John F. Kennedy : A President With A Different Sense Of Confidence

The Cuban Missile Crisis all started in October, 1962, when an American spy plane spotted and secretly photographed missile sites being built on the island of Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy did not tell the Soviet Union right away that we had found their nuclear missile site. But days later, President Kennedy meet secretly with his advisors to discuss the situation. President Kennedy and his advisors though long and hard about what to do and the finally came up with an idea. Kennedy decided to put a naval blockade around the island of Cuba. The purpose of this was so Cuba could not get anymore military supplies for the Soviet Union. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles that were already there be disabled and that the sit be destroyed. Later on, Kennedy told America what was happening on a televised address. Everyone was anxious about what the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, would say about the naval blockade. But both President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev recognized that the devastation that a nuclear war will bring is too much.

President Kennedy came to office with warnings of a missile gap. The Soviets had achieved or were achieving a significant advantage in strategic nuclear weapons. Though tensions ran even higher, "Eisenhower’s strategy of massive retaliation made little sense and did not account for the rapidly growing Soviet nuclear arsenal4. Kennedy's nuclear strategy became known as flexible response. The idea was to acquire the military forces that could deal flexibility with varying levels of Soviet Aggression3. The most serious confrontation between Russia and the US was the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Link to Stephanie's page) Soviet leader Khrushchev attempted to place intermediate range missiles in Cuba. Kennedy responded by imposing a quarantine on Cuba. This resulted in the removal of the Soviet missiles and led to Kennedy making the decision to dismantle U.S. missiles based in Turkey. Some analysts argue that the successful outcome was due to the United States’ nuclear superiority, which proved that strategic superiority offered important political advantages5.

Kennedy came from a line of businessmen and politicians, so it only fit that he would follow. His father, Joseph Sr. Kennedy, had very high expectations for his family of 7 children. John was not always the best student in school, but he was clever and enjoyed history and English. He entered into Harvard University in 1936 and played football. Kennedy’s father was appointed United States Ambassador to England in 1937, and because of this, John became very interested in politics and world affairs.1 After graduating from Harvard, JFK entered the military and became a Lieutenant. He even received a Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his leadership and courage. He then decided to become a politician, and he served 3 terms in the House of Representatives then was elected to the U.S. senate in 1952. Kennedy became quite popular as a politician, so it was no surprise when he was nearly picked to run for Vice President in the 1956 election. Therefore, he decided to run for president in

had ever received. Instead of tactics such as “massive retaliation,” Kennedy had a different idea. This was called “flexible response.” Flexible response is the idea that instead of instant aggression, we try and use forms of diplomacy (talking it out) to fix our issues. (Ayers). This strategy worked a multitude of times and is still used today. Kennedy was constantly fighting to send economic aid to small countries that he feared were being slowly consumed by communism. He was also intent on sending supplies to war-torn and third world countries, showing his use of military aid. Though he tried his hardest to stay away from war, there was a very notable time in our history where he was forced to. This was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. America had discovered Soviet missiles in communist Cuba pointed at the U.S. Kennedy ordered that the Soviets must remove their nuclear warheads. The Soviets refused, saying that Kennedy must remove the American nukes in Turkey. Kennedy refused and ordered a military blockade of ships to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. Kennedy stated that if a single ship crossed the blockade, they would open fire. In order to test us, the Soviets sent one ship slightly across. Kennedy was able to see through their tricks and ordered the U.S. fleet to stand down. Soon, the entire Soviet fleet left, showing that we had won. Kennedy kept us from the brink of nuclear war where it could have very well happened. This was the beginning of the end of the Cold War.

President Kennedy is remembered as a leader and statesman who dreamed big and offered a bold vision for the future. Although his presidency was tragically cut short to just a thousand day. His ideas live on through signature programs like the Peace Corps and living memorials like the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. His words and actions have inspired generations of Americans to get involved in public service and become active and engaged citizens. JFK called on Americans to think about the challenges we face as a nation and what kind of a country we want to build. Any elected official my generation probably did and will always look at JFK as the sort of leader, as to why we might have decided to get involved in politics.

The late president John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, “Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can” (“John F. Kennedy” BrainyQuote.com). Kennedy was a young and fresh political figure at the time of his election in 1960. The thirty-fifth president of the United States was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the youngest president ever, as well as the first and only Roman Catholic president (Bass, et al.). His presidency was shortened by an assassin on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy preceded his presidency with a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1953) and a term in the U.S. Senate (1953-1961) (“John F. Kennedy” History.com). Kennedy, a

“Today John Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. He lives on in the mind and memories of mankind” (Swanson 203). When Lyndon Johnson addressed this in his speech, he was exactly right. John F. Kennedy will always be in the memories of his family members, but also in all the lives of the United States citizens because he was such a tremendous president. The day John F. Kennedy died was a nightmare for not only Jacqueline Kennedy, but also for Caroline Kennedy and John Kennedy, Jr. The next months were the worst for the Kennedy family. Even though the Kennedys were devastated by John F. Kennedy’s death, they had many grateful memories to cherish in the time of mourning. In looking back upon those cherishable

In January of 1961, John F. Kennedy, or usually known by his initials JFK, became the 35th President of the United States. He was sworn in at the young age of 43, becoming the youngest man elected to office and the first of the Roman Catholic faith. Kennedy, a distinguished man of confidence, was known for his good looks, irresistible personality, and oratory skills. Kennedy is said to have “brought to public life not only the hard assets of leadership, but the rarest capacity to illuminate ideas by the grace of his personality and the clarity of his speech” (Freeman, par 5). Justin O'Neill in his article, “The Day The President Was Shot,” continues the idea stated by Freeman, asserting that “many Americans saw Kennedy as a symbol of hope

Conflicts between the two nations was inevitable. Kennedy issued a public warning against the introduction of offensive weapons into Cuba, he also considered options that would resolve the crisis. Some of the options they were invading Cuba and taking down their missiles with air strikes, some of the other non-aggressive options they gave away were giving warnings to Cuba and the Soviet Union –“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”- ---John F. Kennedy-. President Kennedy and Khrushchev struggled to understand each other’s intentions. On May 1955 the united nations brought together the USA, U.K, Canada, France, Soviet Union to negotiate on ending nuclear weapons

John Fitzgerald Kennedy explored the world of politics when he entered politics and later became president. He explored a lot of stress and pain, knowing that one wrong move could send this country downhill in an instant. I mean, if you were in his shoes. I am pretty sure that you would probably have grey hair in two weeks. He has to explore difficult dispositions like the Cuban Missal crisis that could have started World War three if we didn 't have a smart president like John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He also had to deal with the racist people who didn 't respect black people just because their skin was a different color than the white people. John Fitzgerald Kennedy did not like that black people were being treated differently one bit. John Fitzgerald Kennedy encountered a lot of things during his life. Like he encountered many sicknesses when he was a kid and all the way to even when he died. He had to have many surgeries throughout his life. He had a lot of things wrong with him. He would always admire his older brother Joe, who was killed while doing a very dangerous job. He had to fly an airplane that had thousands of explosives in it, and sadly the whole plane blew up killing Joe and two other people on that dangerous mission. John Fitzgerald Kennedy had to encounter his brother 's death.

Before he held the title of President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born into a wealthy family on May 29,1917 (Freidal and Sidey). His father had accumulated wealth likely by bootlegging or making illegal business transactions, although these theories have been disputed. Regardless of how his family earned their wealth, Kennedy was very well off. He attended Harvard and graduated in 1940, originally desiring to become a journalist. Kennedy then went on to serve in the Navy during World War II and was praised as a hero after sustaining severe injuries he led his men away from their cruiser sunk by Japan (White House). After the war, John mourned the loss of his brother Joe Jr. and abandoned his pursuit of a career in journalism, turning to politics instead. He wished to fulfill his father’s vision for Joe Jr. by becoming the first Catholic President of the United States (White House). Kennedy quickly flew through political offices, and at the age of twenty-nine he entered congress. In 1952, Kennedy moved from the House of Representatives to the Senate, and a year later married Jaqueline (or “Jackie”) Lee Bouvier. Kennedy was then set back for a short amount of time for surgery on his back, and during this time wrote a book that would go on to win a Pulitzer prize in 1957. In 1960,

During Kennedy’s presidency he was obsessed with his weight and would travel everywhere with a bathroom scale, so that he could see how much he weighed. He tried to learn how to speak French and even asked his daughter’s teacher for help (8). During his presidency he used 16 pens to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty on September 24, 1963 (8). Kennedy had a lot of back pains and problems all because one of his legs was shorter than the other. He received last rites four times: after becoming sick in England, a high fever in Japan, and back surgery on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas (8). He believed that people could solve their common problems if they would just put their country’s interests first and work together, not against each other.

Born in 1917, John F. Kennedy grew up in a wealthy family with influence both politically, and economically. His grandfather was a famous politician, his father a billionaire, and his brothers he grew up with would go on to become well known politicians. Growing up in a family like this, it would appear hard to distinguish yourself, however, JFK would go on to surpass them all by becoming the 35th, and perhaps most beloved president of the United States.

Out of the huge selection of presidents to choose from that served our country, John F Kennedy deserves the rights to be considered one of the greatest presidents of all time. In the short time amount of time that he served before he was assassinated, he still made an impact and was also the youngest that was ever elected at the age of 23. He had many defining moments during his time and the way he led the country is what tagged him to be one of the greatest presidents that the United States has ever had. He showed leadership, passion, and responsibility toward his country. He may not have been the perfect president, but Kennedy did a lot to make a positive impact to our people and communities.

The 35th President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, was an amazing man. John was a President that served in our countries military, funded the program of N.A.S.A, and put bills into congress to desegregate schools and public places. From the second oldest child born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the president that succeeded in giving all Americans the rights they deserved, he truly was amazing. His legacy still impacts people today.