John Fitzgerald Kennedy Argumentative Essay Example For Students

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Argumentative Essay John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, the second oldest in a family of nine children. His great grandparents had come the United States from Ireland in the mid-1800, s after a famine caused severe poverty in that Country. Although their families had not come to the United States with much money, Both of John Kennedys grandfathers became political leaders in Boston. One of them John Fitzgerald, (for whom he was named), was elected mayor in 1905. John Kennedys Father, Joseph Patrick became a very wealthy businessman, he was and adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States Ambassador to Great Britain from 1938 to 1940. John Kennedy (his family called him Jack,) moved to New York when He was ten years old. Since the family spent summer months at their home in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Jack still lived a good part of his life in Massachusetts. As a boy and a young man, he traveled to other parts of the United States and to other countries. After graduating from the Choate School in Connecticut in 1935, he went on to Harvard College and graduated in 1940. That same year he wrote a best selling book, alled, Why England Slept, it was about some of the decisions, which led to World War In 1941, John Kennedy joined the Navy. He became the commander of a small PT boat, assigned to the battle in the Pacific against the Japanese. One night while on patrol, a large enemy ship rammed Kennedys boat. Two men in the crew of thirteen were killed, and the rest led by Lt. Kennedy swam to a nearby deserted island. There they managed to survive mostly by eating coconuts, until they were rescued a week later. After World War II, John n Kenney had to choose the kind of work he wanted to o. He considered becoming a teacher or a writer but soon he decided to run for political office. In 1946 he was elected to the U. S. Congress, representing a district in greater Boston, Kennedy a democrat served three terms (six years), in the House of Representatives, and in 1952 he was elected to the U. S. Senate. In 1953, he married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. The following year he had a serious operation on his back. While recovering from surgery, he wrote a book about several U. S. enators, which had risked their careers to fight for the things in which they believed. The book, called Profiles in Courage, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. That same year the Kennedys first child Caroline, was born. Kennedy had narrowly missed being picked as the Democratic Partys candidate for Vice President in 1956. Soon after, he began a long campaign to become President in 1960. At the convention on July 13, 1960, the Democrats chose Kennedy as their Presidential candidate. Kennedy asked Lyndon B. Johnson, a senator from Texas, to run with him for Vice President. In the general election on November 8, 1960, Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon in a very close race, the popular vote was 34,226,731 for Kennedy and 34,108,157 for Nixon. The electoral vote was 303 for the Kennedy campaign and 219 for Nixon. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President and also the first Catholic. John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on January 20, 1961. In his Inaugural Address, he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, he said. He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the ommon enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Soon after the election Kennedys second child was born John Jr. One of President Kennedys first important actions was creating the Peace Corps. Americans who join the Peace Corps go as volunteers to countries requesting assistance. They served as teachers and provided help in areas such as farming, health care and Kennedy also wanted Americas to travel to more distant destinations. Fedex Corp. vs United Parcel Service, Inc Case Study EssayIn most southern states, schools, buses, restaurants, and other public places were racially segregated. there were separate schools, separate seats on bused and separate areas in restaurants for whites and blacks. State and local laws also prevented black Americans from voting . Since the 1950s many people Black and white had been working to change these laws. During the 1960 presidential campaign Martin Luther King Jr. ,one of the most famous leaders of the civil rights movement had been jailed for leading a protest in Georgia. Kennedy called his wife Coretta Scott King and offered his Many African Americans the decided to vote for Kennedy Civil rights leaders however were disappointed with the slow and careful pace of President Kennedys efforts to ensure equality for all Americans. Kennedy believed in hallenging unfair laws in the courts rather than holding public demonstrations. He believed that demonstrations would anger many white southern members of congress whose help he needed to pass new laws and approve treaties. events however forced Kennedy to change his views. In May 1961 a group of white and black people ignored segregation laws and traveled together by bus through the south. In several cities crowds of angry white people beat these freedom riders and burned their buses. Attorney General Robert Kennedy JFKs brother had to sent U. S. marshals to protect the freedom riders. heir actions eventually led to the desegregation of all buses and waiting rooms used for travel between states. In September 1962, the nation faced the threat of violence in the State of Mississippi. James Meredith, an African America and an Air Force veteran, applied and was admitted to the University of Mississippi. However, when he arrived on campus, university officials would not let him go to class because he was black. Both John and Robert Kennedy had long talks over the telephone with the Mississippi governor, Ross Barnett. However, they failed to convince Barnett to allow James Meredith to attend lasses. In order to enforce the Constitution and to protect Meredith, Kennedy ordered the National Guard and federal marshals to the University. After a riot in which two people died and dozens were injured, Meredith registered for classes and segregation ended at Segregation had not ended everywhere, however. Almost a year later, Alabama governor, George Wallace, who had promised to support segregation today, tomorrow and forever, would not allow African American students to attend the University of Alabama. After President Kennedy was forced once again to send soldiers to protect tudents who wanted nothing more than an education, he decided to speak to the nation on television about civil rights, He said Americans had a legal and a moral responsibility to provide equal access to education and guarantee voting rights for all citizens. In addition to all the problems and challenges of being President, John Kennedy also had to fulfill the role of our nations head of state. He and his wife Jacqueline hosted dinners and parties in Washington for the leaders of other nations. They also traveled to Latin America and Europe, because Mrs. Kennedy believed that the nations capital should be he center for the arts and culture as well as the center of government and law, she invited many musicians, writers, and dancers to the White House to perform. On November 21, 1963 President Kennedy flew to Texas to give several political speeches. The next day as his car drove slowly past cheering crowds in Dallas shots rang out, Kennedy was seriously wounded and died a short time later. Within two hours of the shooting, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, and charged him with the murder. On November 24, 1963, a Dallas man, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, before there was a chance to put him on trial.