Preview

Why Is John F. Kennedy A Second Choice?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1335 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is John F. Kennedy A Second Choice?
John Kennedy is probably the biggest victory for the Democratic party of the USA in its history. As known, he accorded all the wishes of the American people. Veterans favored him, because Kennedy took part in the fighting in the Pacific Ocean, commanding of motor torpedo boat PT-109. All loved him. However, probably due to the fact that he was of the Catholic religion, which was viewed as a disadvantage in the eyes of Protestants, but also because of the refusal to vote for the condemnation of Senator McCarthy, which has seriously hit the image of Kennedy in the environment of the liberals, he got just 0.2% more votes than Richard Nixon. However, the electoral votes were distributed so that Kennedy was chosen as the winner of the presidential …show more content…
It was then that Kennedy became what they now see as favorites of all America. It is in this decade, the sons of Joseph Kennedy were brought to life by his motto: "Image is reality". And that image has allowed John F. Kennedy to become the youngest U.S. president. However it should be admitted that John Kennedy was just a "second choice" for his father. His main hopes were laid on the eldest son –Joseph Kennedy. But after the tragic death of the eldest son in the UK, he was forced to pay attention to his middle son. And it was a good …show more content…
The foreign policy of the Kennedy era is a combination of pragmatism and idealism. It might be that this was the combination that helped the world to avoid a global nuclear war that could break out during the period of the Cuban missile crisis. At the same time, during the Kennedy presidency the foundations were laid for the invasion of Vietnam, which was completed by his successor as US President - Lyndon

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Kennedy 's image was immediately improved. American 's idea of Kennedy before the debate was not a negative one, just that he was young, only being 43 when the campaigning was taking place. Aside from his age, which also came with inexperience, some American 's had a preconceived notion about Kennedy as being "snobbish", and some went even as far as to criticize him for his Catholic roots (Lang, Curtis 281). His apparent "snobbish" attitude was suggested because he had grown up in world of ease and privilege. Kennedy was born into a very wealthy and powerful family. His father, Joseph F. Kennedy, was the former American Ambassador to Britain (Brinkley, Alan 808). Although American 's had some doubts about Kennedy, he was also viewed as "a fine young man" with a lot of…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    These moves by Kennedy were positive, America had made itself into a 'defender' and subsequently felt the need to fulfil its 'duties' such as training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and providing air support all without sending in ground troops until crucial, saving lives while still maintaining their prestige. However, the increase came at a huge financial cost – which the press and the public began to question – all in the need to 'look strong' against communism, which they used against the Democrats who had note. As a result, Kennedy needed to stand up to Vietnam, thus leading to his increased involvement.…

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Was Jfk Important

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s significance was that he won presidency after narrowly beating Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. The debates between Nixon and Kennedy were the first to be televised and many tilted toward Kennedy because he looked younger and healthier than Nixon did, which introduced the idea that public image was highly influential in the way Americans voted. Among John F. Kennedy 's most notable and long-standing accomplishments was the establishment of the Peace Corps, an organization that is now responsible for sending thousands of American volunteers around the world to help the needy. JFK’s cautious and sensible approach to the standoff during the Cuban Missile Crisis diverted a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Kennedy promised freedom to the world but was very cautious when it came to ensuring equal rights in the United States. Kennedy’s leadership in the civil rights area was hesitant at best, but he laid out the floor plans…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States. He was one of the youngest individuals and first roman catholic to be elected for office. John had a luxurious life with his eight other siblings, from attending private schools, sailboats, servants, and summer homes. Kennedy graduated from…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The cautious policies that were executed by President John F. Kennedy and his administration were directly influenced by all the pressures that surrounded Kennedy and, thankfully, prevented the cold war from escalating. Kennedy had to utilize all the hard lessons provided from the first and second World Wars in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, to instead make a strong and good decision as leader of our country. Some of the pressures that Kennedy was under were; to first avoid engaging in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and the second was to uphold American morals. With all this weight on Kennedy shoulders him and his administration had to take a diplomatic approach and attempt to come to an agreement with the Soviet union…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John F Kennedy Dbq

    • 1320 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Kennedy was the president from the start of the 60s and was able to avoid nuclear war. John F. Kennedy (JFK) had tremendous skill when it came to political challenges, in that he had no real internal challenges. John F. Kennedy’s economic plans helped the nation with his low tax plan and lower interest rates. JFK lead to the GDP increasing and many businesses booming. JFK advanced civil rights by being the first president to advocate of civil rights of African Americans and setting the ground work for Lyndon B. Johnson. Where JFK failed is what many consider his success, his diplomacy skills. While it is true JFK was able to prevent going to nuclear war with Cuba it was JFK who put us there in the first place. JFK instead of communicating with Fidel Castro and negotiating diplomatically JFK tried other methods. JFK had numerous assassination attempts on Castro and the whole reason Cuba felt it needed nuclear weapons was to protect itself from the US after the Bay of Pigs incident. Another stain on his record which is more often blamed on his successor was the start of the Vietnam war. JFK first backed a dictator over a democratically elected official and when he fell, JFK trained the “resistance” against North…

    • 1320 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were both very popular presidents of the United States of America. They both had tremendous influences on history that can never be forgotten. Both of them were elected to congress in 1946, which was a period when Republicans were taking control of Congress. During the presidential election of 1960, both candidates had unorthodox viewpoints. There is a quote from Nixon when he was looking at a portrait of Kennedy that says “When they look at you, they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they are.” Nixon, who was supposed to be a conservative Republican, pushed an anti-New Deal reform; however, Kennedy started out with a fairly conservative description of himself. Both Kennedy and Nixon were opposed to the approaching Cold War the day they were sworn in office. While on the campaign, Kennedy told a radio show that he berated a bunch of youngsters for having flawed views on the Soviet Union, which reinforced his conservative view of domestic policy.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the brief years as a President Kennedy accomplished a multitude of things. Those ranging from influencing the people to slowly trust catholic people, to fighting for the Civil Rights Act in which Lyndon B Johnson finished. In addition to being a war hero, John F Kennedy willed NASA to go to the Moon and beat the Russian who were winning the space race at the time by increasing their funds (Kennedy). Countless developing countries were in need so John F Kennedy assembled the Peace Corps to come and aid the helpless in those countries for the better of the world. Although there was some major mishaps in his Political career like the Bay of Pigs operation, he did win some political battles against the Soviets. During the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy announced a Naval Blockade in Cuba. The only way for the US to not invade is to make Khrushchev agree to remove the missiles by making the US remove theirs in Turkey. In the end the Missile attack was prevented. By signing the Limited Nuclear Act banned to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in space and underwater (Kennedy). These accomplishments can be executed by several other presidents but not all and only a select few are up with the standards of…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Another policy Kennedy pursued was the halting of Communism in Vietnam. He started by sending 100 advisors, 400 special forces, and the CIA to help train the ARVN in South Vietnam. Not long after he commited 200,000 troops to the conflict which took more of a…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, Him in his early life and his early childhood. John F. Kennedy was the second child of the family he had nine other brothers and sisters he had four brothers and five sister. When he was not yet three years i’ll he became sick and had scarlet fever and it was so bad it was life threatening. His parents were terrified that little Jack was going to die. When he was in college he went to harvard.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John F. Kennedy was an attractive liberal who changed the face of America. Winning his presidential term in 1960, he became one of the most beloved presidents in history.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what can you do for your country.” –John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John Kennedy more commonly known as “Jack” or his initials JFK represented youth and an idealistic America. JFK served as the 35th President of The United States from January 1961 until November 1963, when he was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The nation mourned as a whole, and fifty years later, continue to mourn. Kennedy’s presidency was short lived, but his legacy was not.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It wasn't until October 22 Kennedy informed America of the Cuban Missile Crisis. My Great Grandma heard it on the radio, she was afraid of what Kennedy's next decision for this crisis would be. Kennedy's next move was enacted naval blockade around Cuba informing that America was prepared to fight in a war if it was necessary. Hearing this, my Great Grandma (and most Americans) thought that America was going to go to war. “You don’t want your country to be in war” (Wallace) my Great Grandma tells me, it was a big fear because she had my Great Grandma Margaret and didn't want her to be in danger because at that time was only 2 years old. Finally, Kennedy did it, he pulled America out of war, my Great Grandma was happy, there would be no war in America. “The U.S agreed to the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s that they would not invade Cuba if they took away the Cuban missiles” (History, Cuban Missile Crisis). It was a big relief for my Great Grandma, no one had to get drafted in the war in our family! And the president was happy because that meant America didn't need to go into…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The JFK Era

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Our 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was the leader of the Democratic Party from 1961-1963, believer in a strong Navy and even stronger country. He was wed to first lady Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy. Together the two had three children, his daughter Caroline, and sons John Jr. and Patrick. On November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas he was gunned down by an assassin during a midday motorcade. While the murder of any President is a national tragedy, this event significantly impacted America because JFK was just past his first one thousand days in office. John F. Kennedy’s presidency had a profound effect on America and its history due to his contributions to the country as a whole. These contributions/accomplishments…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    John F. Kennedy once said “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.” Kennedy was elected as the 35th president of the United States in 1960. According to “History.com”, “43-year-old John F. Kennedy became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office.” The John F. Kennedy assassination caused many problems for America because he was a well-loved president. John F. Kennedy was a well-loved president, therefore his assassination caused many problems for America.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays