John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Presidency Essay Example

Introduction

In 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the youngest man to the Oval Office at the age of 43.In addition, Kennedy made history as the first president with a Roman Catholic background. He came from an affluent family. A factor many argue helped him to rise within the ranks to the top office. He beat the Republican candidate Richard Nixon by a whisker. The election of John Kennedy came at a time the world was grappling with cold war that was waged against the Communism. The combination of his youth and experience during his service at the Navy gave the country hope that America was in safe hands. The bedrock of his political support came from the youths. This aura enabled him to sail through past Richard Nixon who hard as served as a vice -president under the powerful Dwight D. Eisenhower. Many historians argue that the election of John Kennedy come with great hope. Unfortunately, he never lived long enough to execute his brilliants ideas and pregnant dreams he had for his country. On November 22, 1963. As the motorcade of President Kennedy moved down the Dallas Trade Matt. Gunshots rented the air. (Ponterotto and Joseph 191) The dust settled and smoked puffed up. Two bullets had found homage on President Kennedy's head and chest. He succumbed to gunshots after arrival at the nearby hospital.

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Early Life

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, in the state of Massachusetts, in 1917. He came as the second son in a family of nine. His father, Joseph Kennedy was not a man of small means. He had walked down and up the corridors of power. He (Joseph) had served in various elective offices in Boston and Massachusetts. He was also the High Commissioner of United States of America to Great Britain (1937-1940). Rose Kennedy was the daughter of John Francis who had been a mayor of Boston, Congressman, and a state legislator. The Kennedys were thus well off with a history of political and public life. John F. Kennedy attended Canterbury parochial school and later Choate school. Illness was later to force young Kennedy to drop out of school. Despite coming from an affluent origin too had his fair share of hard times. Which they agree is only human. Long after he had recovered, he joined Harvard University where he studied international relations and government. Symbolic blueprint of what he was later to be.

John Kennedy attended Harvard University where he graduated with honors in 1940 and proceeded to University of Stanford. Kennedy got enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and served as an intelligent officer in Washington. In 1941. In the same year, The United States joined World II. Kennedy was shipped to South Pacific to fight against Japan. Kennedy displayed military prowess in the World War II until the war halted.

John F. Kennedy Political Career

John Kennedy returned to the United States and decided to consider a career in politics. According to scholars, he gave politics a thought because he had a background of a family that was touch with public life and politics. He joined politics in 1946.He was a candidate for the United of States House of Representatives. He contested in the Massachusetts eleventh congressional district. His family members threw their weight behind him and enabled him to have a strong campaign team. His brothers (Edward and Robert) played key roles in his campaign team. He sailed through to landslide victory. This was later followed by re-election in 1950.( Ellis and Richard, 5) Kennedy used this opportunity to push for affordable housing for the less fortunate alongside fighting other social injustices. Kennedy became a member of Joint Committee on Labor-management relations. Here, he pushed for good working conditions and improved salaries.

John F Kennedy changed gear and ran for Senate in 1952. He beat his opponent, Henry Cabot with a wide gap of over seventy thousand votes. His habitual victory was confirmed in his reelection in 1958. It was evident the young senator from Massachusetts was headed for great things. He was already a household name in the American political landscape.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Presidency

John F Kennedy's heroic military display coupled with his track record in elected office played a key role in his presidential election. Jack (as he was popularly known among his peers) was in the walk. On the contrary, it never turned out to be a walk against the experienced Republican Richard Nixon. His religious orientation came as a dark spot in the presidential race. He was a Roman Catholic (Thompson et al., 723). This hatred based on religious orientation would cost him over million votes in the state of Illinois. Kennedy was later to make a comment on the controversial issue of religion as a president. He made it clear that his religious background would not influence his decisions as a president.( Ellis and Richard 19) Another issue that became a topic of discussion during the campaign was the feeling in a section of people the John Kennedy was riding on the reputation of the family to the White House.

Against this tribulations, came a saving grace. The televised presidential debates placed Kennedy far ahead of Nixon. Kennedy did not only impressed in the uniqueness of his oratory but also showed an articulate approach to issues. Americans viewed themselves better with Kennedy as a president. In an election that was viewed as one of the tightest in the history of the United States, John F. Kennedy emerged as the youngest president.

Challenges that John F. Kennedy faced as a president

The first challenge John F. Kennedy faced as a president was the Cuban Crisis. Kennedy came to power at a point in time when the world was first changing. Cold War emerged and lasted for over decades. This greatly defined John F. Kennedy's presidency; International affairs were influenced by a political power struggle. In 1962, the United States attempted to oust the Cuban leader Fidel Castro (Cook, Robert and Clive 170). The international tension was heightened. The Soviet came in support of Cuba, and this nearly resulted in a war between the United States and Soviet. The stalemate was calmed when John Kennedy struck reached out for Soviet leader Nikita.

The second crisis that President Kennedy grappled with in his short tenure was the Civil Right Movement. The civil right crusaders demanded fair treatment (Thompson et al., 621).This greatly divided the nation. It threatened to plunge the United States into another civil war.President Kennedy publicly showed his distaste for this racial intolerance. In 1963, Birmingham and Alabama plugged into racially instigated violence. African American was treated as a lesser being and constantly denied access to public facilities such as school, restaurants, and hospitals. Kennedy indulged himself in this matter by appointing many African-Americans to key positions in his administration. Nonetheless, scholars view Kennedy's indulgence in the civil right crisis as noncommittal.

President Kennedy's dream for his country and the world would end with his assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas. The assassin was identified as Lee Harvey Oswald. God gave him all the gifts but the length of time (Cook, Robert and Clive 180). In conclusion, the vibrant president was taken away by the cruel hands of death over five decades ago. He became more popular in death than in life. For many decades both the democrats and Republicans have struggled to identify with him. His public rating among Americans has remained high.

Works cited

Cook, Robert, and Clive Webb. "Unraveling the special relationship: British responses to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy." The Sixties 8.2 (2015): 179-194.

Ellis, Richard. "Greatness" Revisited: Evaluating the Performance of American Presidents in Terms of Cultural Dilemmas." The Beleaguered Presidency. Routledge, 2017. 1-28.

Ponterotto, JOSEPH G. "John F. Kennedy, Jr. and the torn self: A psychological portrait." The Journal of psychohistory44.3 (2017): 221.

Thompson, Luke R., et al. "A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity." Nature 551.7681 (2017).