy. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 22 and 24. Grover Cleveland | 1885-1889 and 1893-1897 | Made needed reforms in the federal government. Helped restore the confidence of the people in their government. His intentions were always good, but his methods sometimes failed. Ranked by historians as a "near great" President. |
| 23. Benjamin Harrison | 1889-1893 | Favored a strong foreign policy. Enlarged the navy. Wanted a better civil service, but Congress continually opposed him. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 25. William McKinley | 1897-1901 | Allowed the United States to be pushed into war with Spain, but made the United States a world power. Acquired the Philippines, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico as United States possessions. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 26. Theodore Roosevelt | 1901-1909 | Brought tremendous energy and vitality to the office of President. Used the powers of his office to control the power of huge business concerns. Worked to establish national parks and forests and the Panama Canal. Ranked by historians as one of the "near great" President. |
| 27. William Howard Taft | 1909-1913 | Worked hard for conservation of natural resources. Helped improve the Post Office system. Fought to break the power of the trusts. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 28. Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 | Reformed the banking laws. Worked to improve the antitrust laws, to help the American worker, and to lower the tariff. Tried to stay out of World War I, then tried hard to make it a "war to end all wars." Worked for a League of Nations to keep the world at peace. Failed, but left an ideal of which people still dream. Ranked by historians as a "great" President. |
| 29. Warren Gamaliel Harding | 1921-1923 | In large measure let Congress and his Cabinet run the nation. Was more loyal to his friends than to his country. His was probably the most dishonest administration in United States history. Ranked by historians as a "failure." |
| 30. Calvin Coolidge | 1923-1929 | Believed the powers of the President should be very limited and that government should leave business alone. Took very little action but restored honesty and dignity to the presidency. Ranked by historians as "below average." |
| 31. Herbert Hoover | 1929-1933 | Saw the country plunged into its worst financial depression and was unfairly blamed for it. Tried to improve business, but his efforts were not enough. Ranked by historians as "average." |
| 32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt | 1933-1945 | Saw the United States through two grave crises: the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II. Promoted laws that changed the course of American government. Ranked by historians as a "great" President. |
| 33. Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | Was faced by important decisions and made most of them correctly. Established the Truman Doctrine by which the United States would help other nati-ons trying to stay free of Communist control. Worked for social welfare and civil rights laws. Ranked by most historians as a "near great" President. |
| 34. Dwight David Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | Ended the war in Korea. Tried to lessen troubles with the Soviet Union. Sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school integration. Ranked by most historians as "average." |
| 35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 1961-1963 | Worked for equal rights for all citizens. Established the Peace Corps. Forced the Soviet Union to withdraw its missiles from Cuba |
| 36. Lyndon Baines Johnson | 1961-1969 | Pushed more important laws through Congress than any President since Franklin Roosevelt, including civil rights and antipoverty measures. Tried unsuccessfully to make peace in Vietnam |
| 37. Richard Milhous Nixon | 1969-1974 | Ended U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Opened relations with Communist China. His administration was caught in one of the worst political scandals in American history. |
| 38. Gerald Rudolph Ford | 1974-1977 | His fair and open administration helped to heal the wounds of Watergate. Improved relations with China. Was the first person to occupy the White House without having been elected either President or Vice President. |
| 39. Jimmy (James Earl) Carter | 1977—1981 | Helped bring about a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. Improved relations with Latin America by giving control of the Panama Canal to Panama. Worked to improve human rights throughout the world. |
| 40. Ronald Wilson Reagan | 1981-1989 | Built up U. S. military power Worked to reduce inflation and led the fight to reduce taxes. The national debt increased massively during his administration. In his second term, he began arms-limitation talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. |
| 41. George Herbert Walker Bush | 1989-1993 | His election marked the 200th anniversary of the U. S. presidency. Presided during the breakup of the Soviet Union and the fall of Communist rule in Eastern Europe. In the Persian Gulf war, led a coalition of nations in driving the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. |
| 42. Bill (William Jefferson Biythe) Clinton | 1993— | Won back many of the Democratic and independent voter" who supported Reagan during the previous decade. The first President born after World War II, he took office in a time of transition. The Cold War was over, and Americans were beginning to focus on problems at home, including the national debt and a sluggish economy. |