John Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was a military man, politician, and president of the United States from 1961 to 1963.

His rule took place in the middle of the Cold War and was marked by the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Missile Crisis, the Space Race, the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights Movement.

President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 while visiting with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, the city of Dallas, Texas.

Death

John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald (1939-1963), a former US Marine. In turn, Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby (1911-1967), two days after the crime, as he was being transported from the police station to the state prison.

Thus, Kennedy's death was never fully explained, which fueled several conspiracy theories.

After ten months of investigations conducted by the “Commission of Investigation into the Assassination of President Kennedy” , it was concluded that Oswald and Ruby acted alone. Lee Oswald probably assassinated President Kennedy for personal reasons.

Anyway, in 1976, the "American House of Representatives Commission to Investigate the Deaths of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr" was established .

Once again, it was concluded that Lee Oswald's action was solitary and that the term "conspiracy" was inadequate to classify the killer's attitude. Likewise, no foreign government or US intelligence agency was involved in the crime.

However, this Commission criticized the FBI and the CIA stating that the American representative was not sufficiently protected that day.

JFK's History

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, known as JFK, was born on May 29, 1917, into a wealthy American Catholic family. His father was a diplomat, owned rural properties and provided his children with a good education.

Kennedy studied at private colleges and attended Harvard University, traveled through Europe and spent two months in South America.

When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the Navy, first reporting to his superiors and then, promoted to lieutenant, commanding patrol and reconnaissance boats in the Pacific.

On one of these missions, his boat was hit by a Japanese destroyer and broke in two. The crew managed to survive by swimming to the nearest island and Kennedy was decorated for helping his men.

Political Career

John F. Kennedy chooses to pursue a political career driven by his father. After the death of his older brother, he launches himself to the challenge of occupying a seat of federal deputy, for the state of Massachusetts, in 1946. He is re-elected and in 1950 he runs for senator and comes out victorious.

The next step is to be able to project your image nationally and overcome the American electorate's fear of a Catholic candidate.

After an intense campaign and the three televised debates that were crucial in this election, Kennedy defeats the Republican candidate Richard Nixon and is elected president in 1960.

Marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy

John Kennedy and journalist Jacqueline Bouvier are engaged in 1953 and are married the same year. They are two rich young men from traditional American families.

"Jackie", as she will be known, will bring her refinement to the White House and will be the perfect mother's counterweight to womanizer John F. Kennedy.

The couple would have four children, but only two reached adulthood:Caroline (1957) and John Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999).

John F. Kennedy Government

The Kennedy administration took place in the middle of the Cold War. The construction of the Berlin Wall, the fact that Cuba passed to the Soviet sphere and the Space Race, are some facts that reverberated around the world.

Let's take a look at some of them:

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was erected in the socialist part of the German city which was located in the middle of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

The wall was erected to contain the continuing flight of East German citizens to the capitalist side. Thus, it became the most visible symbol of the ideological war waged between the USA and the USSR.

The height of tension between the United States and the USSR took place on October 27, 1961. On this day, an American diplomat was detained by the authorities in East Germany.

The Americans sent their tanks to "Check Point Charlie" , one of the checkpoints where it was possible to cross the border, and threatened to bomb it if the US citizen did not return home.

In turn, the Soviets did the same, and both armies stood ready, waiting for the problem to be resolved. Fortunately, the American diplomat was released and no one fired a shot.

On June 26, 1963, Kennedy visited West Germany and delivered a speech against communism to a crowd of Berliners.

Space Race

The Space Race was a contest between the Soviet Union and the United States for dominance of Earth's orbit and to see which country would be able to take the first human being into space.

The Soviet Union took the lead by taking the first living being, the dog Laika, on November 3, 1957. Then the Soviet Yuri Gagarin, would be the first man to go around Earth orbit, on April 12, 1961. .

This made President John Kennedy declare, in May 1961, at NASA, that the United States should take the first men to walk on the moon before the end of the 60's.

In fact, the United States could do it with Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969.

Missile Crisis

The Missile Crisis was one of the moments of great tension during the Cold War involving the United States, the Soviet Union and Cuba. At this time, there were real chances that a third world war would happen.

In 1961, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced that the Cuban Revolution would implant a socialist regime in the country. This meant having an ally of the Soviet Union just a few kilometers off the American coast.

Therefore, the Americans planned an invasion of the country through the Bay of Pigs, but were rebuffed. This was a hard defeat for the United States.

The following year, the US spy service detects that the Soviet Union was installing a missile launch base capable of reaching American territory.

Thirteen days of tension follow, from October 16 to 23, 1962, when photographs of the island of Cuba are analyzed by the presidential crisis commission.

In the end, President Kennedy decides to "quarantine" any boat approaching the Caribbean island with a suspicious cargo. The measure is supported by the UN and the OAS (Organization of American States).

The most tense moment was when eighteen Soviet ships headed for Cuba. Everything was ready for the Americans to approach him, but sixteen of them give up and retreat. The remaining two are boarded by the Americans and released to reach their destination.

Curiosities

• Kennedy was the first Catholic American president and the second youngest to rule the United States.
• President Kennedy is named after several places in Brazil, such as Vila Kennedy (RJ), born under Carlos Lacerda or Avenida Kennedy, in São Bernardo do Campo (SP).

Sentences

• Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
• Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or the present will surely miss the future.
• Courage is keeping the class under pressure.
• The essential bond that unites us is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all care about our children's future. And we are all mortal.
• Sometimes you have to stop and look away so you can see what's in front of you.

Read more :

• United States
• Soviet Union
• Cuba
• Vietnam War
• Communism
• OAS - Organization of American States
• Sputnik Satellites
• Man's Journey to the Moon