John F. Kennedy Hero Essay

Although Kennedy’s life was ended too early, he set many proud examples of equality and leadership to our world. He turned problems into answers and solutions. President Kennedy’s death caused much grief and sadness among all Americans across the nation. As the years have gone by and other presidents have written their chapters, JFK’s brief time in the office stands out in people’s memories for his leadership. He believed that people could solve their own common problems if they put their country’s interests first and worked for the answers they

The Cuban Missile Crisis could be known as President Kennedy’s greatest success. Due to the Cold War, tensions were high between the Russia and the United States. Kennedy discovered that the Soviet Union was constructing nuclear and long range missiles at a site in Cuba, which was dangerously close to America. Kennedy handled a difficult situation that could have had devastating effects on the U.S.

"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been” (Henry). This quote from Henry Kissinger is a representation of the Kennedy term in office. President Kennedy took the world to a whole new level; he succeeded in many tasks in his short time as president. John F. Kennedy was great president because of his involvements in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Peace Corps.

These words said by a powerful president, who had helped this country not only be successful but a very strong country. John F. Kennedy said these words to tell Americans, you need to care for your country not just yourself. John F. Kennedy was not only a president but he was in the U.S. Navy, which I think means he has pride in his country and was willing to do anything he could do to make it a better place. In chronological order I will discuss John F. Kennedy’s life, his problems and struggles that made him a stronger man, and Kennedy’s accomplishments that helped change this country and the world.

Kennedy seemed prepared for war, dedicating billions of dollars to defence spending. This was something that the Soviet Union had not been investing in, thus further widening the gap in the Arms Race. If Kennedy anticipated a nuclear attack and was, in some way, prepared for Soviet aggression, then Khrushchev and the Soviet Union would have even less to gain by firing nuclear missiles at the USA (who would have, of course, retaliated). As already established, the Soviet Union would never have been able to win a nuclear war and Kennedy’s preparation and defence spending shows that a nuclear war would not even do as much damage to the USA as the Soviet Union had hoped. In summary, Kennedy had called Khrushchev’s bluff and stood up to him, and consequently Khrushchev needed a new idea because he could never afford to make a nuclear attack on the

On a clear sunny day in Dallas Texas, November 22, 1963 to be exact, at about 12:30pm, the President's car rounded the curve in front of the Texas School Book Depository building and proceeded on to Main Street throughout Dally plaza. Shots rang out and the President was rushed to the nearby hospital and was declared dead at 1pm. The Vice President took the oath of office and flew back to Washington with the slain leader. The accused assassin was arrested, charged and then executed on national television in front of millions. Three days latter, the Texas officials in charge of the investigation declared the case closed and the new President set up a hand picked committee to investigate. The

John F Kennedy's first leadership trait was articulating a vision. Kennedy had a vision to not just finish the cold war but win it. America ended up winning the cold in 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. This is a quote from John F Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” ( John F Kennedy). John F Kennedy said this at a speech he was giving. He said this to the people of the country when they were in the cold war and he was hoping that they would end up winning and finish the war. Another quote from John F Kennedy. “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” (John F Kennedy). John F Kennedy had a vision to build schools for

From Eisenhower, Kennedy inherited the "Cold War" with the Soviet Union. In 1962, when American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S., many thought the nation was at the brink of war. Kennedy imposed a blockade of Cuba but promised not to invade, and the Soviet Union dismantled the missile bases, resolving the confrontation. (Upon seeing photos of the dismantling, Adlai Stevenson, now Kennedy's Ambassador to the U.N, famously said, "We are eyeball to eyeball with the enemy, and I think the other fellow just blinked.") Kennedy also promised to send Americans to the moon and bring them back safely before the end of the decade, and although he did not live to see it, his promise came true. He called his program to make things better for Americans "the New Frontier" and he started the Peace Corps.

President John F. Kennedy was travelling along a predetermined motorcade route in Dallas, Texas when he was fatally shot, receiving wounds to the chest, back, and head. Shortly after the assassination, Dallas police arrested former U.S. Marine Corps Private Lee Harvey Oswald. On November 24 of the same year, Jack Ruby, owner of a Dallas nightclub, shot Oswald. Less than a year after the two murders, on September 24, 1964, the Warren Commission, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, released a report stating their verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President John F. Kennedy "alone and without advice or assistance" (Encarta). Now, thirty-five years after the

“It was just a beautiful reception, a bright, warm, sunny day and thousands of people cheering.” Until, Jackie Kennedy the first lady yelled “They’ve shot his head off.” On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was shot dead, by Lee Harvey Oswald during his visit in Dallas, Texas.

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.

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

The purpose of this battle was to defeat Castro but it was not successful, this defeat falls on the shoulders of Kennedy. One of the big things that John is remembered for is getting the United States space program on its feet. In May of 1961 John makes the address to Congress that says that America will have a man on the moon by the end of the year, though John did not live to see this he is credited for this success. In 1962 Kennedy meets with the Soviet Union to discuss the testing of Nuclear Arms; this is successful because at the meeting an agreement to ban nuclear testing is made. In October 1962, John announces on television that the Soviet Union is storing nuclear missiles in Cuba and they are pointed to America. Six days later the Soviet Union and America reach a compromise, as a result the Soviet Union took their missiles off of Cuba. This is one of the biggest successes in John’s presidential

Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925 in Brookline Massachusetts. He was the seventh child, and third son of Rose Fitzgerald and Joe Kennedy . "I was the seventh of nine children," he later recalled, "and when you come from that far down you have to struggle to survive."( Alden Whitman, 2001).Compared to his brothers, Robert or Bobby as they all called him, was smaller and he struggled to match his brothers athleticism.