Kade Yeager
Mr. Montgomery
English 3 Honors P.6
10 December 2018
Person Who Changed the World: JFK
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”-John F. Kennedy. This quote basically means that it may be risky to act, but it is far riskier to sit back and do nothing. This is one of many JFK quotes that show his positivity and why he is such an influential person. John F. Kennedy was an important and influential figure in history that had a positive impact on the world because he overcame his mistakes, fought for peace, and pushed to end segregation.
John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline Massachusetts (Bio 1). He went to an elite prep school known as Choate which is in Connecticut. He wasn’t the best student which held him down, but it didn’t stop him from going to Princeton and later transferring to Harvard. (Bio 7). One event that impacted JFK was World War 2 because it influenced him to join the Navy where he would earn a Purple Heart award. (Bio 9). However, this event didn’t impact JFK the most. The death of his brother, Joseph Kennedy Jr., on August 12, 1944, hit him hard (JFK library). Th death of Kennedy’s brother led him to take his family’s hopes and dreams for his brother onto himself (Bio 10). He then began his career in politics.
The field Kennedy is most famous for is politics. He is mainly known for being the second youngest president and that he was assassinated while in office. John F. Kennedy started his political career at the age of 29 when he was elected to congress (UVA 8). He served three terms before he ran for the Senate where he would end up beating the famous Boston Republican named Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (UVA 8). Kennedy had to overcome many illnesses while he was serving his time in the Senate. Source 3 states, “Left thin and sallow by malaria brought home from the war in the Pacific, he also suffered from Addison's disease, which many doctors considered terminal.” These diseases caused him to have the worst attendance out of all the other congressional members.(Selverstone 11). Kennedy then had to overcome Vice President at the time Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. (Bio 16). Kennedy ended up winning by a narrow margin to become the 35th president of the United States. (Bio 16).
Kennedy became famous when he was elected President because of how young he was and that he advocated for peace and civil rights. Kennedy would go on to have 1 big failure but many great accomplishments.
Although Kennedy didn’t have many accomplishments because his presidency didn’t last that long, the accomplishments he had were pretty significant. According to presidential historian Robert Dallek, Kennedy had a hard time to start his presidency. One of his first failures happened only a year into his presidency. This was known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. This was a failed attempt to try and overthrow the new Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. (History.com Editors). Kennedy himself said “How could I have been so stupid?” (Dallek). After failing miserably with the Bay of Pigs Invasion Kennedy would learn from his mistakes and change for the better.
One of Kennedy’s first accomplishments as president was the temporary creation of the Peace Corps. (UVA 1). The Peace Corps was a group that advocated for world peace. Kennedy appointed Sargent Shriver to be leader of the Peace Corps. (UVA 2). Another accomplishment that Kennedy is quite popular for is his support for the US space program. After Russia sent the first man into space Kennedy believed he could put the first man on the moon. Source 5 states, “On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy in an address to Congress challenged the nation to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon.” He asked Congress to find additional funds to support the nation's space program.” Sadly Kennedy would never be able to see the first man on the moon because of his assassination. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 while the first man landed on the moon in 1969. (UVA). Kennedy’s next accomplishment was his support for the Civil Rights Movement. On June 11, 1963, he delivered the Civil Rights speech. This speech showed his strong support for civil rights and he even had civil rights as a main topic on his agenda. (Dallek). Kennedy sadly couldn’t see the Civil Rights Movement succeed. While Kennedy was in office the Supreme court ruled segregation in transportation facilities unconstitutional. (UVA). The University of Mississippi would also be desegregated soon after. (UVA).