John F Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy, often known by his initials JFK, born May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, died November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas (murdered), was an American politician and the 35th President of the United States in the years 1961-1963. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and in the Senate in 1952.

John F Kennedy was the son of Joseph Kennedy and brother of Joseph P Kennedy, Jr, Robert and Ted Kennedy. In 1940, he graduated from Harvard University after studying international relations. He did military service in the Pacific fleet during World War II. Among the major events during Kennedy's time as president are the Pig Cove Invasion, the Cuba Crisis, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the space race and the early phase of the Vietnam War. He initiated an offensive idealistic foreign policy and a liberal domestic policy with reduced taxes and increased civil rights, which eventually culminated in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

John F Kennedy is the only Catholic president to date and was the first of the country's presidents, born in the 20th century. He was the youngest Democratic president ever and the youngest to be elected President (Theodore Roosevelt became President after the assassination of William McKinley at the age of 42, but was elected to office only at the age of 46). Prior to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 election, he was also the last Democrat, elected president who did not come from the South and who was elected while he was a senator.

John F Kennedy was murdered during an open limousine drive through central Dallas on November 22, 1963, which shook the world. Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested for the murder, was himself murdered almost two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, thus Oswald was never brought to justice. Uncertainties surrounding the murder have resulted in a number of conspiracy theories, such as in the movie JFK by Oliver Stone.

Nowadays, Kennedy is considered an icon by many Americans. According to surveys, he is, after Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, the most admired person among Americans. After his death, his reputation reached an almost sacred status, while his domestic policy efforts were called into question by later research. Among other things, he had difficulty working with Congress and lost some of his contemporary credibility in notable defamation cases, which allegedly occurred during the White House, and by attempting to conceal health problems, including a back injury, which he had sustained during others. world war and treated with amphetamine.

John F Kennedy represented Massachusetts first in the House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 and then in the Senate from 1953 to 1960.

When Kennedy was 43, he was elected in a very even and controversial election to the President of the United States. The Republican candidate, Vice President Richard Nixon, was, like Kennedy, very young, marking a generational shift in American politics. Both candidates had praised the civil rights changes achieved under Harry S Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower's administrations. Kennedy, however, took the initiative on this issue, which, combined with his vice presidential candidate Lyndon B. Johnson's background in the politically influential Texas state, helped outweigh the Republican Party's advantages with Nixon's California background and the prevailing good economic situation. In Illinois and Texas, where Kennedy barely won, the turnout was very even and several irregularities were reported (in some constituencies, turnout was over 100%). In protest of Kennedy's pledges on civil rights, several electors from the southern states also resigned and voted for Virginia Senator Harry Byrd as president. Even a Republican elect from Oklahoma voted for Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater instead of Nixon.

John F Kennedy was immediately responsible for the attempt to invade Cuba via the Gulf of Pisces in 1961. After taking office as president, the following year the so-called Cuba crisis occurred, after the Soviet Union tried to establish nuclear weapons ramps on the island. The crisis was quelled since Kennedy isolated Cuba and threatened with war on nuclear-armed ships crossed an exposed border, and then negotiated the winding-up of missile defenses in Cuba and Turkey (where the United States had antiquated nuclear missiles). In return, the United States also promised not to invade Cuba as long as the Castro regime did not pose a threat.

In 1963, Kennedy visited West Berlin, which, under pressure, refused to intervene in the erection of the Berlin Wall. In front of Rathaus Schöneberg he gave a speech over the wall where he said "Ich bin ein Berliner". The speech came to be of great importance to the Berliners in the island in the middle of the GDR, but was partly about symbolism, as there was an American acceptance for the construction of the Berlin Wall. For the Western powers and the GDR, the masonry meant political and military stabilization, West Berlin's status quo was cemented in the right sense, the Soviet Union gave up its ultimatum of 1958 regarding demands for a demilitarized "free" West Berlin.

John F Kennedy also advocated strengthened relations between the United States and Israel, and he is considered to have laid the foundation for the historically good relationship between the two countries. However, Kennedy expressed concern over suspicions that Israel had begun a nuclear weapons program, and he ordered inspections in Israel to prevent a nuclear war.

John F Kennedy lowered taxes from very high levels during the Eisenhower years, and was criticized for having presented an unbalanced budget in 1961, the first in peacetime. Nevertheless, the efforts led to increased wealth for most people during the 1960s.

The Apollo program was redirected to its new bold goal, to land on the moon, by Kennedy during a speech to the US Congress on May 25, 1961. The promise was fulfilled in 1969, under Nixon's administration.

John F Kennedy appointed the following judge to the United States Supreme Court:

Byron R. White, 1962

Arthur Goldberg, 1962

John F Kennedy was murdered on a visit to Dallas, Texas. According to the so-called Warren Commission, the murder was carried out by a lone killer, Lee Harvey Oswald. This conclusion was called into question in 1979, when a House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that four shots had been fired. Thus, Oswald, who was considered bound for only three shots, would not have been the sole killer, but likely the president had fallen victim to a conspiracy. These conclusions have also been challenged, as they are considered to lean too heavily on the analysis of defective sound recordings from the murder case.

John F Kennedy turned 46 years old.

John F Kennedy was the son of Rose and Joseph Kennedy and brother of Robert F Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. He was the second oldest child after his brother Joseph Kennedy jr. He also had five sisters, athleen (Kick), Eunice, Jean, Patricia and Rosemary. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953.

Children

Arabella Kennedy (stillborn 1956)

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born 1957)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr (1960-1999)

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (died two days old in 1963)

The image of Kennedy was positive in the years following his death. He was communicative, had charisma, and in addition acted with a youthful style, which was in stark contrast to the more formal rhetoric of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was seen as a symbol of the anti-corruption society where everyone, regardless of income, skin color or gender, would have access to the same opportunities.

Supporters of John F Kennedy sometimes believe that with him died part of his dream of a just United States. He gave his constituents and the government a sense of hope. Despite his privileged background, he identified himself with the socially vulnerable groups in society. When John F. Kennedy died, he became a cultural icon, partly as a result of the impact of the American media.

The criticism against Kennedy has mainly focused on the military failure in the Gulf of Pig and the invasion of Vietnam, which can be contrasted with many people's perception of Kennedy as a politician with a more diplomatic appearance. In recent years, a number of historians have also pointed out that during his time in the presidential office, Kennedy was heavily abused by various drugs. However, whether this affected his ability to exercise the presidency is debated. This has nuanced the image of Kennedy, which, however, as a whole has remained predominantly positive and Kennedy often places himself high on the charts in US opinion polls of America's best presidents of all time.

Military awards

Navy and Marine Corps Medal ribbon.svg Navy and Marine Corps Medal

Purple Heart ribbon.svg Purple Heart Medal

American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg American Defense Service Medal

American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3 bronze stars)

World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal