John F Kennedy was a very influential man. He had multiple effects on the American life around him during his time. While researching JFK, I asked myself questions that might have helped me reflect upon his life. One question I asked was “how did JFK differ from other politicians of his time”. Another question I asked was “How did others view Mr. Kennedy’s ideals, and how did this affect his presidency”. In addition to this, my final question was “What did President Kennedy do to improve life for Americans both back then and today?”. These helped me to understand the great influence Mr Kennedy had on not just America, but the entire world possibly. One way that President Kennedy affected society, is how he did a lot to provide a …show more content…
Kennedy stood out from other politicians of his time in many ways. For one, he kept his cool in one of the most stressful times in American history. Signs of this can be seen when the JFK Library states ¨Many respect his coolness when faced with difficult decisions--like what to do about Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962.¨ ("John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum." John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum , www.jfklibrary.org/.) This shows that John F Kennedy was a man capable of keeping his cool in situations that others may not be able to. Along with that, his campaign was partly promising the security of black rights, something most other politicians had ignored until now. This information is addressed by the U.S News when they state " It seems obvious today that civil rights should be spoken of in universal terms, but at the time many white Americans still saw it as a regional, largely political question. And yet here was the leader of the country, asking 'every American, regardless of where he lives,' to 'stop and examine his conscience.' "("The Story behind JFK's Landmark Civil Rights Speech." US News , www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2013/06/11/the-story-behind-jfks-1963-landmark-civil-rights-speech.)This shows JFK’s motivation to provide a fair life for everyone in the nation.Furthermore, he wanted to make Americans feel more free than they did currently, which could be seen when …show more content…
However, the way people viewed his ideals influenced his presidency greatly. As an example, many thought of him as someone who could bring in an era of younger thinking, which worked for some people, but some thought this might be a threat to the nation’s security. Examples of this can be seen in the Miller Center’s article, when they claim “For many observers, his presidency came to represent the ascendance of youthful idealism"("John F Kennedy: Life in Brief." Miller Center , millercenter.org/president/kennedy/life-in-brief). I can infer from this that many people would be on opposite sides in this idea of a younger president. In addition, he stood for his ideals even though others disagreed with them. This can be seen when he attempts to support african americans in the JFK library article. An excerpt from the text displays "Kennedy deferred civil rights legislation to avoid alienating southern Democrats"("John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum." John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum , www.jfklibrary.org/). This tells me that Kennedy knew some thought his ideas of promoting African American liberties was viewed as questionable by some. However, these pale in comparison to how he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald did this because he had been conspiring against Kennedy. Evidence supporting this is found in the White House’s article when it proclaims "John Fitzgerald
Charismatic, attractive and an ideal politician and president, are the words commonly used to describe president John F. Kennedy who served from 1961-1963 as the 35th president of the United States. However, the image often associated with him allows Americans to forget that John F. Kennedy was a president of many faults.The first fault being, the Southern Strategy in the 1960s, which showed his ability to manipulate large groups of people as a politician. Another fault is his continuous determination that led the United States towards the war in Vietnam. The fault most commonly associated with his presidency is the invasion of Cuba, which led to the death of 1,000s of Americans, and initiated the Soviet Union to seek a Nuclear War. One of his greatest faults was his own determination, John F. Kennedy increased the amount of aid sent to South Vietnam, because he wanted to stop the spread of Communism. However, this triggered the Soviet Union to aid the North and these actions eventually led the United States closer to the Vietnam War. The president approved the assassination of Diem, which led to South Vietnam’s fall into political chaos, and eventually led the United States to the Vietnam War. These events and actions show how, ultimately John F. Kennedy remembered for being ideal, was not truly what he made himself out to be.
Kennedy served two terms in the U.S House of Representatives. John also ran for U.S senate to beat the Republican incumbent and he won the seat (“John F. Kennedy: Life Before the Presidency”). JFK was a well known conservative Democrat for all of his political career, which contributed to his nomination as the Democratic party's candidate. He was also known for speaking his mind and knowing when to change things. For example, he was frustrated with the senate so he left and ran for president eventually winning (“Biography of JFK”), “If JFK wanted something done he would do it himself”(Hodgson). JFK’s strong leadership was one of the contributing factors to his
His help to bring segregation of blacks and whites to an end took flight. He helped bring the war to a halt and brought peace back to our country, along with ending a dispute that Russia that could have lead to a nuclear war. He managed make Russia back down from there missiles and come to peace. His administration saw a new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world. Kennedy stated the famous saying “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your
Kennedy provided the American people the hope and motivation that they originally lacked during a time of international chaos through one of the most inspiration speeches in American history. With an excellent use of ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his speech, Kennedy not only inspired just the American public, but also people of other nations around the world. Without the use of such strategies, the American people would have lacked the amount of motivation and hope they required in order to make the fight to change
Kennedy had many accomplishments during his short presidency. One of these accomplishments was in regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He played a lead role in figuring out how to settle this with the Soviet Union. He also abolished the federal death penalty in 1962. He initiated Project Apollo which ended up accomplishing landing the first humans on the moon between 1969-1972!
John F. Kennedy was a fantastic president by most accounts, but that does not mean he was without his flaws. He was a good man, with many fans in and out of politics, including one of the authors of Killing Kennedy, Bill O’Reilly. He says, “To them (his family), he was a saint.” (9) his thoughts reflecting those of most
The Kennedy family was full competitiveness and excellence; so much so that when JFK was elected President of the United States, it may have been an every-other-day type event for them. With grandfathers as successful bankers and congressmen, a father as an ambassador for Britain and chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and siblings as senators, the U.S. Attorney General, and founder of the Special Olympics, John Fitzgerald was destined for greatness. One of the possible reasons why Kennedy was such a great president could be his interest in history growing up. He learned from history and saw the types of mistakes made by past presidents to avoid, a very valuable trait for a leader. President Kennedy’s lifetime held many successes and few failures.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” (Matuz 574). John Fitzgerald Kennedy believed that change is inevitable. It was going to happen not matter what and will affect and alter life, but if one dwells on the past they will miss out on all of the good things change will bring you in the future. Which represents JFK’s presidency, he always focused on the conflict in front of him and did what he could to improve the nation. As one of the youngest, energetic presidents he represented his years as president, full of social reform, and improving foreign relations. After his assassination, Americans summed up his presidency as “dependable” with the way he handled the Cuban
According to the Barber’s Analysis of presidents personalities says that Kennedy was an Active-Positive president. The active-positive category is the only group where the presidents are seen as confident instead of having low self-esteem. Among that trait the category also includes being optimistic, being flexible, and being one that relishes power. These personality traits might have cause Kennedy cause to be a more effective leader over someone who was considered a passive-positive or active –negative president. Both passive-positive and action-negative personalities have low self-esteem and are equally driven by a longing to be accepted.
First, John F. Kennedy was highly admired by the country. John F. Kennedy was admired for many reasons. One of these reasons was the he was young and many people thought he was good looking. He was also very popular due to the being on the first nationalized debates on the television. However, one of the biggest factors was his success. Due to all of his work John F. Kennedy did during his presidential term he was liked by all groups of people. All of these factors combined made John F. Kennedy highly admired by the country Next, John F. Kennedy was exceptional at dealing with foreign issues.
“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can for you – ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was the top rated and popular president the U.S. has ever had. During his roughly 1000 days in office he had an approval rating of 70% with the closest being Dwight Eisenhower with 65%. Since then, 74% of people believe he did an above average or outstanding job while only 3% believe he did a below average or poor job. With all of those facts, November 22, 1963, may go down as one of the most controversial days in the United States of America. President Kennedy was visiting Dallas during his re-election campaign. During a democratic gathering, Kennedy stressed the importance of winning Florida and Texas for the upcoming election. He then planned trips to both states to try to win over the people and also the democratic leaders in those states. First lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy left the White House on November 21 on Air Force One. The President’s first stop was San Antonio where he met Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John B. Connally, and Senator Ralph W. Yarborough. He had a few meetings in San Antonio but ended the day at a hotel in Fort Worth. When he woke up, he had a small rally where he was received very well. After the rally, he and his party made their way to Dallas. The couple was met by hundreds of supporters at their airport and they, and the Connally’s, got into the open
On one hand, John F. Kennedy was a cautious president who ultimately did nothing to expand civil rights for African Americans or women. Kennedy did establish the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women to assist him with issues concerning women. With this being said, the committee was not the kind of legal progress people wanted at the time. New Liberalism focused heavily on equality. He avoided
John F Kennedy's character could be swayed if people gave him their opinion he didn't know which to choose. John F Kennedy was not firm in his thoughts. He moved from scandal to scandal in the white house never finding peace about any of the scandals (Civil Rights Movement). Though his character always stayed the same it was not good that it did in these things. He always relied on it being ok and at the high, but in the scandals, it was mainly stress.
John F Kennedy was a man that led this country and government with integrity he was a man that was for the people and he thought of the people in a very
An analysis of John F. Kennedy reveals a myriad of ideas that he had for the people of America. This is despite the rhetoric that was present in his speech; three dominant themes emerged from his Inaugural address. These are freedom, leadership and the use of rhetoric in addressing multitudes.