John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th president of the United States (1961-1963), the youngest person ever to be elected president. He was also the first Roman Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. His achievements, both foreign and domestic, were therefore limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, and his handling of the Cuban missile crisis may have prevented war. Young people especially admired him, and perhaps no other president was so popular. He brought to the presidency an awareness of the cultural and historical traditions of the United States and an appreciation of intellectual excellence. Because Kennedy eloquently expressed the values of 20th-century America, his presidency had an importance beyond its legislative and political achievements. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Kennedy was the second of nine children of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The other children in the family were Joseph, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward. Robert and Edward Kennedy also entered politics. The family was wealthy. By the age of 30, Joseph Kennedy had amassed a fortune through business ventures that included motion pictures, shipbuilding, real estate, and stock-market speculation. The Kennedy family had long been active in politics. Rose Kennedy was the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald, who, as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, was popularly known as “Honey Fitz.” Joseph Kennedy was the son of Patrick Kennedy, a successful businessman and a prominent Boston politician. Although Joseph Kennedy never held elective office, he held appointive positions in the federal government during the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945). to be continued in lesson 3 Go for lunch
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 11:08:43 +0000
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