Sinead Fitzgibbon - JFK - History in an Hour

JFK

History in an Hour

Sinead Fitzgibbon

About History in an Hour About History in an Hour Introduction From the Old World to the New Early Life War Service Triumph to Tragedy Passing the Baton Political Beginnings Onwards and Upwards When Jack Met Jackie A Small Setback The Right Man for the Job? Presidential Campaign The Birth of Camelot The Bay of Pigs Space Wars East vs West ‘Eyeball to Eyeball’ A Moral Crisis Vietnam Farewell to Camelot Epilogue Appendix 1: Key Players Appendix 2: Timeline of JFK Copyright Got Another Hour? About the Publisher

History in an Hour is a series of ebooks to help the reader learn the basic facts of a given subject area. Everything you need to know is presented in a straightforward narrative and in chronological order. No embedded links to divert your attention, nor a daunting book of 600 pages with a 35-page introduction. Just straight in, to the point, sixty minutes, done. Then, having absorbed the basics, you may feel inspired to explore further.

Give yourself sixty minutes and see what you can learn …

To find out more visit http://historyinanhour.com or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/historyinanhour

Contents

Title Page JFK History in an Hour Sinead Fitzgibbon

About History in an Hour About History in an Hour About History in an Hour Introduction From the Old World to the New Early Life War Service Triumph to Tragedy Passing the Baton Political Beginnings Onwards and Upwards When Jack Met Jackie A Small Setback The Right Man for the Job? Presidential Campaign The Birth of Camelot The Bay of Pigs Space Wars East vs West ‘Eyeball to Eyeball’ A Moral Crisis Vietnam Farewell to Camelot Epilogue Appendix 1: Key Players Appendix 2: Timeline of JFK Copyright Got Another Hour? About the Publisher History in an Hour is a series of ebooks to help the reader learn the basic facts of a given subject area. Everything you need to know is presented in a straightforward narrative and in chronological order. No embedded links to divert your attention, nor a daunting book of 600 pages with a 35-page introduction. Just straight in, to the point, sixty minutes, done. Then, having absorbed the basics, you may feel inspired to explore further. Give yourself sixty minutes and see what you can learn … To find out more visit http://historyinanhour.com or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/historyinanhour

Introduction Introduction Few in political history have enjoyed the kind of instant recognition afforded to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, America’s 35 th President. Known simply as JFK, Kennedy’s good looks and easy charm was potently deployed through the newly influential medium of television. This meant that his journey to the White House captured the imagination of millions of people, both domestically and internationally. For many, Kennedy’s inauguration heralded a bright new dawn for US politics. At just forty-three, he was the youngest man ever to be elected President; he was also the first Roman Catholic. With youth, charisma and widespread popularity on his side, the future seemed bright. Unfortunately, he was denied the chance to live up to his early promise. Barely one thousand days into his presidency, which had been marred by civil unrest in the segregated South and the threat of nuclear war from the Soviet Union, Kennedy’s life was curtailed by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. The country’s youngest-ever elected president thus became the youngest to die – thereby immortalizing JFK as a tragic hero. However, since his death, details have emerged of a private life at odds with his public persona. Rumours of serial adultery, hidden health problems, a secret marriage, and even drug addictions have since blurred his once pristine image. This, in an hour, is the history of JFK.

From the Old World to the New From the Old World to the New By the mid-twentieth-century, the Kennedy family was among the richest and most powerful in America. Just three generations previously, JFK’s paternal and maternal ancestors had endured lives of poverty in famine-stricken Ireland. Such was their deprivation that both of his great-grandfathers – Thomas Fitzgerald and Patrick Kennedy – were forced to abandon their impoverished country in search of a new and better life in the US State of Massachusetts. John ‘Honey Fitz’ Fitzgerald In their adoptive country, both families enjoyed success in business and eventually became involved in politics. Thomas Fitzgerald’s son – John Francis Fitzgerald, known as ‘Honey Fitz’ – was a member of both the US House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate, in addition to serving two terms as Boston’s first Irish–Catholic mayor. After making his fortune from whiskey importation and a successful foray into banking, Patrick Kennedy’s only son, PJ, also turned his mind to a career in public service. PJ Kennedy would eventually serve five years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as well as six years in the State Senate. Patrick Joseph ‘PJ’ Kennedy On 7 October 1914, after a seven-year courtship, Honey Fitz’s eldest daughter, Rose, married PJ Kennedy’s eldest son, Joseph, thus merging these two influential Irish–American clans.

Early Life

War Service

Triumph to Tragedy

Passing the Baton

Political Beginnings

Onwards and Upwards

When Jack Met Jackie

A Small Setback

The Right Man for the Job?

Presidential Campaign

The Birth of Camelot

The Bay of Pigs

Space Wars

East vs West

‘Eyeball to Eyeball’

A Moral Crisis

Vietnam

Farewell to Camelot

Epilogue

Appendix 1: Key Players

Appendix 2: Timeline of JFK

Copyright

Got Another Hour?

About the Publisher

Introduction

Few in political history have enjoyed the kind of instant recognition afforded to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, America’s 35 thPresident. Known simply as JFK, Kennedy’s good looks and easy charm was potently deployed through the newly influential medium of television. This meant that his journey to the White House captured the imagination of millions of people, both domestically and internationally.

For many, Kennedy’s inauguration heralded a bright new dawn for US politics. At just forty-three, he was the youngest man ever to be elected President; he was also the first Roman Catholic. With youth, charisma and widespread popularity on his side, the future seemed bright.

Unfortunately, he was denied the chance to live up to his early promise. Barely one thousand days into his presidency, which had been marred by civil unrest in the segregated South and the threat of nuclear war from the Soviet Union, Kennedy’s life was curtailed by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. The country’s youngest-ever elected president thus became the youngest to die – thereby immortalizing JFK as a tragic hero.

However, since his death, details have emerged of a private life at odds with his public persona. Rumours of serial adultery, hidden health problems, a secret marriage, and even drug addictions have since blurred his once pristine image.

This, in an hour, is the history of JFK.

From the Old World to the New

By the mid-twentieth-century, the Kennedy family was among the richest and most powerful in America. Just three generations previously, JFK’s paternal and maternal ancestors had endured lives of poverty in famine-stricken Ireland. Such was their deprivation that both of his great-grandfathers – Thomas Fitzgerald and Patrick Kennedy – were forced to abandon their impoverished country in search of a new and better life in the US State of Massachusetts.