Throughout this biography of John F. Kennedy, Dallek tells us about the life story and difficulties of being a member of the growing Kennedy dynasty. This biography takes us through Kennedy’s life from adolescence until his death and does not spare the darker secrets of his life while also highlighting his strengths and moments of triumph. Through the access that Dallek was given to first-hand sources, secret Kennedy family documents, and archives that have never been opened before, the reader is given a new insight into how one thinks about John’s life, his presidency, and the legacy he left our nation.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born into a prominent family on May 29, 1917. As a child, John and his siblings were raised by nannies and his mother, Rose, who all helped run the household, as his father, Joseph, was busy as a successful businessman. John and his siblings attended Choate, a boarding school in Connecticut where he graduated from and entered Harvard with his brother Joe in 1936. In the following year, Joseph Kennedy was appointed the United States ambassador in England and took the entire family with him except for Joe and John. During the summer, they decided to visit their family in England and upon his return, John was interested in current events and began studying history and government. Soon after their Harvard graduation in 1940, Joe and John joined the Navy. Then, in a dangerous mission in Europe in 1944, Joe died in a plane crash. When he returned home without his brother, John was awarded a medal and with the war ending, he knew he needed to finally choose his career. After speaking with his father, he decided to run for Congress in Massachusetts and ultimately won the position and started his political career in 1946. He then served three terms in the House of Representatives and was elected to the United States Senate in 1952. John went on to marry Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953 and continued to grow as a popular politician. He began working very long hours and traveling when he decided to run for president in 1960 and asked Lyndon B. Johnson to become his vice president. On January 20, 1961, John became the 35th and youngest United States President to serve office and brought a new, youthful spirit to the White House. He created the Peace Corps, ended segregation, and led the way for Americans to explore space. On November 21, 1963, he flew to Texas to give political speeches. The next day, the presidential motorcade made its way through the streets packed full of cheering crowds in Dallas where shots rang out and the president had been fatally wounded. Hours later, President Kennedy was pronounced dead and the nation began to mourn over the tragic loss of a hopeful and optimistic president that only wanted our nation to unite to better itself, thus the title of this biography.
Throughout reading this book, I was surprised at some of the details of John F. Kennedy’s life. One of the most surprising situations that caught my attention while reading this was the vast number of affairs that he had with women such as, Pamela Turnure, Jackie’s press secretary; Mary Pinchotmeyer, Ben Bradlee’s sister in law; two White House secretaries; Judith Campbell Exner, a connection to the mob; a 19-year-old college student and White House intern; and numerous Hollywood stars and starlets including Marilyn Monroe. Although Kennedy is described as a womanizer and proved this through his actions, Jackie stood by his side and continued to support him as his First Lady. Additionally, John had plenty of brushes with death throughout his life due to his constant suffering and as a result of the many illnesses he faced, he also became an abuser of drugs. Throughout his life, Kennedy was hospitalized for severe back pain, intestinal ailments, ulcers, infections, colitis, and Addison’s disease. John also suffered urinary tract infections, prostatitis, osteoporosis, and allergies. For all of these conditions, John was prescribed different medications including; steroids, painkillers, anti-spasmodics, antibiotics, antihistamines, and occasionally an antipsychotic. Kennedy took as many as twelve medications at once and during times of stress, he only took more. This practice of bingeing medications often led to John being depressed, although many Americans believe that this did not affect his presidency. In contrast to the vast majority, Dallek speculated that the corset that President Kennedy wore for his back pains, which made his back particularly straight and limited the mobility of his head and neck, only made him a sitting target for his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
Reading this biography opened my eyes to how the government hides some facts from its citizens in order to protect them. I believe that if Americans were aware of many hidden details about John F. Kennedy’s life, he would not be seen as the youthful, healthy, and successful United States president that he was. John and Jackie worked hard to keep the Kennedy name and public image as positive and clean as it could be in order to secure the presidency and bring the United States together as one like they had set out to do. Although John had many faults, he also had wonderful intentions during his incomplete term of 1036 days as the president of our country. He fought for Civil Rights, increased funding in NASA which eventually took a man to the moon although he did not live to see it, fought for the independence of Africans and even employed some at the White House, supported the Alliance for Progress which aided Latin Americans, and fought the Cold War with inspiring leadership. One of my favorite things that John F. Kennedy did was introduce and normalize intellectual disabilities to the public eye, including mental health. In President Kennedy’s time, these issues were overlooked and those suffering from intellectual disabilities were usually sent to institutions who gave little to no care to the patients. His little sister Rosemary was born with intellectual disabilities, so Mr. Kennedy knew the importance of finding the right care for someone who was suffering. In October of 1961 at a press conference, the president told the citizens of the United States that he would appoint "a panel of outstanding scientists, doctors, and others to prescribe a plan of action in the field of (intellectual disabilities)." He explained to the public that there was no understanding of the causes of these disabilities and that as a united country with the aid of scientists, they must all work together to better understand and prevent intellectual disabilities. Six days later, he met with the panel and on October 31, 1963, he signed the piece of legislation that provided funding to create research centers and help centers to try to combat the stigma around intellectual disabilities that were present at the time. Thanks to the steps that President Kennedy took towards the normalization of mental health, it is now understood and treatment options are readily available today. The fact that he was assassinated before we could see all that Kennedy had to offer is the most tragic part of his legacy. He was full of hope for America and only wanted to see all of its citizens united for the greater cause of humanity.
The values important to Kennedy can be summed in a quote stated in one of his most famous speeches, “Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.”