Kennedy, John F(itzgerald) (‘Jack’) (1917-1963)

35th president of the USA 1961-63, a Democrat; the first Roman Catholic and the youngest person to be elected president. In foreign policy he carried through the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and secured the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from the island in 1962. His programme for reforms at home, called the New Frontier, was posthumously executed by Lyndon Johnson. Kennedy was assassinated while on a visit to Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald (1939-1963), who was within a few days shot dead by Jack Ruby (1911-1967), was named as the assassin.

Background

The son of financier Joseph Kennedy, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, educated at Harvard and briefly at the London School of Economics, and served in the navy in the Pacific during World War II, winning the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps medal.

Early political career

After a brief career in journalism he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946. At this point he was mainly concerned with domestic politics and showed few signs of the internationalism for which he later became famous. In 1952 he was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, defeating Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr, one of Eisenhower's leading supporters. In 1953 he married socialite Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (1929-1995).

Presidential candidate

Kennedy made his name as a supporter of civil-rights legislation and as a prominent internationalist, but his youth and his Roman Catholicism were considered serious barriers to the White House. His victory in all seven primaries that he entered, however, assured his place as Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1960. His programme was a radical one, covering promises to deal with both civil rights and social reform. On television Kennedy debated well against the Republican candidate Richard Nixon, yet went on to win the presidency by one of the narrowest margins ever recorded.

Presidency

Critics suggest style was more important than substance in the Kennedy White House, but he inspired a generation of idealists and created an aura of positive activism. He brought academics and intellectuals to Washington as advisers, and his wit and charisma combined with political shrewdness disarmed many critics. His inaugural address, with its emphasis on the ‘new frontier’, was reminiscent of Franklin D Roosevelt. In fact Kennedy did not succeed in carrying through any major domestic legislation, though, with the aid of his brother Robert Kennedy, who was attorney general, desegregation continued and the Civil Rights Bill was introduced. He created the Peace Corps - volunteers who give various types of health, agricultural, and educational aid overseas - and he proposed the Alliance for Progress for aid to Latin America.

Foreign affairs

It was in foreign affairs that Kennedy's presidency was most notable. Early in 1961 came the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs, which, though partially carried over from the previous administration, was undoubtedly Kennedy's responsibility. This was redeemed by his masterly handling of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, where his calm and firm approach had a prolonged effect on US-Soviet relations. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 achieved a further lessening of tension. Kennedy's internationalism won him a popular European reputation not attained by any of his predecessors. He visited Western Europe in 1961 and 1963, and was tumultuously received on each occasion. The US involvement in the Vietnam War began during Kennedy's administration.

Assassination

On 22 November, while on a tour of Texas, Kennedy was shot while being driven through Dallas and died shortly afterwards. His presumed assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was himself shot on 24 November while under arrest. Kennedy's death caused worldwide grief and his funeral was attended by heads of state and their representatives from all over the world. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Conspiracy theories
In the 30 years following his assassination, more than 2,000 books were published about his death and a number of conspiracy theories put forward, mostly involving the KGB, FBI, or CIA. The case was investigated by a special commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren. The commission determined that Oswald acted alone, although a later congressional committee re-examined the evidence and determined that Kennedy ‘was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy’. Oswald was an ex-marine who had gone to live in the USSR in 1959 and returned when he could not become a Soviet citizen. Ruby was a Dallas nightclub owner, associated with the underworld and the police.

The US government was ordered, in August 1999, to pay $16 million to the family of Abraham Zapruder for his colour film of President Kennedy's assassination. Zapruder, who died in 1970, shot the film which became major evidence in the investigation of the assassination. The US government will now own the historical film, which can be used for research purposes. In January 2000 the heirs of Zapruder donated the rights to the film, and a copy of the film, to the Sixth Floor Museum on the site of the assassination in Dallas, Texas.

Kennedy, John F(itzgerald) ('Jack')