John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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Life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Youth and Family
Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the son of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald.
Years later, it would be revealed that Kennedy had been diagnosed as a young man with Addisons Disease, a rare endocrine disorder. This and other medical disorders were kept from the press, and the public, throughout Kennedys life.
Kennedy attended Edward Devotion School (from Kindergarten to 3rd Grade) and then Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, one of the countrys most elite private boarding schools, from which he graduated in 1935. He sailed to London and enrolled at the London School of Economics, with the intention to study there for a year. Unfortunately an illness hospitalized him and his dad forced him to come back to the U.S.. He enrolled at Princeton University, but became jaundice. A year after he started in Harvard College. After 2 years Kennedy was prescribed steroids to control his colitis, which only worsened his medical problems causing him to develop osteoporosis of the lower lumbar spine. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June 1940. Kennedys honors thesis, called “Why England Slept” about the Munich Agreement became a bestseller.
In 1941 Kennedy volunteered for the U.S. Army, but was rejected- mainly because of his troublesome back. Half a year later he volunteered for the U.S. Navy, which also accepted him. He participated in many commands in the Pacific theater (the PTO is the term used in the U.S. for all military activities in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering to it, during World War II) and became lieutenant, commanding a patrol torpedo boat. On August 2, 1943, Kennedys boat, the PT-109, was took part in a night-time military invasion near New Georgia (near the Solomon Islands) when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy was thrown across the deck, and injured his already troubled back. Still, Kennedy somehow dragged a wounded man three miles through the ocean. He arrived on an island where his crew was rescued. For this, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. During World War II Kennedy had received the following medals: Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. In 1945 Kennedy was honourably discharged. In May 2002, a National Geographic expedition found what is thought to be the wreckage of the PT-109 in the Solomon Islands.
Political Career
After World War II Kennedy entered politics (mainly because his brother Joseph P. Kennedy died in World War II and the family had all their political hopes on Joseph). Kennedy ran for the seat of a Representative in a democratic district and -of course- got it.
In 1953 Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier. During the following two years Kennedy underwent many spinal operations. He was often absent from the Senate. During this period, he published “Profiles in Courage” showing eight examples of U.S. Senators, who risked their careers by standing to their personal beliefs. The book was awarded in 1957 with the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
In the 1950s Senator Mc Carthy was (along with the Kennedy family) one of the most popular and prominent Irish -American. Mc Carthy and Joseph P. Kennedy had been friends before Mc Carthy became prominent. Joseph P. Kennedy contributed thousands of dollars to Mc Carthy and became one of his major supporters. Mc Carthy at one point also dated JFKs sister, Patricia. In the Senate race of 1952, Joseph handled out a deal that Mc Carthy, a Republican would not make campaign speeches for the GOP ticket in Massachusetts. In return, JFK would not give any anti-Mc Carthy speeches that his liberal supporters wanted to hear. In 1953 Joseph P. Kennedy, JFKs father urged Mc Carthy to hire Robert Kennedy (age 27) as a senior staff member. In 1954 when the Senate was threatening to condemn Mc Carthy, Senator Kennedy faced a dilemma. “How could I demand that Joe Mc Carthy be censured for things he did when my own brother was on his staff?” asked John F. Kennedy. In 1954 Robert Kennedy no longer worked for Mc Carthy. John Kennedy had a speech drafted calling for the censure of Mc Carthy, but he never held it. When the Senate vote to censure Mc Carthy on December 2nd 1954, Senator Kennedy was in the hospital and never indicated then or later how he would vote.
Senate
In 1952 Kennedy ran for the Senate with the slogan “Kennedy will do more for Massachusetts”. He defeated the Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. by a margin 70 000 votes.
In 1956, Kennedy campaigned for the Vice Presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, but the convention delegates selected Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver instead. However, Kennedys efforts helped pushed his reputation within the party.
In 1958, Kennedy published the first edition of his book “A Nation of Immigrants”.
Election and Presidency
In 1960, Kennedy declared his wish to run for President in the United States. In the Democratic primary election, he faced challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Adlai Stevenson.
Kennedy won key primaries like Wisconsin and West Virginia. In West Virginia Kennedy made a visit to the coal mines to speak to the mine workers. In West Virginia there were many Protestants who believed that Kennedy, being a catholic, would let Catholicism influence his decisions.
Foreign Affairs
Bay of Pigs Invasion
He Bay of Pigs invasion named after the beach “Bahia de Cochinos” in the southwest of Havana was planned and funded by the United States to support Cuban exiles, to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. It can be seen as the climax of anti-Cuban U.S. actions after Castro had toppled the regime of General Batista. The U.S. could not tolerate Castros bond to the former Soviet Union and was forced to find unofficial way to stop him. Kennedy did not want to interfere officially provoking undesired geopolitical reactions abroad. Cuba possessed a lot of artillery, infantry weapons, bombers and other modern weapons that endangered Americas security. The only solution to the problem was to be asked by a Cuban government for support to get access to its territory for the U.S. military. An official invasion would not have been tolerated by the world.
The CIA had begun recruiting and