President with a boyish smile. Life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President, pleasant in every way
John Kennedy was born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. From the first years of his life, the boy differed from other children in poor health. Growing up, John was not interested in anything that affected his studies. Success at school was average, but the boy himself did not stand out among other students. At the age of thirteen, John was sent to a Catholic boarding school. Separation from relatives had a bad effect on already poor health. Constant illnesses led to the fact that Kennedy spent most of the school year in the hospital. In those moments when the boy was not sick, he tried to take an active part in the life of the sports club. In the ninth grade, John was transferred to his brother's school, here the boy began to show his rebellious character and often got into trouble. He joined the "Maker Club" which consisted of the same rebels as himself. Although Kennedy's reputation was not one of the best, he was still not expelled and they let him finish school.
The beginning of student life
In 1935, after graduating from high school, the young man decided to enter Harvard. Much to the surprise of all family members in last moment he changed his mind and went to the London School of Economics and political science. However, the young man could not study there for long due to his poor health. Returning to his native land, John entered Princeton University. However, there were some adventures here too, after a semester of study, Kennedy ended up in the hospital with a diagnosis of leukemia. Not believing such a diagnosis, the young man insisted on reviewing the tests and turned out to be right, the doctors made a mistake. Until the end of the school year, Kennedy was at the resort where he improved his health. The boy's parents insisted on his removal from the educational process. John was often sick and this created many problems in his personal life. Kennedy's attending physician began prescribing young man, novocaine, which with frequent use caused dependence. Because of another oversight by a doctor, Kennedy got an addiction that haunted him all his life.
The best years of his youth at Harvard
With the beginning of the next academic year, he again applied to Harvard University. Harvard liked young John much more than the provincial universities and schools in which he studied before. Soon the young man's father introduced him to the future pope and gradually introduced him into the world of politics. After returning to school, the young man became very interested in political science and firmly decided that he should become an active member of the social club. Kennedy's greatest pride was participating in the Spee club and publishing in the local newspaper. At the time of the announcement of the outbreak of World War II, Kennedy was relaxing at the resort and immediately returned home. He began work on his thesis The Politics of Appeasement in Munich. The commission appreciated his work, highly despite the fact that she wrote it was inept and bad. Due to the fact that this article was noticed by a journalist of a well-known newspaper, it was later printed with a circulation of 80 thousand copies, and the author himself received 40 thousand dollars of a fee.
Involvement in World War II
After the young man received higher education he wanted to go to the front, but he was refused due to frequent illnesses. Kennedy was helped by his father, who put in a good word for his son, and he was enlisted in the Washington intelligence agency of the US Navy. The young man did not stay long in the radio control department and soon transferred to a military shipyard. Soon he and the team in which he was sent on a mission. An unexpected enemy attack in the middle of the night took the entire crew by surprise. The ship the crew was on was rammed into two parts. Many died, and Kennedy suffered a serious back injury. Thanks to Kennedy's clear commands and timely response on his part, many managed to escape and reach the nearest shore. Only a week later, the young people were rescued by another boat sailing nearby. After returning home, the entire team was awarded, and Kennedy himself received several medals of honor. The award order was personally signed by Admiral William Halsey.
The beginning of a political career
Just two weeks later, John again went into battle, this time the fighter was brought home by malaria. John remembered the long days spent in the hospital for a long time, because his soul was with his comrades in battle. In 1944, the eldest son in the Kennedy family died, and all the cares and hopes of the parents moved to John's shoulders. His father prophesied a political career for him, and after John returned from a tour of Europe, he was able to arrange his passage to Parliament. Beginning in 1947, Kennedy became a congressman from the Boston district. In 1953, John married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, with whom he had four children, two of whom died immediately after childbirth. In the same 1953, he managed to beat his rival in the race for the senator's office. Gradually, Kennedy came to the fact that in 1960 he put forward his candidacy for the presidency of the country. While still a senator, he earned many enemies among businessmen with his radical changes.
The presidency of the United States. First years of government
Kennedy proposed such a successful tactic for the development of the country that he was chosen by the majority in the first round of the race. Kennedy was to become the first Catholic president in history at just 43 years old. Kennedy immediately showed his difference from his predecessor by changing the composition of Parliament. The new president of the country took businessmen out of the political game and brought in professors, doctors and people with degree. He sent all the money he earned to various charitable foundations and led a relatively modest lifestyle. With Kennedy coming to power, the unemployment rate in the country began to decrease sharply, and the financial situation of citizens improved by 5.5 percent compared to the previous year. Unfortunately, things did not go well for long, and in 1962 a sharp collapse of stock markets and a fall in stocks began. Such a deplorable situation has not been seen since the Great Depression of 1929. To help people during a drastic job cut, the president introduced a food stamp system and trained laid-off workers. Among other things, evening schools were opened for advanced training.
Fight against racism in the USA. Establishing relations with the USSR
The main problem for Kennedy remained an acute, incorrigible system of oppression of blacks in the United States. The template for creating equal rights for blacks was Abraham Lincoln's system. The President personally met with Martin Luther King and supported him in many endeavors. In 1961, Kennedy met with Soviet President Khrushchev and tried to mend relations between the countries. In the same year, the politician had to send troops to Vietnam to resolve the conflict that had arisen. During the stay of US troops in Vietnam, the country spent about 3 billion US dollars, about 16 thousand soldiers were constantly in the enemy country. John created the "Peace Corps" which was responsible for the development of education in the Third World. Thanks to Kennedy's initiative, the Apollo program was launched. Space flights for a long time were a desirable subject for many countries, but the main race was between the USSR and the USA.
Recent projects. Assassination of the 35th President of the United States
In 1963, an agreement was signed to ban nuclear weapons tests on land, in water and in the air. At the same time, the US Committee on Armament and Disarmament of the World was created. In the same year, the development of the "Pan-European Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" began. The main problem was the constant struggle between the USSR and the USA, which created many problems. One of the presidents most beloved by the people was killed in 1963 in Dallas while the presidential motorcade was following the streets of the city. The killer sat in ambush in the book depository and fired three shots that led to a fatal outcome. The President was immediately taken to the hospital where they tried to save his life for half an hour. The Kennedy assassin was taken to the police station where he was killed shortly before the trial. Soon, the killer of the killer was also killed by an unknown person. Investigations are still ongoing and many details of the investigation are shrouded in secrets. A huge number of inconsistencies in the official version worries the people of the United States even 50 years after the death of John F. Kennedy.
- The future 35th President of the United States always had an example before his eyes - both grandfathers and John's father were once involved in politics. Although historians do not emphasize that John had all the makings of becoming the leader of a superpower, at school he did not particularly stand out either in terms of study or in terms of behavior.
- John became interested in politics thanks to ... sports. He was an active participant in school sports events from a young age. And thanks to a trip to Europe organized by his father in the summer of 1937, the future president became seriously interested in political science. In particular, the countries that made an indelible impression on him fascist regime— Italy and Germany. John titled his thesis The Politics of Appeasement in Munich.
- The puppy of the Soviet space dog Strelka - Pushinka - was presented by Nikita Khrushchev to the daughter of John Caroline. And John called Pushinka's puppies "pupniks" - combining two words Pup ("puppy" - English) and Sputnik ("satellite" - English).
- Historians claim that Kennedy had a turtle tattoo on his shoulder. But he soon got rid of her, as his wife insisted on it.
Awards:
- Medal of Victory in World War II (1945)
- Purple Heart (1945)
- Jane Addams Children's Book Award (1964)
- American Campaign Medal (1945)
John F. Kennedy is one of the most famous and respected US Presidents. His assassination in 1963 was a real national tragedy for the entire American people.
There is still a heated debate about who really was the killer, and what were his true motives.
Education Kennedy
Kennedy's first school was Dexter, which taught only boys. Interestingly, only he and his brother Joseph were among the Catholics.
In connection with the move, John's second educational institution was Riverdale Country, in which he had an average performance.
At the age of 13, he was sent to the Catholic "Canterbury School", where he studied for 1 year.
During this period of his biography, Kennedy complained to his parents that teachers were "pestering him about religion." As a result, in the 9th grade, John went to boarding school "Chote Rosemary Hall".
As he grew older, he became less interested in studying, as a result of which his academic performance dropped noticeably. Some teachers said that he became a frivolous and absent-minded student.
John himself called this school a prison in which it was necessary to obey the teachers and strictly adhere to the established rules.
Having received a secondary education, in 1935 Kennedy entered Harvard University, but after six months he left it. After that, he began studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Interestingly, John F. Kennedy's teacher was the famous economist and professor Harold Lasky, who spoke positively about him.
Having reached the age of majority, the future president fell ill with jaundice, and he had to return home from the London School.
Soon he entered Princeton University, where he worked for many years. There, Kennedy's health problems began again.
John even had to be admitted to the hospital, as the doctors could not diagnose him for a long time. As a result, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
Interestingly, Kennedy did not believe the doctors and insisted that they re-diagnose. As it turned out later, the doctors really made a mistake. This fact of John's biography was then written a lot.
In 1936, Kennedy re-entered Harvard.
The 19-year-old boy began to study hard, read a lot and actively play sports. During the summer holidays, he went on a trip to Europe.
During the trip, John's father arranged for his son a meeting with Pope Pius 12. After returning from the cruise, he began to seriously study political science.
Here it is necessary to tell about another amazing event in Kennedy's biography.
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy in full dress, 1942 The fact is that after graduating from the university in the midst of World War II, he decided to go to the front.
However, after passing the medical examination, he was declared unfit for military service.
Then he asked his father to help him get to the front. As a result, he ended up in the ranks of the American army.
Soon he participated in various military battles, showing himself to be an unusually brave soldier.
Having become a commander, he showed special courage when he saved the crew of a torpedo boat that had been shot.
Together with his colleagues, John F. Kennedy swam to the shore for 5 hours. During this swim, he was forced to support a wounded comrade.
Political biography
After the end of the war, Kennedy began working as a journalist. He firmly decided to devote his whole life to politics, which made his father very happy.
In 1946, he was elected to Congress and then was re-elected for three consecutive terms.
In 1952, the politician defeated the Republican Henry Lodge and became a member of the Senate. After 6 years, he was re-elected senator for the second time.
President John Kennedy
In 1960, John F. Kennedy announced his Democratic nomination for the upcoming presidential election.
An interesting fact is that in his biography, the first television debate in the history of the United States took place, in which he participated with his rival.
At the end of the election, 43-year-old Kennedy was the winner, thus becoming the youngest head of state in US history.
An interesting fact is that the oldest president of the United States (70 years old at the time of election), as well as the only president who did not hold public or military positions before the election, is.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Kennedy ended his first inaugural address with the famous call, which became: "Think not about what the country can give you, but about what you can give it."
During his presidency, Kennedy achieved high results, showing himself to be an intelligent and pragmatic politician.
He managed to achieve the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as to begin socio-economic reforms in the country.
He also sought to reduce taxes for businesses, which was critically received by the conservative opposition in Congress.
In 1961, the president initiated the creation of the Peace Corps. This organization helped to get an education for citizens of the third world countries.
Thanks to this social program, many people have mastered the basic skills of the most sought-after professions.
At the same time, the Alliance for Progress program was launched, contributing to the economic revival of Latin American states.
John F. Kennedy advocated improving relations between the United States and the United States, although it was under him that the so-called "Caribbean crisis" occurred, which was expressed in an extremely tense political and military confrontation between the two superpowers.
And although Kennedy did everything possible to eliminate the confrontation, not all members of Congress supported him in this.
Kennedy and Khrushchev meeting in Vienna In 1962, Kennedy met with the General Secretary of the USSR. At this meeting, the leaders managed to resolve many issues, as well as to avoid the outbreak of a nuclear war, which the whole world was so afraid of.
For these and other achievements, the young, handsome and energetic Kennedy gained immense popularity among ordinary Americans, and his biography was considered ideal for a politician.
Personal life
The only wife of John F. Kennedy was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, whom he met in 1951. They got married in Newport.
Kennedy with wife Jacqueline Interestingly, the Pope sent a letter of blessing to the young couple, wishing the couple a long and lasting union.
In this marriage, Kennedy had four children, two of whom died. Only Caroline and John survived.
In the future, Caroline became a Juris Doctor and a writer. John Jr. worked as a lawyer and journalist. In 1999, he died in a plane crash.
Since John F. Kennedy was popular with women, he repeatedly cheated on his wife. He had affairs with various artists and politicians.
The press has repeatedly said that he had a close relationship with a famous actress and singer.
Kennedy assassination
On November 22, 1963, a fateful event occurred in Kennedy's biography. He and his wife Jacqueline came to Dallas to meet with voters.
When his cortege was passing along one of the streets, he was mortally wounded by a sniper rifle.
Since the president was in an open limousine, he became an easy prey for a sniper.
The question of who was the real killer of the president is still open. According to the official version, he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was soon arrested.
The day after the alleged killer was apprehended, he was killed by Jack Ruby, who allegedly had connections to the mafia.
Since Kennedy's assassination, numerous investigations have taken place. As a result, a lot of evidence appeared that cast doubt on the very fact that Lee Harvey Oswald was the Kennedy assassin.
Motorcade with President Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline in Dallas minutes before the assassination More than 50 years have passed since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but those mysterious events still continue to interest people.
John Kennedy died on November 22, 1963 at the age of 46. He was buried with all honors, and about 200 thousand Americans came to see him off on his last journey.
Dozens of biographical books have been written about John F. Kennedy and his assassination, and hundreds of broadcasts have been filmed. However, no one has yet been able to find out the truth.
Given the heroic image and a certain cult around Kennedy, his personal items are periodically put up for auction. For example, in 2016, a love letter from the president addressed to Mary Meyer, the wife of an American intelligence officer, turned up at an auction.
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Name: John Kennedy
Age: 46 years old
Place of Birth: Massachusetts, USA
A place of death: Texas, USA
Activity: 35th President of the United States
Family status: was married to Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
John Kennedy - Biography
Too young, too successful, too charismatic... How many "too" can you list when it comes to the 35th US President John F. Kennedy! But one day fate decided that everything has its own time.
John Kennedy - childhood, youth
At 3:00 am on May 29, 1917, the second of nine children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy was born on Beals Street in Brookline. This boy had to go through many trials, rule a huge country and die in an instant...
He grew up as a sickly child. Teachers did not see any special talents in him: frivolous, careless, unassembled. John took revenge on them as best he could, for example, he joined a banned school club, where students composed obscene songs about teachers.
In 1935, with the help of his father, Kennedy entered Harvard, but after a few months he took the documents, deciding to go to study at the London Academy of Political Science. He also left her, preferring Princeton. But he stayed there for a short time: the doctors said that he had leukemia, fortunately, they were wrong ... Tired of wandering and illness, Kennedy returned to Harvard.
Father was incredibly surprised when John said that he was fascinated by politics. However, plans had to be postponed: the Second World War began.
John Kennedy - Finding Yourself
What a worthless person he is... While the rest are risking their lives, he wanders around medical examinations in the hope that he will be taken into the army. Unsuitable - and that's it!
Kennedy Sr., looking at the suffering of his offspring, gave him a job in the intelligence board of the US Navy. The son was instructed to prepare reports, but he wanted to be in the thick of things! This was only possible when John entered the naval school. Soon he was entrusted with the command of the boat.
On August 2, 1943, the Kennedy boat took part in an operation against Japanese ships in the Pacific. Suddenly, the blast wave broke the boat in half, Kennedy was injured. 5 hours John and his team swim to the shore. Kennedy returned a real hero: newspapers wrote about him, acquaintances and strangers gossiped. And he himself understood: fame and power go hand in hand.
John did not return to the army - it was time to think about a political career. And this time his father helped him: he offered one of the congressmen from Massachusetts to vacate his seat in the US House of Representatives. In exchange for this, Joseph promised to settle some of his financial problems. The contract was concluded.
For six years, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in the House, and then rose even higher - he became a senator.
John Kennedy - "He's just like us!"
John Kennedy - biography of personal life
The career went uphill, but the far-sighted politician understood that no one would want to see a bachelor in higher positions. It was easy to catch up: in 1953, John married the exquisite Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. Voters gasped - here it is, an example of an ideal American family. And when the couple began to have children, love for the young senator crossed all boundaries. Alas, two of the Kennedy babies died shortly after birth. But two more survived - son John and daughter Caroline.
With such a rear, Kennedy could safely run for president. Handsome, fit, white-toothed... Richard Nixon, his main competitor, had no chance.
John was damn lucky: the beginning of his presidential term coincided with the rise in the country's economy. And then a black streak began: the Berlin crisis, followed by the Caribbean crisis, rising unemployment... The President was supported by a whole retinue of advisers, and together with them he successfully solved the problems hanging over the state. Kennedy advocated improving the lives of the lower strata, equalizing the rights of blacks, developing space, and most importantly, he became for everyone the personification of something new, a sip fresh air. This president was so close to the people: here he is talking to voters from the screen, holding a press conference, holding an informal meeting. "He's just like us!" the Americans thought.
John F. Kennedy - In bed with Marilyn
Everyone admired the president's family, but what did family mean to Kennedy himself?
From the covers of magazines, his wife, Jackie, smiled, and locked herself in her room, weeping uncontrollably. There were legends about the president's loving nature. No facts, just speculation. According to some reports, Kennedy's son-in-law, actor Peter Lawford, watched Hollywood stars at a special villa, who then indulged in pleasures with John. The president himself did not even remember their faces and names. But there were also exceptions.
In the summer of 1954, a reception was held at his villa. Among the invited guests was a recently risen star - an actress. She came with her husband, basketball player Joe DiMaggio, but flirted with might and main with Kennedy, and he favorably responded to her advances. At some point, the situation escalated so much that DiMaggio almost by force was going to take his wife away from the evening. It wasn't there...
The lovers met secretly, but the novel of Kennedy and Monroe was not noticed except by the blind. Marilyn did not give up hope that one day she would take the place of the first lady, however, due to the actress's problems with alcohol, relations with the president worsened. Kennedy was worried that she would spill something while drunk. This thought especially began to torment him after Monroe sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President!” at the celebration of his 45th birthday. Her undisguised passion and languid gaze left no one in doubt about their connection...
Marilyn was not allowed to further jeopardize Kennedy's status by gently removing her from the presidency. She suffered, cried ... In August 1962, Monroe was found dead in her own bedroom, and on November 22, 1963, Kennedy himself died.
John Kennedy - tragic death
The presidential couple's motorcade moved slowly down Elm Street in Dallas, Texas. John, as always, greeted the audience with a smile. A second - and he unnaturally twitches forward. Red drops scatter in all directions. One more - and Kennedy falls on Jacqueline. The crowd of thousands freezes.
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy, also known as JFK (JFK). Born May 29, 1917 in Brookline - died November 22, 1963 in Dallas. American politician, 35th President USA (1961-1963).
In the modern public consciousness, Kennedy is most often associated with his mysterious assassination, which shocked the whole world, numerous hypotheses for the resolution of which are put forward to this day.
A World War II veteran who rose to the rank of Lieutenant, Kennedy served the entire Solomon Islands campaign in command of the PT-109 torpedo boat. For the courage shown during military operations, he was awarded many awards.
Immediately after the end of the war, he began his political career, in 1947 he was elected from Massachusetts to the US House of Representatives, where he stayed until 1953. Then he became a Massachusetts senator and held this position until 1960. At the beginning of the decade, in the next presidential election, a Democrat, 43-year-old Kennedy, narrowly defeated Republican Richard Nixon, thus becoming the only Catholic US president and the first president born in the 20th century.
Kennedy's almost three-year presidency was marked by the Berlin Crisis, the Caribbean Crisis, the Bay of Pigs operation, the space race between the USSR and the United States, which led to the start of the Apollo space program, as well as serious steps to equalize blacks in rights.
November 22, 1963, while visiting Dallas, Texas, John F. Kennedy was mortally wounded by a sniper rifle in his open limousine on one of the central streets of the city. The President was immediately taken to the Parkland Hospital, where, after unsuccessful attempts at resuscitation, he was declared dead at about 13:00 local time. The specially created Warren Commission showed that the assassin of Kennedy was lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. A huge number of social polls conducted throughout the country showed that more than 60% of the American population did not believe that Oswald killed the president, or at least acted alone.
A large number of objects, streets, schools and others are named after Kennedy in the United States (for example, the international airport in New York). According to most citizens of the country, Kennedy is one of the ten greatest American presidents in history.
John F. Kennedy's maternal grandfather was John Francis Fitzgerald (1863-1950), an eloquent politician, three times mayor of Boston. He graduated from Boston College and was elected to the US Congress in 1894. From 1906 to 1914 he served as mayor of Boston, regularly giving way to other politicians with the end of terms. Until the end of his life he remained one of the most notable politicians area, predicted to his grandson John that he would become president. He was married to a second cousin, Mary Josephine Hannon, and had six children.
Paternal grandfather - Patrick Joseph Kennedy (1858-1929), businessman and politician, was elected to the US House of Representatives from Massachusetts. At the age of fourteen, he left school and started working, as the family had nothing to live on. Over time, with the money he earned, he opened a small chain of bars and eateries, founded an alcohol and coal company. He was married to the bar owner's daughter Mary Hickey and had four children.
Mother - Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald (1890-1995), philanthropist, matriarch of the Kennedy clan. She studied at a Catholic school and Manhattanville College.
Father - Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888-1969), businessman and politician, patriarch of the Kennedy clan, US ambassador to Great Britain. He studied at the Boston Latin School and graduated from Harvard University. At a young age, he became president of the board of the Columbia Trust bank, and doubled its capital.
Joseph and Rosa met in 1906, but the girl, according to her father's plan, was to marry another young man, whom she categorically did not like. In October 1914, Joseph and Rose got married and moved permanently to the city of Brookline, where a year later their first child, Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr., was born.
Kennedy Sr. believed that banking was above all and, as he later wrote in his memoirs, "all roads are open to the banker, since he plays an important role in the development of any entrepreneurial activity." Joseph did not plan to be a major figure in his own city, he wanted to go to a higher level - the banking sector of Boston and New York. His intentions were destroyed by the First World War, he left the bank and moved to the steel and shipbuilding company Bethlehem Steel in Quincy, thus avoiding being drafted to the front.
In the mid-1920s, Kennedy became a member of the Bramin brokerage firm, thus becoming one of the most successful investors of his generation.
The persistent climb career ladder Joseph was repelled by Rose, she wanted a more orderly and peaceful family life. By the early 1930s, she had already given birth to nine children and was restless for her huge family after doctors discovered that eldest daughter Rosemary lags behind in mental development from her peers. In order to get a little distraction from family problems, Rosa traveled a lot around the States and Europe. Joseph often cheated on his wife, in particular with silent film star, three-time Oscar nominee Gloria Swenson, in whose films he often invested his own money.
At the peak of his career, Kennedy Sr. was friends with Pope Pius XII, newspaper magnate W. R. Hearst, and was a personal adviser to US President Franklin Roosevelt. Joseph expected that his eldest son Joe Jr. would pass the same life path as himself, and he pinned all his hopes on him, and not on John.
As historian and longtime professor at Columbia University Alan Brinkley notes, "long before the Kennedy clan became well-known political figures, the family was already among the most famous Irish families in America."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the second of Joseph and Rose's children, was born in Brookline, on Beals Street, at 3:00 am on May 29, 1917. The boy was named after John the Apostle and Rose's father, John Francis Fitzgerald. According to the old American tradition, relatives called John Jack.
Shortly after John's birth, the family moved from a cramped home to a huge one on Abbotsford Road. There he went to Dexter School, where only he and his brother Joseph were Catholics. As a child, John was frail, the cause of which was all sorts of diseases: from chicken pox to scarlet fever, from which he almost died. Kennedy's most vivid childhood memory is touring the constituencies with his grandfather John in 1922, when he ran for governor.
Having become a big economic figure in the center of America and having a capital of $ 2 million, in 1927 Joseph Kennedy moved his family to the capital of the exchange trading - New York, more precisely, to its mini-district Riverdale, and then to Bronxville. In Massachusetts, Kennedy Sr. left property - a family estate in the small village of Hyannis Port. There, John began to go to Riverdale Country School, where he studied neither well nor badly.
In the fall of 1930, thirteen-year-old John was sent to the Canterbury Catholic School, which was away from home - in the city of New Milford, Connecticut. He continued to get sick regularly and missed his relatives, in letters he complained to them that at school he was “exasperated with religion; you can only go outside when the Yale team is playing against Harvard, or against a team of the armed forces. John spent almost the entire school year in the hospital, and in recent months he practiced homeschooling. Despite his illnesses, he was active in school, playing baseball, basketball and track and field.
Kennedy began his ninth grade at the private boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall, where his brother Joseph had already studied, and before that his future political colleagues Adlai Stevenson II and Chester Bowles. At Choate, John also did not get high marks, according to historian Alan Brinkley, "his work was sloppily done and he had a reputation for being a frivolous and uncomposed student in a school that elevated order to principle." "Chote" Kennedy often called a prison, his health did not improve, he spent a long time in the famous Mayo Clinic.
A rebel by nature, Kennedy joined the so-called "Macker Club," in which members sang obscene songs concerning teachers and administration. Despite his defiant behavior, John was not expelled from the school and he graduated from it, although not with a perfect certificate.
With secondary education, Kennedy thought about further education.
In 1935, he entered Harvard University, but at the very end of August he took the documents and went to the London School of Economics and Political Science, personally to a prominent economist, professor, who later spoke warmly about Kennedy. In the capital of England, John fell ill again, this time with jaundice, and returned to his homeland, where he was enrolled at Princeton University, in particular because he had already studied there. best friend Lem Billings.
Princeton appeared to Kennedy as "an oppressively provincial little university town." Not finishing his first semester, he again fell ill in one of the Boston hospitals with an illness unknown to doctors. For several weeks, John underwent examinations and tests, which he later called "the most difficult test in my entire storm-beaten life." In the end, the young man was diagnosed with leukemia. Kennedy did not believe and was right - soon the doctors admitted that they had made a mistake.
John spent the rest of the school year at a Palm Beach resort, a ranch in Arizona, and Los Angeles. In August 1936, he was re-admitted to Harvard University, whose admissions committee issued its verdict on Kennedy: “Jack has excellent mental faculties, but does not have a deep interest in studies ... There are reasons to believe that he can act.
At Harvard, John studied better than at Choate or Princeton, read a lot, and did not leave sports. Kennedy spent his summer vacation in 1937 on a massive tour of European countries along with Lem Billings, sponsored by his father. He also organized John's acquaintance with the future pope, Cardinal Pacelli, and several other major world figures. The young man was especially impressed by countries with a fascist regime, in particular Italy and Germany.
Upon returning from the cruise, the amazed Kennedy began to get seriously interested in history and political science. He longed to succeed not only in education, but also in student society, setting himself the goal of getting into one of Harvard's social clubs. Soon he became a member of the Hasty Pudding club, published in the university newspaper The Harvard Crimson. However, John was most proud of his membership in the Spee club and spent almost all his free time from studying at its headquarters.
Kennedy learned about the outbreak of World War II while relaxing at a resort in Antibes. Returning to Harvard, he headed his final work The Appeasement Policy in Munich, which he was helped to write by a whole team, from his father's assistants to stenographers and typists. "Poorly written, but conscientious, interesting and reasonable analysis of a complex problem" was the verdict of Kennedy's scientific leaders. Despite the mediocrity of this thesis, she, with the help of a newspaper journalist The New York Times by Arthur Kroc, was released as a separate book under the different title Why England Slept.
The analytical work of the young Kennedy caused a wide public outcry, which was dictated, according to Alan Brinkley, "by the almost complete lack of interest on the part of political analysts of that time in the issue of the readiness of democratic states to resist totalitarian regimes." In it, John also first mentioned a thesis that later became one of the key points of his political doctrine: "Democracy must be strong and combat-ready in order to endure the hardships of a long, intense struggle with the growing communist world".
After graduating from Harvard, Kennedy, a bachelor of science, pondered what he should do next. There was an idea to start studying law; in 1941, he applied to Yale University and even studied for a few months at Stanford, but soon America was officially involved in the Second world war. John knew that due to constant ailments he would not be enrolled in the front. A year before the events at Pearl Harbor, he tried to pass a medical examination, but he was refused due to a back injury. Here the father and his acquaintances (in particular, Admiral Alan Kirk) helped, with the help of whose influence in October Kennedy was posted to the US Naval Intelligence Agency in Washington.
In the ranks of the Navy, Kennedy prepared briefings for headquarters, a job he considered boring. He wanted real military action.
After a short stay at the intelligence headquarters, John was transferred to a military shipyard in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. In July 1942, he joined the Naval School, which trained officers (Chicago, Illinois). In Portsmouth (Rhode Island) he was trained in the basics of managing a high-speed torpedo boat and in the spring of 1943 he took command of the boat PT-109. Prior to this, dreaming of becoming his commander, Kennedy again turned to his father and Massachusetts Senator David I. Walsh for help. John was immediately redirected to the Pacific Ocean, where fighting between the US and Japan were in full swing.
On August 2, Kennedy was ordered to attack Japanese ships with fifteen other boats. During a night raid, an enemy destroyer that jumped out of the darkness rammed and cut the PT-109 in half. When falling onto the deck, John severely injured his already injured back. Of the thirteen sailors, two died instantly, the rest were saved thanks to the timely and precise actions of Kennedy. Within five hours, the boat crew swam to the nearest shore, with Kennedy dragging one of the wounded behind him.
On the island of Nauro, John carved a small message on a coconut shell with the coordinates of the boat's crew. A week later, Kennedy and his men traveled home on another New Zealand patrol torpedo boat from the New Georgia Islands.
Already in the following days, the American press wrote with admiration about the feat of Kennedy and the entire team, in which John was most often referred to as "the son of Kennedy." For his courage in combat, John was awarded numerous orders and medals, including the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps medals. Admiral William Halsey personally signed the order to honor Kennedy: "His courage, endurance and leadership helped save several lives in full accordance with the high traditions of the United States maritime service."
Ten days after the PT-109 incident, Kennedy returned to the front. In December 1943, he caught malaria, a back injury again made itself felt, and due to a critical state of health, John decided to return home. Already in the new year, 1944, Kennedy arrived in San Francisco and was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic, where he remained for several long months. In March 1945, a few months before the end of the war, he was officially sent to the reserve.
A few months after being transferred to the reserve, Kennedy took up journalism - he covered in San Francisco the creation of the United Nations for W. R. Hearst's media conglomerate Hearst Corporation. Then he went on another tour of Europe, during which he again considered the key political events and personalities of that time.
After the death in August 1944 of the eldest child, Joseph, all hopes in the family were placed on John. Upon his return from Europe, his father began to persuade him to go into politics, although he doubted his political inclinations. John knew for sure that he would not be doing journalism. Kennedy Sr. helped lay the foundation for his son's upcoming political career - he contacted Massachusetts Congressman in the US House of Representatives James Michael Curley, who offered to vacate a seat in the House in exchange for resolving some of his problems. So John F. Kennedy joined the US House of Representatives and began his political career.
From 1947 to 1953, Kennedy represented Boston County in the US Congress as a Democratic congressman. In 1953, Kennedy became a senator, defeating Senator Lodge in a bitter struggle. The most controversial decision of the future president during this period was the decision not to participate in the Senate vote to reprimand Senator Joseph McCarthy for his leadership of the Commission on Un-American Activities. Researchers offer various motivations for this move (in particular, being in the hospital and not wanting to undermine the confidence of conservative voters), but Kennedy's own statement, made in 1960, is also known: "I never called myself perfect. I met the normal rate of error for a politician. The case of Joe McCarthy? I was in a lose-lose situation. My brother worked for Joe. I was against it, I did not want him to work for Joe, but he wanted. And how the hell could I stand up and condemn Joe McCarthy when my own brother was working for him? So it wasn't so much a matter of political duty as a personal issue.".
When John F. Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate, won the 1960 election, he was 43 years old.
When Kennedy officially announced his candidacy in early 1960, he was opposed in the Democratic primaries by Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson of Texas, and Adlai Stevenson. By the time the convention opened in Los Angeles, Kennedy had already secured victory and was confirmed in the first round of voting. Two weeks later, the Republicans elected Vice President Richard Nixon as their candidate.
In televised debates with his rival Richard Nixon, Kennedy came across as businesslike, eloquent, and energetic. During the election campaign, he spoke of the need to resolutely rush forward into a new decade, for "new frontiers are nearby - whether we are looking for them or not." Kennedy concentrated his efforts on the densely populated states of the Northeast, counting on his running mate, Senator Johnson, to provide the Democrats with the traditional support of the South. This strategy was successful, but the advantage was insignificant. Kennedy defeated Nixon by a majority of 119 thousand votes (out of 69 million voters). Kennedy and Johnson received 303 electoral votes, Nixon and Lodge - 219, Senator Harry Flood Bird - 15. The decisive role in ensuring Kennedy's victory was played, according to the press, not by the political platform of his party and not by the expectations of "vigorous leadership" and the policy promised by Kennedy " flexible response" to the challenges of the outside world, but how it looked on the television screen.
Kennedy was to become the country's first Catholic president.
On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy took the oath and thus became the 35th President of the United States. Kennedy concluded his first inaugural address with the exhortation: "Think not of what the country can give you, but of what you can give to it." Together with the new president, the government included completely new people with connections in the US financial monopoly circles, or people who had already succeeded in the political field.
The Kennedy administration included: Vice President, Secretary of State D. Rusk (specialist in political science, served in the Pentagon, State Department, since 1952 headed the Rockefeller Foundation), Secretary of Defense (professional businessman, president of the Ford concern), Secretary of the Treasury D. Dillon (served in the administration), Attorney General Robert Kennedy (brother of Kennedy, led the election campaign).
Of the first 200 people appointed by Kennedy to senior government posts, about half were from the state apparatus, 18% were professors from universities, 6% were businessmen, which contrasted sharply with the composition of the administration of his predecessor Eisenhower, where only 6% were university professors, and 42% are businessmen.
The start of Kennedy's presidency coincided with a cyclical boom in the economy. However, by the spring of 1962, the economic situation became noticeably more complicated: growth rates slowed down, the level of unemployment, which had begun to decline, froze at around 5.5%, and the volume of new investments also decreased. In May, this was added by the fall in the stock price on the stock exchange - the sharpest since 1929.
Stopping the recession was one of the first priorities of the new administration, but Kennedy lost business confidence by pushing in 1962 to lower the price of steel, which the government found excessive. The administration has entered into a confrontation with the steel companies led by the United States Steel Corporation, which, despite the insistence of the administration, which had previously forced the steelworkers union to limit its demands for higher wages framework of "reference points", went to a defiantly sharp increase in steel prices. Only by putting in motion all the levers of pressure, to the white house managed to achieve the cancellation of this decision at the cost of worsening relations with the monopolies.
He achieved this immediate goal, but lost the strong support of the industrialists. For example, in January 1963, Kennedy sent Congress a program to cut corporate taxes (from 52% to 47%) and reduce personal income tax rates (from 20-91% to 14-65%) by total amount about 10 billion dollars with the actual rejection of tax reform. When Kennedy attempted to push a tax-cut bill through Congress to stimulate savings and revive the economy, the conservative opposition killed him of any hope of passing a law creating a budget deficit. At the same time, he promised to cut government spending on social needs and balance the federal budget.
Despite individual successes, Kennedy's presidency as a whole cannot be called successful in terms of legislation. It received no new allocations for the development of education and medical care for the elderly, and the minimum wage rose slightly. Thus, the extension of the period of payment of unemployment benefits in 1961-1962 left over 3 million unemployed people behind; the increase in the minimum hourly wage (to $1.15 in 1961 and $1.25 in 1963) affected only 3.6 million of the 26.6 million low-paid workers. Government measures to combat unemployment - the Depression Relief Act of 1961, the Retraining of Laid-Off Workers Act of 1962, public works appropriations, etc. - did not lead to significant improvements in employment. Gaining growth movement for the reduction (35 hours) of the working week.
Kennedy advocated equal rights for blacks, taking the model of Abraham Lincoln, supported Martin Luther King, and met with him in Washington in 1963.
One of President Kennedy's decisions was to stop issuing silver coins and certificates in connection with the constant rise in the price of silver. In 1963, on his initiative, Congress passed Public Law 88-36 allowing Federal Reserve to issue banknotes in denominations of 1 and 2 dollars and prohibiting the Treasury from issuing silver certificates. Since the Treasury still had to issue these certificates during a transitional period, Kennedy signed Executive Order 11110 that same day, delegating the authority to issue silver certificates from the President to the Treasury. There is a conspiracy theory that erroneously links this decree to the 1963 US Treasury Note issue. It is assumed, therefore, that Kennedy was going to deprive the Fed of its monopoly on the issue of money, and therefore, allegedly, this decision became the reason for a conspiracy against the president.
Kennedy advocated improving relations between the US and the USSR, but his reign was also marked by great foreign policy tensions: the unsuccessful landing at the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis (one of the phrases recorded in the diary of the 35th president, "fear of loss breeds suspicion" - so Kennedy himself argued this crisis).
Under Kennedy, there was increased US involvement in civil war in South Vietnam; in 1961 he sent the first regular units to South Vietnam armed forces United States (before that, only military advisers served there). By the end of 1963, the US had spent $3 billion on the Vietnam War.
In March 1961, an organization called the Peace Corps was created, which, on a voluntary basis, provided assistance to the population of developing countries in eliminating illiteracy, obtaining basic labor skills and knowledge.
On March 13, 1961, Kennedy proclaimed the Alliance for Progress program, designed to promote economic and political development countries of Latin America. The official goals of this program were: to ensure in the countries of Latin America an annual increase in industrial output of at least 2.5% per year, to eliminate illiteracy on the continent, and to carry out agrarian reforms. It was planned to allocate $ 20 billion to finance this program over a ten-year period, which was almost ten times the total amount American aid Latin America from 1945 to 1960.
Kennedy created the United States Agency for International Development in 1961., with the aim of contributing to the solution of economic and political issues developing countries.
John F. Kennedy did a lot for space exploration, initiating the launch of the Apollo program ("We decide to go to the moon"). He offered the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Khrushchev to join forces in preparing for the flight to the moon, but he refused.
In Moscow, on August 5, 1963, an agreement was signed by representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain on the prohibition of nuclear weapons tests in three areas - in the air, on land and under water. On October 17, the representatives of the USSR and the USA voted for the unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly to prohibit the launch of objects from nuclear weapons on board.
In 1963, preparations began for the "Pan-European Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe."
Kennedy's political testament is a speech at American University on June 10, 1963, which called for "to ensure peace not only in our time, but forever" by "expanding mutual understanding between the USSR and us."
John Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas(State of Texas); while the presidential motorcade was moving through the streets of the city, shots were heard. The first bullet hit the president in the back of the neck and exited the throat from the front, the second hit the head and caused the destruction of the bones of the skull in the back of the head, as well as damage to the medulla. President Kennedy was taken to the operating room, where half an hour after the assassination attempt, he was pronounced dead. In addition, Texas Governor Connolly, who was riding in the same car, was seriously injured, and one of the passers-by was also slightly injured.
Lee Harvey Oswald, arrested on suspicion of murder, was shot and killed two days later at a police station by Dallas resident Jack Ruby, who also later died in prison.
The official report of the "Warren Commission" on the investigation into the circumstances of the Kennedy assassination was published in 1964; according to this report, Oswald was the president's killer, and all the shots were fired by him from the top floor of the building. No conspiracy aimed at assassination, according to the report, could be identified.
Official data on the Kennedy assassination are contradictory and contain a number of "blank spots". There are a lot of different conspiracy theories about this case: it is doubtful that Oswald fired at the car at all or that he was the only shooter. The connection of the murder with various major figures in politics and business is supposed, the deliberate elimination of witnesses, etc. is seen. One of these versions is presented in the film "JFK" by Oliver Stone. About John F. Kennedy filmed including: "PT 109" (1963) - about the participation of Kennedy in World War II; the series "Kennedy" and "The Kennedy Clan" (Kennedy, in 1983 and The Kennedys in 2011); "John F. Kennedy: Reckless Youth" (J.F.K.: Reckless Youth, 1993).
Personal life of John F. Kennedy:
Brothers and sisters:
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915-1944)
Rosemary Kennedy (1918-2005)
Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920-1948)
Eunice Mary Kennedy (1921-2009). Husband - Sargent Robert Shriver (1915-2011). Their daughter, Maria Shriver (1955), was his wife.
Patricia Kennedy (1924-2006). She was married to American actor Peter Lawford (1923-1984).
Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968)
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (1928)
Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)
In November 2002, after the expiration of the term for keeping medical secrets, the medical records were made public. Kennedy's physical illnesses turned out to be more serious than previously thought. He was in constant pain from an injured spine despite repeated treatments, in addition to suffering from severe digestive problems and Addison's disease. Kennedy repeatedly had to inject novocaine before press conferences to look healthy.
He was the richest president in the United States.
Bibliography of John Kennedy:
Profiles in courage. - NY-Evanston: Harper & Raw, 1957.
The book gives short biographies people whom Kennedy considered models of courage in politics. In 1957, Kennedy received the Pulitzer Prize, the highest award in journalism, for this book. The book was republished in 1964.
Why England slept - NY, 1961. Kennedy's thesis edition.
A nation of immigrants - NY-Evanston: Harper & Raw, 1964.
America the beautiful in the worlds - 1964
« Personal diary 35th President of the United States ”- After the death of Kennedy, a diary was published in which John Kennedy wrote down his sayings and thoughts.
Kennedy John Fitzgerald (1917-1963), 35th President of the United States (1961-1963).
Born May 29, 1917 in Brookline (Massachusetts) in one of the most famous and influential families in the United States. He studied at Harvard University, graduating with honors in 1940.
In the fall of the following year, he joined the US Navy and, with the rank of second lieutenant, commanded a torpedo boat in the Solomon Islands (in the Pacific Ocean, east of New Guinea); He was badly wounded and twice awarded for bravery.
After the end of World War II, he worked as a correspondent. In 1946, Kennedy entered Congress on the lists of the Democratic Party from Massachusetts. He established himself as a liberal politician, but in foreign policy he was one of the first to support the development of the Cold War.
In 1952, Kennedy was elected to the Senate. In January 1960, he announced his candidacy for the presidency and, having won the election, became the youngest president in US history.
Kennedy proposed a program of social and economic reforms. It has not been fully implemented. Under him, the range of both peaceful and military methods of protecting the interests of the country in the global confrontation with the USSR expanded. Particular attention was paid to the states of the "third world". In March 1961, the "Peace Corps" was created for the work of American volunteers in developing countries.
During the Berlin (1961) and Cuban (1962) crises, when the two superpowers were on the verge of nuclear war, the world was saved largely thanks to Kennedy's brilliant political gift. Since the spring of 1963, the president has increasingly spoken out in favor of peaceful coexistence with the USSR.
On November 22, 1963, while on a campaign trip to Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was mortally wounded by two shots to the head from a sniper rifle. The assassination of the president is officially considered solved, however real reasons and the organizers of the crime are still unknown.
Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC.
