John Fitzgerald Kennedy Biography

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

We are going to tell you about JFK’s life. You probably know him thanks to the famous song “ Happy birthday Mr President “ sung by Marilyn Monroe for his 45th birthday. But you have to know that he had a very full life, and this is what you are going to discover.

PLAN

YOUNG LIFE

John Fitzgerald Kennedy commonly known as « Jack » or by his initials JFK was born on May 29 1917 in Massachusetts. He is the second of a family of nine children.

In September 1931, he was sent to a private school in Connecticut. In 1934, he was diagnosed with colitis (jaunisse) and had to stop his studies. Kennedy graduated from this school in June 35

In September 1935, he started studying at the London school of Economics but his bad health forced his return to America in October 35. He spent six weeks at Princeton University before getting hospitalized for a second time.

In September 36, he enrolled at Harvard where he studied economics, American politics and history.

When his father moved to London, JFK travelled in Europe and particularly in Germany where he wrote his first best seller “Why England slept”. At the age of 23, he seemed to be a brilliant journalist.

FAMILY

JFK married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953; they had 2 children John (who died in a plane crash) and Caroline.

POLITIC ASCENTION

JFK did his military service as a lieutenant; he was the commander of Motor Torpedo Boats PT-109 and PT-59 during World War II in the South Pacific. He represented Massachusetts’ 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat. After, he served in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election and became president at the age of 43.

DOMESTIC POLICY

The political program “New Frontier” ambitiously promised federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, stimulation of the economy and government intervention to halt the recession. Kennedy also promised an end to racial discrimination. He launched various initiatives like the Peace Corp, the Alliance for Progress and the Apollo program. He used the term “New Frontier” in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention.

He worked with his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to stop the organized crime.

He also pushed some advancement in civil rights about the racial segregation. There was a law written by the Supreme Court of the United States that told that the racial segregation in school was unconstitutional but it wasn’t always respected, especially in Southern States. The Court also prohibited segregation in other public places (buses, restaurants, theaters, bathrooms…) but it continued. JFK’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, would succeed in doing the right thing, decreeing the Civil Rights Act introduced by Kennedy in the summer of 1963. JFK also supported Martin Luther King and was inspired by Abraham Lincoln.

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