John F. Kennedy – A Thousand Days Essay, Research Paper

John F. Kennedy was destined to be president

of the United States. He would rather mold history than let history mold

itself. John Kennedy was born in Brookline, MA in 1917. His mother was

Irish and his father was a graduate of Harvard University and had entered

the business world. After their arrival as immigrants, John’s grandparents

entered politics. John had attended four different schools before attending

Harvard. He first attended Dexter School in Brookline where he played football.

He was then enrolled at the Riverdale Country Day School in Bronxville,

NY because his father had moved for business reason. He had also attended

the Canterbury School in New Milford, MA and then he spent his secondary

school years at Choate in Wallingford, CT. As a student, Kennedy was average.

He had potential of a great intellect and had a capacity to learn but he

failed to apply himself. Therefore, he was happy as a B student.

In 1946, JFK started down the road mapped

out for him by his father. Since Kennedy was more of a scholar than a politician,

it wasn’t easy when he ran for Congress from Massachusetts’ 11th district.

Since his family was well known, he fit right in.

He served in the House of Representatives

for six years. Then in 1952, he ran for the Senate against Henry Cabot

Lodge. He won and then began to capture the eyes of men in the Democratic

Party. In 1956 he decided to run as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee,

but he lost to the Senator of Tennessee. His effort, however, earned him

national prominence, exactly what he wanted. In 1960 he won the Democratic

Presidential Contest. From that time on JFK had developed into one of the

most effective speakers in the history of the presidency.

While a junior member of the Senate in

1952, Kennedy me Jacquelin Lee Bouvier, who was working as a photographer

for the Washington Times Herald. On September 12, 1953, they married in

Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. Although Kennedy was not born a politician, he

learned the trade fast. His quest for presidency started in 1959. His campaign

was a very exhausting experience for him. He had planned early on that

he would “cover everything, do everything and see everyone.”

The highlight of the 1960 Presidential

Campaign was the series of four television debates between Kennedy and

his opponent, Richard M. Nixon. Even off screen, Kennedy had a way of turning

the debates to his advantage. When the ratings were in, Kennedy had clearly

passed up his opponent by a considerable margin. Many experts believe that

his appearance on television was the key factor in winning most of the

votes. They said that Nixon came off poorly and even looked poorly.

When all the speeches were over, Kennedy

returned to Boston to cast his vote at the West End Branch Library. Within

a few hours it was clear that Kennedy had been elected to do one of the

most demanding jobs in the world. John Kennedy had two children, Caroline

and John Jr. Mrs. Kennedy tried very hard to keep them out of the spotlight

because she was afraid that it would have an adverse effect on their development.

John Jr. loved to hang out in his father’s office. John always found time

to spend with his family. It was very rare that he didn’t unless there

was a very hectic issue he had to deal with as president.

While the children were cared for much

of the time by Maud Shaw, their private nurse, Mrs. Kennedy would take

over whenever time allowed. More than anything else, the children of John

Kennedy served to personalize and humanize the man. Scenes of the president

playing with his children, carrying their teddy bears, listening to their

problems and caring for their needs were deeply moving scenes. And when

he died, Caroline and John were not yet old enough to understand. Someday

they will and they, more than anyone, will be able to remember the human

side of the man who worked so long and hard for his country. Maybe Caroline

summed it up when she once said, “That’s not the president, that’s my daddy.”

Jackie Kennedy was the daughter of a New

York banker, John Bouvier and Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss of Georgetown. Following

a liberal arts education in American schools, Jackie went to Paris to study

at the Sorbonne. Just after meeting John Kennedy when she was a freshman

senator, she took a job as a photographer and reporter with a Washington

Newspaper. She interviewed and wrote about many of the leading political

figures.

As husband and wife, John and Jackie were

very compatible. Each nurtured a deep appreciation and trust of the other

and each held the other’s view of life in deep respect. But as John’s political

career rose, she had begun to realize that she wanted the quiet life she

had always dreamed of. Above all, she wanted privacy, for herself and for

her children. She knew that as the presidency grew her dream would become

farther away. As a one-time journalist she understood all this, yet she

couldn’t stop it completely without hurting her husband’s career. Because

of this she adjusted. She protected her children from the prying cameras

of the professionals and the tourists as much as possible. November 22,

1963 started out promisingly under Texas skies. Air Force 1, the presidential

jet, landed at Dallas’ Love Field at 11:37 a.m. The President was touring

the Lone Star State for political reasons. JFK got off the plane, got into

his limo and was on his way to a luncheon at the Trade Mart and was lead

by cops. Many teenage girls were holding signs wanting to shake the president’s

hand. At this point he had less than 15 minutes to live. While going by

the Texas Book Depository Building he had less than a minute to live. Within

the next minute, three explosions could be heard and John F. Kennedy fell

wounded into his wife’s arms. The Texas Governor, John Connally, who was

with Kennedy, was seriously wounded. Then the presidential limo rushed

Kennedy three miles to the Parkland Hospital. A team of doctors tried to

bring back his life but it had already vanished.

Police and secret service agents rushed

toward the Texas Book Depository, believing that the shots had been fired

from there. People were showing their great sympathy to Jackie who lay

by her husband’s side. Kennedy was dead instantly. Many countries like

France, England, Germany, Ireland, and Italy, which had all been visited

by Kennedy, the people wept. On Monday, November 25, 1963, John F. Kennedy

was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors,

and with many of the world’s leaders in attendance. His widow stood by,

courageous to the end, and he would have admired that, for as brother,

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, noted afterward, courage was the virtue

that John F. Kennedy admired most. And courage was clearly the stuff that

John F. Kennedy was made of.