John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest man ever elected president and the first Catholic. Kennedy faced challenges with the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis during his presidency. On November 22, 1963, while visiting Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy's assassination marked the fourth time in American history an elected president was killed in office.

1. John F. Kennedy
The American Presidents and
Western Tradition
Max Willman
8/13/16

2. 35th President of
the United
States
January 20, 1961 – November
22, 1963
Vice President: Lyndon B.
Johnson
Preceded by: Dwight D.
Eisenhower
Succeeded by: Lyndon B.
Johnson

3. Family
• Born May 29th, 1917 in
Brookline, Massachusetts
• Father: Joe Kennedy, Sr.
• Mother: Rose Elizabeth
Fitzgerald-Kennedy
• Siblings: Joe Kennedy Jr., Bobby
Kennedy, Ted Kennedy,
Rosemary Kennedy, Kick
Kennedy, Eunice Mary Kennedy,
Pat Kennedy, and Jean Ann
Kennedy

4. Education
• Attended the Edward Devotion
School, the Noble and
Greenough school, Dexter
School, Riverdale Country
School, Choate School
• Enrolled at Harvard in 1936
where he developed an interest
in political philosophy
• Later, would enroll in Stanford
Graduate School of Business

5. US Navy Reserve
• Joined the United States Naval
Reserve on October 26th, 1941
• First command was PT-101 from
12/7/1942 – 2/23/1943
• Military decorations and awards:
Navy and Marine Corps Medal,
Purple Heart Medal, American
Defense Service Medal, American
Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal, three 3/16”
bronze stars, and the WWII Victory
Medal

6. Congressional Timespan
• US House of Representatives
from 1947-1953
• US Senate from 1953-1960
• Battled with several spinal
operations during this time
• One of the events that require
his attention was for President
Eisenhower’s bill for the Civil
Rights Act of 1957

7. 1960 Election
- Despite his youth, 43 year old
Kennedy captured the
Democratic nomination.
- The campaign was cultivated
around Cold War tensions
between the US and Soviet
Union.
- 1957, the Soviets launched
Sputnik, the first manmade
satellite to orbit Earth. Americans
feared we were falling behind
communist countries in science
and technology.

8. The Candidates
- With what seemed a lack of experience in
foreign affairs, Kennedy managed to win
the Democratic nomination.
- After a win in the Democratic primary in
West Virginia, despite his Catholic faith,
his success blossomed into a first ballot
victory at the national convention in Los
Angeles.
- Kennedy chose Texas senator Lyndon
Johnson as his running mate, with the
hopes to get the nation moving again and
resist communism around the world.
- The Republican nominee was Vice
President Richard M. Nixon.
- He focused on the peace and prosperity
of the Eisenhower administration, with
the goal to maintain American prestige,
leadership, and military strength.
- To the eyes of the voters, Nixon appeared
more mature and experienced than
Kennedy, which ultimately, he led in the
polls after the national conventions.

9. Role of Television,
Religion, and civil rights
- For the first time, television was the
dominant source of information for voters.
- Both candidates sought the support of the
increasingly growing suburban population.
- Kennedy focused on the liberal reform
tradition of the Democratic party of
Roosevelt and Truman. He pulled key
elements from these coalitions about urban
minorities, ethnic voting blocs, and
organized labor.
- He said, "I believe in an America where the
separation of church and state is absolute;
where no Catholic prelate would tell the
President—should he be Catholic—how to
act, and no Protestant minister would tell
his parishioners for whom to vote.“
- With the support from Martin Luther King
Sr., the African-American vote increased
heavily for Kennedy across the nation.

10. The Debates
- Kennedy challenged Nixon to a series of
televised debates. Many in the Nixon
camp, including Eisenhower, strongly
advised him to reject the proposal and
deny Kennedy national exposure.
- “In 1950, only 11 percent of American
homes had television; by 1960, the
number had jumped to 88 percent. An
estimated seventy million Americans,
about two-thirds of the electorate,
watched the first debate on September
26th.”
- Kennedy planned with producers to
discuss camera angles and design of the
set. He strategically wore a blue suit and
shirt to cut down on glare and appeared
sharply focused against the gray studio
backdrop, while his counterpart wore
gray and seemed to blend into the set.
- When speaking, Kennedy spoke directly
to the cameras and the national
audience, but Nixon, in traditional
debating style, seemed to be responding
to Kennedy.
- These debates proved that inexperience
was not an issue for Kennedy, as studies
showed that of the four million voters
who made up their minds as a result of
the debates, three million voted for
Kennedy.

11. Results
- In the final days, President Eisenhower
began speaking on behalf of Nixon which
seemed to shift the momentum in his
favor.
- November 8th, 1960, John F. Kennedy was
elected President of the United States.
- In one of the closest elections in US
history, the popular vote, in his margin
over Nixon was 118,550 out of a total of
nearly 69 million votes. Kennedy had a
clear majority of 303 to 219 in the
electoral votes based on his success in
many urban and industrial states.
- “John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the
youngest man ever elected president, the
only Catholic, and the first president born
in the twentieth century.”

12. Presidency (1961-1963)
- Confidence in his
administration to have
an impact in both
domestic policy and
foreign affairs.
- Faced adversity when
managing political
realities at home and
abroad
- “Domestic policy can
only defeat us; foreign
policy can kill us.”

13. Foreign Policy
- Dominated by American confrontations
with Soviet Union
- When the USSR announced its intention
to sign a treaty with East Berlin, Kennedy
felt he needed to prepare for nuclear war
- Cuba and the Bay of Pigs Invasion
- April 17th, 1961
- Plan to overthrown the Fidel Castro
regime in Cuba
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- October 14th, 1962
- Information was received that
intermediate-range ballistic missile sites
were being built in Cuba

14. Domestic Policy
- The “New Frontier”
- Federal funding for eductaion, medical care
for the elderly, economic aid to rural areas,
and government intervention to halt the
recession
- End racial discrimination
- Civil Rights
- Supported racial integration and civil rights
- In his first State of the Union Address in
January of 1961, he said, “The denial of
constitutional rights to some of our fellow
Americans on account of race - at the ballot
box and elsewhere - disturbs the national
conscience, and subjects us to the charge of
world opinion that our democracy is not
equal to the high promise of our heritage."
- Economy
- Loosened monetary policies to keep interest
rates down
- GDP expanded by an average of 5.5% from
1961-1963

15. Inaugural Address
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=P1PbQlVMp98
- January 20th, 1961
- Washington, D.C.
- Urges American citizens to partake in
public service
- “Ask not what your country can do for
you, but what you can do for your
country.”

16. Relationship with
Eisenhower
- Initially, there was a bit of hostility and
lack of respect between Eisenhower and
JFK. Eisenhower believed he was too
young to be taken serious as a
presidential candidate. Eisenhower felt it
was his own greatest defeat when
Kennedy won the 1960 election.
- Kennedy had already made an effort with
his other predecessors, Truman and
Hoover, and were on good terms with
them. It took some time, but eventually
he gained the respect from Eisenhower
and he supported Kennedy in the
backlash that would come from the
invasion of the Bay of Pigs

17. Final Days
• Kennedy traveled to Texas in
November in order to support
his next reelection campaign
• The President’s motorcade was
en route through Dallas to give
maximum exposure to the Dallas
crowds before his arrival
• An estimated 150,000-200,000
people filled the streets in
anticipation for the President’s
arrival

18. November 22, 1963
• Assassinated in Dealey Plaza,
Dallas, Texas
• Fatally shot by Lee Harvey
Oswald
• Kennedy’s death marked the
fourth successful assassination
of an American President

19. The Assassination
- By the fall of 1963, President Kennedy and his political
team were preparing for the next presidential
campaign.
- Kennedy did not announce his candidacy, but it was
clear he was going to run and was confident in his
chances for reelection.
- While on his tour to spotlight natural resources and
conservation efforts, along with education, national
security, and world peace, Kennedy seemed to relish
the prospect of leaving Washington and getting out
among the people.
- In the process would be a ten-mile route that wound
through downtown Dallas on the way to Trade Mart
where he was scheduled to speak.
- Crowds of people filled the streets and buildings with
excitement for the arrival of the President. When the
Presidential motorcade turned off Main Street at
Dealey Plaza, gunfire suddenly echoed around 12:30
pm. Bullets struck the President in the neck and the
head and the car sped off to Parkland Memorial
Hospital.
- At 1:00 pm, President John F. Kennedy was pronounced
dead.

20. • Was then brought into question
about the death of Tippit when
Police recognized his name as one
of the missing employees from the
Book Depository
• He was formally arraigned for the
murder of Officer Tippit, and by
the end of the night was arraigned
for the murder of President
Kennedy
• November 24th, Jack Ruby, shot
and killed Oswald as he was being
transferred to nearby county jail
Lee Harvey Oswald
• Oswald was a former US Marine who
defected to the Soviet Union
• As Kennedy’s motorcade passed through
Dealey Plaza, Oswald fired three shots
from the sixth-floor of the Texas School
Book Depository killing the President
and wounding Texas Governor John
Connally
• Was caught sneaking into nearby Texas
Theatre without paying shortly after his
encounter and killing of Dallas
Patrolman JD Tippit. Police were alerted
and Oswald was approached by an
officer where he tried to fire a pistol at
the officer.

21. Funeral
• State funeral took place in Washington, DC
• The body of President Kennedy was placed in
the East Room of the White House for 24
hours
• Coffin was carried on a horse-drawn caisson
to the US Capitol to lie in state
• After the Requiem Mass, the late President
was laid to rest at Arlington National
Cemetery in Virginia
• 220 foreign dignitaries, 19 heads of state,
members of royal families from 92 countries,
five international agencies, and the papacy
attended the funeral
• French President Charles de Gaulle in
particular was in attendance

22. “An Unfinished Life”
• President Kennedy promised so much
but never had the opportunity to
follow through
• “A charismatic leader who, in his life
and in his death, served as a symbol of
purpose and hope.”
• Was responsible for some
extraordinary accomplishments.
• A witty and articulate speaker filled
with confidence and elegance
• “Ask not what your country can do for
you, ask what you can do for your
country.”

23. Works Cited
"1961-01-20 Inaugural Address." Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2016.
Driscoll, Molly, and Monitor Contributor. "'The Presidents' Club': 10 Stories about Relationships between American
Presidents." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 June 2016.
"Miller Center." John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower-. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2016.
United States. National Park Service. "President Eisenhower's Top 5 Most Disliked Contemporaries." National Parks Service. U.S.
Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 29 June 2016.
"John F. Kennedy Library and Museum." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2016.
Presidents." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 June 2016.
"John F. Kennedy." The White House. The White House, 30 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 July 2016.
The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 16 July 2016.
"Campaign of 1960." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2016.
"Historical Timeline." Historical Presidential Election Map Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2016.
"JFK in History." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2016.