Early life and military service

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Politics was a part of his heritage. Both of his grandfathers had been prominent in state politics. His father, a wealthy banker and businessman, held three government posts during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.

John Kennedy was educated at private schools. He excelled in his studies and in sports. In 1940 he graduated with honors from Harvard University.

A few months before the United States entered World War II in 1941, Kennedy tried to enlist in the United States Army. He was rejected because of an old injury to his back. After several months of exercise he was accepted by the Navy. In 1943 a Japanese destroyer sank the torpedo boat that he was commanding in the South Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands. Stranded far behind enemy lines, he led his crew to safety. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism.

Service in Congress

After the war Kennedy worked briefly as a newspaper correspondent. Soon he decided to follow the family tradition of public service. In 1946 he was elected to the United States Congress as a Democratic representative from Massachusetts. He served three terms in the House of Representatives, supporting such liberal causes as better working conditions, public housing, and social security for the aged.

In 1952 Kennedy was elected to the United States Senate. As a senator Kennedy became increasingly liberal in his political outlook. Among other causes, he fought for labor reform and civil-rights legislation. In 1958 he was reelected to the Senate by a margin of some 874,000 votes, the largest ever in Massachusetts politics.

Marriage and family

Shortly after his first election to the Senate Kennedy met Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. He married Jackie, as she became popularly known, on September 12, 1953. The glamorous couple raised two children, Caroline Bouvier and John Fitzgerald. A second son, Patrick Bouvier, died shortly after birth in 1963.

Back surgery

Beginning in 1954 Kennedy underwent a series of operations to treat his chronic back injury. While recuperating, he worked on the book Profiles in Courage (1956), a series of portraits of eight great U.S. political leaders. Published in 1956, the book became a best-seller and was awarded a Pulitzer prize in 1957.

Nomination and election

At the 1960 Democratic National Convention, Kennedy was nominated for the presidency on the first ballot. In the election he narrowly defeated his Republican opponent, Richard M. Nixon.

Kennedy was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. In his memorable inaugural address he called on Americans to commit themselves to public service. He said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

Foreign affairs

As Kennedy took office, tensions between Communist and Western nations were growing. The new president pledged strong efforts to halt the spread of Communism. As Communist forces threatened South Vietnam at the beginning of the Vietnam War, Kennedy sent military advisers, financial assistance, and supplies to aid the anti-Communist resistance.

In April 1961 Kennedy supported an invasion of Cuba by Cuban rebels. Cuba, less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the coast of Florida, was the only Communist country in the Western Hemisphere and a thorn in the side of the United States. The rebels were attempting to overthrow the Soviet-supported government of Fidel Castro. They were defeated quickly at the Bay of Pigs. The disastrous invasion embarrassed Kennedy and worsened relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Continued tensions led to a serious crisis in October 1962. Through aerial photographs, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was building nuclear missile bases in Cuba. Kennedy viewed this as a threat to the United States. In response, he ordered U.S. warships to blockade Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from reaching the island. For 13 days nuclear war seemed near. At the end of October, however, Khrushchev agreed to remove the weapons from the island. By the end of November the missiles had been shipped back to the Soviet Union and the United States had lifted the blockade.

Kennedy's greatest foreign triumph was the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, which was signed by representatives of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain in 1963. The agreement banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater but permitted underground testing.

Domestic policies

Kennedy called his program for the nation the New Frontier. His policies were designed to reduce unemployment, provide medical care for the aged, reduce federal income taxes, and protect the civil rights of African Americans. Congress did not always agree with his proposals, however. It approved several programs, including the Peace Corps, a volunteer service to help other countries in their development efforts. But two other projects, tax cuts and a sweeping civil-rights measure, were not passed until after his death.

In April 1961 the Soviets successfully launched the first man into outer space. In response, Kennedy committed the United States to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In 1969 U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Kennedy did not live to witness the achievement, however.

Assassination

As part of his campaign for reelection, Kennedy visited Dallas, Texas, with his wife on November 22, 1963. As the presidential motorcade passed through the city, shots rang out. The president was hit in the neck and the head. He was dead upon arrival at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Within hours Lyndon B. Johnson, the vice president, was sworn in as president. Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old Dallas citizen, was accused of the slaying. Two days later Oswald was himself shot dead.

A week after taking office, President Johnson formed a commission to investigate Kennedy's murder. The commission looked into claims that other people besides Oswald had been involved in the assassination. They concluded that Oswald had acted alone. Despite these findings, questions about the murder persisted for decades.