The Kennedy family is very well known. They may be one of the most famous American families of the 20th century. I thought I knew a lot about the Kennedys. After reading Unfinished Life John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 by Roger Dallek, I was clearly wrong.
Written in 2003, Dallek had access to documents that prior Kennedy biographers did not. Dallek goes into detail about JFK medical issues, philandering and a family's obsession with having a son elected President of the United States.
My roommate in college during the 89-90 school year would tell me stories about playing summer baseball in the Cape Cod League. If you are a serious baseball fan, you know that the Cape Cod League is the premier summer baseball league for amateur players trying to make the big leagues. You are probably asking yourself, what does the Cape baseball league have to do with JFK? His family owned a house, probably better described as a compound in Hyannis Port, MA on the Cape. My roommate played in the summer of 1989 in Hyannis. He would tell me stories of driving by the Kennedy compound and seeing Rose Kennedy sitting on the front porch. To tell a story of JFK, you need to start with Rose.
Rose was the daughter of John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald who was served two terms as mayor of Boston. Rose would marry Joe Kennedy and they would go on to have nine children with JFK being the second oldest. Honey Fitz did not approve of the marriage as Joe was the son of P.J. Kennedy one of his political rivals.
I knew the Kennedys were wealthy but the book goes into great detail about Joe's business ventures and the tremendous wealth Joe amassed. The wealth shielded the family from problems during the depression. JFK admitted to friends he did not know the impact the Depression had on Americans as he was away at prep school during this time. The wealth helped JFK receive a tremendous amount of medical care as he a tremendous amount of health problems during his life.
Rose was a very devout Catholic. Joe had numerous affairs including with actress Gloria Swanson. Joe would even have his children help him find women to have sex with.
Joe had a plan early on for one of his sons to be President. The plan was for his eldest son Joe Jr. This plan did not materialize as Joe Jr. was killed in action in WWII as his plane was shot down. This would be the start of shocking deaths for the Kennedy. JFK had a sister die at the age of 28 in 1948, his untimely death in 1963, his brother being killed in 1968 and his son dying in a plane crash in the late 90s.
JFK served in WWII and famously saved his crew while captaining his boat PT 109. He won a
Pulitzer prize for writing Profiles in Courage. Served in Congress as a Rep and Senator. All of this was part of the plan to become President.
Growing up Catholic, I was well aware of JFK being the first and only Catholic President. What I didn't know there was such anti-Catholic sentiment in the country leading up to the 1960 election. He choose LBJ as his running mate in part to secure the Southern vote. Another factor was the rising use of television. This election was the first time Presidential debates were televised. JFK looks, charming personality and gift for public speaking were tremendous assets. JFK failed to get a majority of the vote and beat Nixon by 112,000 votes. An argument can be made that JFK won as Nixon was not a likeable person.
His presidency lasted for approximately 1,000 days and included:
- Failed Bay of Pigs invasion
- Escalating tensions in Vietnam and Southeast Asia
- Cold War with the Soviet Union
- Failing to pass Civil Rights legislation
- Starting NASA and promising a man on the moon by the end of the decade
He gets a tremendous amount of credit for his handling of the Cold War and not sending in ground troops in Vietnam. His negotiations avoided a nuclear war that could have wiped half of the planet. He received advice from many to send in troops in Vietnam. Unfortunately, 57K Americans would die before realizing ground troops is a mistake. JFK was right. Vietnam was not a winnable war.
His life came to a tragic end on November 22, 1963. Many theories have been discussed at length about his killing. Did Castro order the killing as payback for the failed CIA attempt to kill Castro? Did the CIA order the killing as JFK was comprised as he had an affair with a woman who had ties to East German communists? Was it someone in the Mafia as his brother Bobby who just happened to be Attorney General was cracking down on organized crime.
When you analyze his time in the White House, JFK was an above average President. He often gets talked about in the same company as Washington, Lincoln and FDR. Most Presidential scholars agree he does not belong in the same conversation with them. His elevation takes place due to his family being the closest thing possible to royalty in America.
No matter what your opinion of JFK is, the title of the book states it well. An Unfinished Life.
6,171 pages have been read in the 11 books. Only 33 to go. Up next is Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin book titled Team of Rivals.
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