John F. Kennedy - wikipedia John F. Kennedy `` JFK '', `` John Kennedy '', and `` Jack Kennedy '' redirect here. For other uses, see JFK ( disambiguation ), John Kennedy ( disambiguation ), and Jack Kennedy ( disambiguation ). 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy Kennedy in 1961 35th President of the United States In office January 20, 1961 -- November 22, 1963 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson Preceded by Dwight D. Eisenhower Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson United States Senator from Massachusetts In office January 3, 1953 -- December 22, 1960 Preceded by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Succeeded by Benjamin A. Smith II Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts 's 11th district In office January 3, 1947 -- January 3, 1953 Preceded by James Michael Curley Succeeded by Tip O'Neill Personal details John Fitzgerald Kennedy ( 1917 - 05 - 29 ) May 29, 1917 Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. November 22, 1963 ( 1963 - 11 - 22 ) ( aged 46 ) Dallas, Texas, U.S. Cause of death Assassination Resting place Arlington National Cemetery Political party Democratic Spouse ( s ) Jacqueline Lee Bouvier ( m. 1953 ) Children Arabella, Caroline, John Jr., and Patrick Parents Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Relatives Kennedy family Education Harvard University ( BA ) Signature Military service Allegiance United States Service / branch United States Navy Years of service 1941 -- 1945 Rank Lieutenant Unit Motor Torpedo Squadron 2 Patrol Torpedo Boat 109 Patrol Torpedo Boat 59 Battles / wars World War II Solomon Islands campaign Awards Navy and Marine Corps Medal Purple Heart Medal American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal w / three ​ ⁄ inch bronze stars World War II Victory This article is part of a series about John F. Kennedy Service in WWII Electoral history Why England Slept Profiles in Courage A Nation of Immigrants Family President of the United States Presidency Timeline 1960 campaign Election Inauguration New Frontier Foreign Policy Doctrine `` A Strategy of Peace '' Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile Crisis Civil Rights Address Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Clean Air Peace Corps `` We choose to go to the Moon '' Space programs Mercury Gemini Apollo Appointments Cabinet Judges Assassination and legacy November 22, 1963 timeline State Funeral Eternal Flame Memorials Library Legacy Cultural depictions John Fitzgerald Kennedy ( May 29, 1917 -- November 22, 1963 ), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union. As a member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented the state of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate prior to becoming president. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. He graduated from Harvard University in 1940 and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II, he commanded a series of PT boats in the Pacific theater and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his service. After the war, Kennedy represented the 11th congressional district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, he published his book entitled Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize for Biography. In the 1960 presidential election, Kennedy narrowly defeated Republican opponent Richard Nixon, who was the incumbent Vice President. At age 43, he became the youngest man to be elected as U.S. president as well as being the first ( and only ) Roman Catholic to occupy that office. Kennedy 's time in office was marked by high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In April 1961, he authorized a failed joint - CIA attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He subsequently rejected Operation Northwoods plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false flag attacks on American soil in order to gain public approval for a war against Cuba. In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered that Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba ; the resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulted in the breakout of a global thermonuclear conflict. Domestically, Kennedy presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps and supported the civil rights movement, but he was largely unsuccessful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the state crime, but he was never prosecuted due to his murder by Jack Ruby two days later ; Ruby was sentenced to death and died while the sentence was on appeal in 1967. Pursuant to the Presidential Succession Act, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president later that day. Both the FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald had acted alone in the assassination, but various groups challenged the findings of the Warren Report and believed that Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy. After Kennedy 's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights and the Revenue Acts of 1964. Kennedy continues to rank highly in historians ' polls of U.S. presidents and with the general public. His average approval rating of 70 % is the highest of any president in Gallup 's history of systematically measuring job approval. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 U.S. Navy Reserve ( 1941 -- 1945 ) 2.1 Commanding the PT - 109 2.2 Commanding the PT - 59 2.3 Military awards 2.3. 1 Navy and Marine Corps Medal citation 3 Journalism 4 Congressional career ( 1947 -- 1960 ) 4.1 House of Representatives ( 1947 -- 1953 ) 4.2 Senate ( 1953 -- 1960 ) 5 1960 presidential election 6 Presidency ( 1961 -- 1963 ) 6.1 Foreign policy 6.1. 1 Cuba and the Bay of Pigs Invasion 6.1. 2 Cuban Missile Crisis 6.1. 3 Latin America and communism 6.1. 4 Peace Corps 6.1. 5 Southeast Asia 6.1. 6 American University speech 6.1. 7 West Berlin speech 6.1. 8 Israel 6.1. 9 Iraq 6.1. 10 Ireland 6.1. 11 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 6.2 Domestic policy 6.2. 1 Economy 6.2. 2 Federal and military death penalty 6.2. 3 Civil Rights Movement 6.3 Civil liberties 6.4 Immigration 6.5 Native American relations 6.6 Space policy 6.7 Administration, Cabinet, and judicial appointments 6.7. 1 Judicial appointments 6.7. 1.1 Supreme Court 6.7. 1.2 Other courts 7 Assassination 7.1 Funeral 8 Personal life, family, and reputation 8.1 Wife and children 8.2 Popular image 8.3 `` Camelot Era '' 8.4 Health 8.5 Personal tragedies 8.6 Affairs, extramarital relationships and friendships 9 Historical evaluations and legacy 9.1 Effect of assassination 9.2 Memorials and eponyms 10 Media 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 13.1 Citations 13.2 Works cited 14 Further reading 14.1 Primary sources 14.2 Historiography and memory 15 External links Early life and Education John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, at 83 Beals Street in suburban Brookline, Massachusetts, to businessman / politician Joseph Patrick `` Joe '' Kennedy and philanthropist / socialite Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy. His paternal grandfather P.J. Kennedy was a member of the Massachusetts state legislature. His maternal grandfather and namesake John F. Fitzgerald served as a U.S. Congressman and was elected to two terms as Mayor of Boston. All four of his grandparents were children of Irish immigrants. Kennedy had an elder brother, Joseph Jr., and seven younger siblings : Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert `` Bobby '', Jean, and Ted. Kennedy lived in Brookline for the first ten years of his life and attended the local St. Aidan 's Church, where he was baptized on June 19, 1917. He was educated at the Edward Devotion School in Brookline, the Noble and Greenough Lower School in nearby Dedham, Massachusetts, and the Dexter School ( also in Brookline ) through the 4th grade. His father 's business had kept him away from the family for long stretches of time, and his ventures were concentrated on Wall Street and Hollywood. In September 1927, the family moved from Brookline to Riverdale, Bronx, New York. Young John attended the lower campus of Riverdale Country School, a private school for boys, from 5th to 7th grade. Two years later, the family moved to suburban Bronxville, New York, where Kennedy was a member of Boy Scout Troop 2 and attended St. Joseph 's Church. The Kennedy family spent summers and early autumns at their home ( rented in 1926, then purchased in 1929 ) in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Christmas and Easter holidays at their winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, later purchased in 1933. In September 1930, Kennedy -- then 13 years old -- attended the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, for 8th grade. In April 1931, he had an appendectomy, after which he withdrew from Canterbury and recuperated at home. In September 1931, Kennedy attended Choate, a prestigious boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, for 9th through 12th grade. His older brother Joe Jr. had already been at Choate for two years and was a football player and leading student. He spent his first years at Choate in his older brother 's shadow, and compensated with rebellious behavior that attracted a coterie. They carried out their most notorious stunt by exploding a toilet seat with a powerful firecracker. In the ensuing chapel assembly, the strict headmaster, George St. John, brandished the toilet seat and spoke of certain `` muckers '' who would `` spit in our sea ''. The defiant Kennedy took the cue and named his group `` The Muckers Club '', which included roommate and lifelong friend Kirk LeMoyne `` Lem '' Billings. During his years at Choate, Kennedy was beset by health problems that culminated with his emergency hospitalization in 1934 at New Haven Hospital, where doctors thought he might have had leukemia. In June 1934, he was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota ; the ultimate diagnosis there was colitis. Kennedy graduated from Choate in June of the following year, finishing 64th in a class of 112 students. He had been the business manager of the school yearbook and was voted the `` most likely to succeed ''. Kennedy 's birthplace in Brookline, Massachusetts The Kennedy family at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in 1931 with Jack at top left in the white shirt. Ted was born the following year. In September 1935, Kennedy made his first trip abroad when he traveled to London with his parents and his sister Kathleen. He intended to study under Harold Laski at the London School of Economics ( LSE ), as his older brother had done. Ill - health forced his return to the United States in October of that year, when he enrolled late and attended Princeton University but had to leave after two months due to a gastrointestinal illness. He was then hospitalized for observation at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. He convalesced further at the family winter home in Palm Beach, then spent the spring of 1936 working as a ranch hand on the 40,000 - acre Jay Six cattle ranch outside Benson, Arizona. It is reported that ranchman Jack Speiden worked both brothers `` very hard ''. In September 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard College and his application essay stated : `` The reasons that I have for wishing to go to Harvard are several. I feel that Harvard can give me a better background and a better liberal education than any other university. I have always wanted to go there, as I have felt that it is not just another college, but is a university with something definite to offer. Then too, I would like to go to the same college as my father. To be a ' Harvard man ' is an enviable distinction, and one that I sincerely hope I shall attain. '' He produced that year 's annual `` Freshman Smoker '', called by a reviewer `` an elaborate entertainment, which included in its cast outstanding personalities of the radio, screen and sports world. '' He tried out for the football, golf, and swimming teams and earned a spot on the varsity swimming team. Kennedy also sailed in the Star class and won the 1936 Nantucket Sound Star Championship. In July 1937, Kennedy sailed to France -- taking his convertible -- and spent ten weeks driving through Europe with Billings. In June 1938, Kennedy sailed overseas with his father and older brother to work at the American embassy in London, where his father was President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James 's. In 1939, Kennedy toured Europe, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, and the Middle East in preparation for his Harvard senior honors thesis. He then went to Czechoslovakia and Germany before returning to London on September 1, 1939, the day that Germany invaded Poland to mark the beginning of World War II. Two days later, the family was in the House of Commons for speeches endorsing the United Kingdom 's declaration of war on Germany. Kennedy was sent as his father 's representative to help with arrangements for American survivors of the SS Athenia before flying back to the U.S. from Foynes, Ireland, to Port Washington, New York, on his first transatlantic flight. When Kennedy was an upperclassman at Harvard, he began to take his studies more seriously and developed an interest in political philosophy. He made the Dean 's List in his junior year. In 1940, Kennedy completed his thesis, `` Appeasement in Munich '', about British participation in the Munich Agreement. The thesis became a bestseller under the title Why England Slept. In addition to addressing Britain 's failure to strengthen its military in the lead - up to World War II, the book also called for an Anglo - American alliance against the rising totalitarian powers. While Kennedy became increasingly supportive of U.S. intervention in World War II, his father 's isolationist beliefs resulted in the latter 's dismissal as ambassador to the United Kingdom, creating a split between the Kennedy and Roosevelt families. In 1940, Kennedy graduated cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in government, concentrating on international affairs. That fall, he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and audited classes there. In early 1941, Kennedy left and helped his father write a memoir of his three years as an American ambassador. He then traveled throughout South America ; his itinerary included Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. U.S. Navy Reserve ( 1941 -- 1945 ) Main article : Motor Torpedo Boat PT - 109 In 1940, Kennedy attempted to enter the army 's Officer Candidate School, but he was medically disqualified due to his chronic lower back problems. He exercised for months to straighten his back. On September 24, 1941, with the help of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence ( ONI ) -- who was the former naval attaché to Joseph Kennedy -- Kennedy joined the United States Naval Reserve. He was commissioned an ensign on October 26, 1941, and joined the staff of the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, D.C. Lieutenant ( junior grade ) Kennedy ( standing at right ) with his PT - 109 crew, 1943 In January 1942, Kennedy was assigned to the ONI field office at Headquarters, Sixth Naval District, in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended the Naval Reserve Officer Training School at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, from July 27 to September 27 and then voluntarily entered the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island. On October 10, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade. In early November, Kennedy was still mourning the death of his close, childhood friend, Marine Corps Second Lieutenant George Houk Mead, Jr., who had been killed in action at Guadalcanal that August and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery. Accompanied by a female acquaintance from a wealthy Newport family, the couple had stopped in Middletown, Rhode Island at the cemetery where the decorated, naval spy, Commander Hugo W. Koehler, USN, had been buried the previous year. Ambling around the plots near the tiny St. Columba 's chapel, Kennedy paused over Koehler 's white granite cross grave marker and pondered his own mortality, hoping out loud that when his time came, he would not have to die without religion. `` But these things ca n't be faked, '' he added. `` There 's no bluffing. '' Two decades later, Kennedy and Koehler 's stepson, U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell had become good friends and political allies, although they had been acquaintances since the mid-1930s during their `` salad days '' on the same Newport debutante party `` circuit '' and when Pell had dated Kathleen ( `` Kick '' ) Kennedy. Kennedy completed his training on December 2 and was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron FOUR. His first command was PT - 101 from December 7, 1942, until February 23, 1943 : It was a patrol torpedo ( PT ) boat used for training while Kennedy was an instructor at Melville. He then led three Huckins PT boats -- PT - 98, PT - 99, and PT - 101, which were being relocated from MTBRON 4 in Melville, Rhode Island, back to Jacksonville, Florida, and the new MTBRON 14 ( formed February 17, 1943 ). During the trip south, he was hospitalized briefly in Jacksonville after diving into the cold water to unfoul a propeller. Thereafter, Kennedy was assigned duty in Panama and later in the Pacific theater, where he eventually commanded two more PT boats. Commanding the PT - 109 Kennedy on his navy patrol boat, the PT - 109, 1943 In April 1943, Kennedy was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron TWO. On April 24, he took command of PT - 109, which was based at the time on Tulagi Island in the Solomons. On the night of August 1 -- 2, PT - 109 was on its 31st mission with a total of fourteen other PT 's ordered to block or repel four Japanese destroyers and float planes carrying food, supplies, and 900 Japanese soldiers to the Vila Plantation garrison on the southern tip of the Solomon 's Kolombangara Island. Intelligence had been sent to Kennedy 's base commander, Commander Thomas G. Warfield expecting the arrival of the large Japanese Naval force that would pass on the evening of August 1. Of the 24 torpedoes fired that night by eight of the American PT 's, not one hit the Japanese convoy. On that dark and moonless night, Kennedy spotted a Japanese destroyer heading North on its return from the base of Kolombangara around 2 : 00 a.m., and attempted to turn to attack, when PT - 109 was rammed suddenly at an angle and cut in half by the destroyer Amagiri, costing two PT - 109 crew members their lives. Kennedy gathered around the wreckage his surviving ten crew members to vote on whether to `` fight or surrender ''. Kennedy stated : `` There 's nothing in the book about a situation like this. A lot of you men have families and some of you have children. What do you want to do ? I have nothing to lose. '' Shunning surrender, around 2 : 00 p.m. on August 2, the men swam towards Plum Pudding island 3.5 miles ( 5.6 km ) southwest of the remains of the PT - 109. Despite re-injuring his back in the collision, Kennedy towed a badly burned crewman through the water to the island with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth. Kennedy made an additional two mile swim the night of August 2, 1943, to Ferguson Passage to attempt to hail a passing American PT boat to expedite his crew 's rescue and attempted to make the trip on a subsequent night, in a damaged canoe found on Naru Island where he had swum with Ensign George Ross to look for food. On August 4, he and Lenny Thom assisted his injured and hungry crew on a demanding swim 3.75 miles ( 6.04 km ) southeast to Olasana Island, which was visible to the crew from their desolate home on Plum Pudding Island. They swam against a strong current, and once again Kennedy towed the badly burned motor machinist `` Pappy '' MacMahon by his life vest. The somewhat larger Olasana Island had ripe coconut trees, but still no fresh water. On the following day, August 5, Kennedy and Ensign George Ross made the one hour swim to Naru Island, an additional distance of about. 5 miles ( 0.80 km ) southwest, in search of help and food. Kennedy and Ross found a small canoe, packages of crackers, candy and a fifty gallon drum of drinkable water left by the Japanese, which Kennedy paddled another half mile back to Olasana in the acquired canoe to provide his hungry crew. Lieutenant `` Bud '' Liebenow, a friend and former tentmate of Kennedy 's, rescued Kennedy and his crew on Olasana Island on August 8, 1943 aboard his ship, the PT - 157, with the help of coast watcher Lieutenant Reginald Evans and several native coast watchers, particularly Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana. Commanding the PT - 59 Taking only a month to recover, on September 1, 1943, Kennedy returned to duty and took command of the PT - 59, first removing the torpedo tubes and depth charges and refitting her in one month into a heavily armed gunboat bristling with two large automatic 40 cal and ten automatic 50 caliber guns. The plan was to attach one gunboat to each PT boat section to add gun range and power against barges and shore batteries which the 59 encountered on several occasions in mid October through mid November. On October 8, Kennedy was promoted to full lieutenant. On November 2, Kennedy 's PT - 59 took part with two other PT 's in the successful rescue of 40 - 50 marines. The 59 acted as a shield from shore fire and protected them as they escaped on two rescue landing craft at the base of the Warrior River at Choiseul Island, taking ten marines aboard and delivering them to safety. Under doctor 's orders, Kennedy was relieved of his command of PT - 59 on November 18, and sent to the hospital on Tulagi. From there he returned to the United States in early January 1944. After receiving treatment for his back injury, he was released from active duty in late 1944. Kennedy was hospitalized at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts from May to December 1944. On June 12, he was presented the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his heroic actions on August 1 -- 2, 1943, and the Purple Heart Medal for his back injury while on PT - 109. Beginning in January 1945, Kennedy spent three more months recovering from his back injury at Castle Hot Springs, a resort and temporary military hospital in Arizona. After the war, Kennedy felt that the medal he had received for heroism was not a combat award and asked that he be reconsidered for the Silver Star Medal for which he had been recommended initially. His father also requested the Silver Star, which is awarded for gallantry in action, for his son. In 1950, The Department of the Navy offered Kennedy a Bronze Star Medal in recognition of his meritorious service, which he declined. Kennedy 's two original medals are currently on display at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. On August 12, 1944, Kennedy 's older brother, Joe Jr., a navy pilot, was killed while volunteering for a special and hazardous air mission. His explosive - laden plane blew up when the plane 's bombs detonated prematurely while the aircraft was flying over the English Channel. On March 1, 1945, Kennedy retired from the Navy Reserve on physical disability and was honorably discharged with the full rank of lieutenant. When later asked how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked : `` It was easy. They cut my PT boat in half. '' Military awards Kennedy 's military decorations and awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Medal ; Purple Heart Medal ; American Defense Service Medal ; American Campaign Medal ; Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal with three ​ ⁄ '' bronze stars ; and the World War II Victory Medal. Navy and Marine Corps Medal Purple Heart American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal with three stars World War II Victory Medal Navy and Marine Corps Medal Citation For extremely heroic conduct as Commanding Officer of Motor Torpedo Boat 109 following the collision and sinking of that vessel in the Pacific War area on August 1 -- 2, 1943. Unmindful of personal danger, Lieutenant ( then Lieutenant, Junior Grade ) Kennedy unhesitatingly braved the difficulties and hazards of darkness to direct rescue operations, swimming many hours to secure aid and food after he had succeeded in getting his crew ashore. His outstanding courage, endurance and leadership contributed to the saving of several lives and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. -- James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy Journalism In April 1945, Kennedy 's father, who was a friend of William Randolph Hearst, arranged a position for his son as a special correspondent for Hearst Newspapers ; the assignment kept Kennedy 's name in the public eye and `` expose ( d ) him to journalism as a possible career. '' He worked as a correspondent that May, covering the Potsdam Conference and other events. Congressional career ( 1947 -- 1960 ) JFK 's elder brother Joe had been the family 's political standard - bearer and had been tapped by their father to seek the Presidency. Joe 's death during the war in 1944 changed that course and the task now fell to the second eldest of the Kennedy siblings -- John F. Kennedy. House of Representatives ( 1947 -- 1953 ) At the urging of Kennedy 's father, U.S. Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in the strongly Democratic 11th congressional district of Massachusetts to become mayor of Boston in 1946. With his father financing and running his campaign, Kennedy won the Democratic primary with 12 percent of the vote, defeating ten other candidates. Though Republicans took control of the House in the 1946 elections, Kennedy defeated his Republican opponent in the general election, taking 73 percent of the vote. Along with Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy, Kennedy was one of several World War II veterans first elected to Congress that year. He served in the House for six years, joining the influential Education and Labor Committee and the Veterans ' Affairs Committee. He concentrated his attention on international affairs, supporting the Truman Doctrine as the appropriate response to the emerging Cold War. He also supported public housing and opposed the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, which restricted the power of labor unions. Though not as vocal an anticommunist as McCarthy, Congressman Kennedy supported the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which required Communists to register with the government, and he deplored the `` Loss of China. '' Having served as a Boy Scout during his childhood, Kennedy was active in the Boston Council from 1946 to 1955 : as District Vice Chairman, member of the Executive Board, Vice-President, as well as a National Council Representative. Senate ( 1953 -- 1960 ) See also : United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1952 and United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1958 County results of the 1952 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts As early as 1949, Kennedy began preparing to run for the Senate in 1952 against Republican three - term incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. with the campaign slogan `` Kennedy Will Do More for Massachusetts ''. Joseph Kennedy again financed and managed his son 's candidacy, while John Kennedy 's younger brother Robert Kennedy emerged as an important member of the campaign. In the presidential election, General Dwight D. Eisenhower carried Massachusetts by a margin of 208,000 votes, but Kennedy defeated Lodge by 70,000 votes for the Senate seat. The following year, he married Jacqueline Bouvier. Kennedy lying on a gurney following spinal surgery, accompanied by Jackie, December 1954 Kennedy endorsing Adlai Stevenson II for the presidential nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago Kennedy underwent several spinal operations over the next two years. Often absent from the Senate, he was at times critically ill and received Catholic last rites. During his convalescence in 1956, he published Profiles in Courage, a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. Rumors that this work was co-written by his close adviser and speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, were confirmed in Sorensen 's 2008 autobiography. At the 1956 Democratic National Convention, Senator Kennedy gave the nominating speech for the party 's presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II. Stevenson let the convention select the Vice Presidential nominee. Kennedy finished second in the balloting, losing to Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee but receiving national exposure as a result. One of the matters demanding Kennedy 's attention in the Senate was President Eisenhower 's bill for the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Kennedy cast a procedural vote on this, which was considered by some as an appeasement of Southern Democratic opponents of the bill. Kennedy did vote for Title III of the act, which would have given the Attorney General powers to enjoin, but Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to let the provision die as a compromise measure. Kennedy also voted for Title IV, termed the `` Jury Trial Amendment ''. Many civil rights advocates at the time criticized that vote as one which would weaken the act. A final compromise bill, which Kennedy supported, was passed in September 1957. The following year, Kennedy authored A Nation of Immigrants ( later published in 1964 ), which analyzed the importance of immigration in the country 's history as well as proposals to re-evaluate immigration law. Jack Paar interviews Senator Kennedy on The Tonight Show ( 1959 ) In 1958, Kennedy was re-elected to a second term in the Senate, defeating his Republican opponent, Boston lawyer Vincent J. Celeste, by a wide margin of 874,608 votes ; this represented the largest ever margin in Massachusetts politics. It was during his re-election campaign that Kennedy 's press secretary at the time, Robert E. Thompson, put together a film entitled The U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy Story, which exhibited a day in the life of the Senator and showcased his family life as well as the inner workings of his office. It was the most comprehensive film produced about Kennedy up to that time. In the aftermath of his re-election, Kennedy began preparing to run for president in 1960. While Kennedy 's father was a strong supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthy was also a friend of the Kennedy family. Bobby Kennedy worked for McCarthy 's subcommittee, and McCarthy dated Kennedy sister Patricia. In 1954, the Senate voted to censure McCarthy, and Kennedy drafted a speech supporting the censure. However, it was not delivered because Kennedy was hospitalized at the time. The speech had the potential of putting Kennedy in the position of participating procedurally by `` pairing '' his vote against that of another senator. Although Kennedy never indicated how he would have voted, the episode damaged his support among members of the liberal community, including Eleanor Roosevelt, in the 1956 and 1960 elections. 1960 Presidential election Main articles : Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1960 and United States presidential election, 1960 Kennedy campaigns with his wife Jacqueline in Appleton, Wisconsin, March 1960 On January 2, 1960, Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Though some questioned Kennedy 's youth and experience, his charisma and eloquence earned him numerous supporters. His greatest obstacle to winning the nomination may have been his religion. Many Americans held anti-Catholic attitudes, but Kennedy 's vocal support of the separation of church and state helped defuse the situation. His religion also helped him win a devoted following among many Catholic voters. Kennedy faced several potential challengers for the Democratic nomination, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, Adlai Stevenson II, and Senator Hubert Humphrey. Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support among Democratic elites and voters. At the time, party officials controlled most of the delegates, but several states also held primaries, and Kennedy sought to win several primaries to boost his chances of winning the nomination. In his first major test, Kennedy won the Wisconsin primary, effectively ending Humphrey 's hopes of winning the presidency. Nonetheless, Kennedy and Humphrey faced each other in a competitive West Virginia primary in which Kennedy could not benefit from a Catholic bloc, as he had in Wisconsin. Kennedy won the West Virginia primary, impressing many in the party, but at the start of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, it was unclear as to whether he would win the nomination. Kennedy and Richard Nixon participate in the nation 's first televised presidential debate, Washington, D.C., 1960 When Kennedy entered the convention, he had the most delegates, but not enough to ensure that he would win the nomination. Stevenson -- the 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee -- remained very popular in the party, while Johnson also hoped to win the nomination with the support from party leaders. Kennedy 's candidacy also faced opposition from former president Harry S. Truman, who was concerned about Kennedy 's lack of experience. Kennedy knew that a second ballot could give the nomination to Johnson or someone else, and his well - organized campaign was able to earn the support of just enough delegates to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot. Kennedy ignored the opposition of his brother, who wanted him to choose labor leader Walter Reuther, and other liberal supporters when he chose Johnson as his vice presidential nominee. He believed that the Texas Senator could help him win support from the South. The choice infuriated many in labor. AFL - CIO President George Meany called Johnson `` the arch foe of labor, '' while Illinois AFL - CIO President Reuben Soderstrom asserted Kennedy had `` made chumps out of leaders of the American labor movement. '' In accepting the presidential nomination, Kennedy gave his well - known `` New Frontier '' speech, saying, `` For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won -- and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. '' Outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with President - elect John F. Kennedy on December 6, 1960 At the start of the fall general election campaign, Republican nominee and incumbent vice president Richard Nixon held a six - point lead in the polls. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy 's Roman Catholicism, the Cuban Revolution, and whether the space and missile programs of the Soviet Union had surpassed those of the U.S. To address fears that his being Catholic would impact his decision - making, he famously told the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12, 1960 : `` I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters -- and the Church does not speak for me. '' Kennedy questioned rhetorically whether one - quarter of Americans were relegated to second - class citizenship just because they were Catholic, and once stated that `` ( n ) o one asked me my religion ( serving the Navy ) in the South Pacific. '' Between September and October, Kennedy squared off against Nixon in the first televised presidential debates in U.S. history. During these programs, Nixon had an injured leg, `` five o'clock shadow '', and was perspiring, making him look tense and uncomfortable. Conversely, Kennedy wore makeup and appeared relaxed, which helped the large television audience to view him as the winner. On average radio listeners thought that Nixon had won or that the debates were a draw. The debates are now considered a milestone in American political history -- the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role in politics. 1960 electoral vote results Kennedy 's campaign gained momentum after the first debate, and he pulled slightly ahead of Nixon in most polls. On Election Day, Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century. In the national popular vote, by most accounts, Kennedy led Nixon by just two - tenths of one percent ( 49.7 % to 49.5 % ), while in the Electoral College, he won 303 votes to Nixon 's 219 ( 269 were needed to win ). Fourteen electors from Mississippi and Alabama refused to support Kennedy because of his support for the civil rights movement ; they voted for Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, as did an elector from Oklahoma. Kennedy became the youngest person ( 43 ) ever elected to the presidency, though Theodore Roosevelt was a year younger at 42 when he automatically assumed the office after William McKinley 's assassination in 1901. Presidency ( 1961 -- 1963 ) Main article : Presidency of John F. Kennedy For a chronological guide to this subject, see Timeline of the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Wikisource has original text related to this article : John F. Kennedy 's Inaugural Address John F. Kennedy takes the Presidential oath of office administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren on January 20, 1961, at the Capitol. John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address, he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens, famously saying : `` Ask not what your country can do for you ; ask what you can do for your country. '' He asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the `` common enemies of man : tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. '' He added : `` All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. '' In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism : `` Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. '' The address reflected Kennedy 's confidence that his administration would chart a historically significant course in both domestic policy and foreign affairs. The contrast between this optimistic vision and the pressures of managing daily political realities at home and abroad would be one of the main tensions running through the early years of his administration. John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University in Houston on September 12, 1962. Lyndon Johnson can be seen behind him. Kennedy brought to the White House a contrast in organization compared to the decision - making structure of former - General Eisenhower, and he wasted no time in scrapping Eisenhower 's methods. Kennedy preferred the organizational structure of a wheel with all the spokes leading to the president. He was ready and willing to make the increased number of quick decisions required in such an environment. He selected a mixture of experienced and inexperienced people to serve in his cabinet. `` We can learn our jobs together '', he stated. Much to the chagrin of his economic advisors, who wanted him to reduce taxes, Kennedy quickly agreed to a balanced budget pledge. This was needed in exchange for votes to expand the membership of the House Rules Committee in order to give the Democrats a majority in setting the legislative agenda. Kennedy focused on immediate and specific issues facing the administration, and quickly voiced his impatience with pondering of deeper meanings. Deputy National Security Advisor Walt Whitman Rostow once began a diatribe about the growth of communism, and Kennedy abruptly cut him off, asking, `` What do you want me to do about that today ? '' Kennedy approved Defense Secretary Robert McNamara 's controversial decision to award the contract for the F - 111 TFX ( Tactical Fighter Experimental ) fighter - bomber to General Dynamics ( the choice of the civilian Defense department ) over Boeing ( the choice of the military ). At the request of Senator Henry Jackson, Senator John McClellan held 46 days of mostly closed - door hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations investigating the TFX contract from February to November 1963. During the summer of 1962, Kennedy had a secret taping system set up in the White House, most likely to aid his future memoir. It recorded many conversations with Kennedy and his Cabinet members, including those in relation to the `` Cuban Missile Crisis ''. Foreign policy Main article : Foreign policy of the John F. Kennedy administration Foreign trips of John F. Kennedy during his presidency President Kennedy 's foreign policy was dominated by American confrontations with the Soviet Union, manifested by proxy contests in the early stage of the Cold War. In 1961, he anxiously anticipated a summit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. He started off on the wrong foot by reacting aggressively to a routine Khrushchev speech on Cold War confrontation in early 1961. The speech was intended for domestic audiences in the Soviet Union, but Kennedy interpreted it as a personal challenge. His mistake helped raise tensions going into the Vienna summit of June 1961. On the way to the summit, Kennedy stopped in Paris to meet Charles de Gaulle, who advised him to ignore Khrushchev 's abrasive style. The French president feared the United States ' presumed influence in Europe. Nevertheless, de Gaulle was quite impressed with the young president and his family. Kennedy picked up on this in his speech in Paris, saying that he would be remembered as `` the man who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Paris. '' The Kekkonens from Finland visited the United States and met John F. Kennedy in 1961. From left : President Urho Kekkonen, Sylvi Kekkonen, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy. On June 4, 1961, the president met with Khrushchev in Vienna and left the meetings angry and disappointed that he had allowed the premier to bully him, despite the warnings he had received. Khrushchev, for his part, was impressed with the president 's intelligence, but thought him weak. Kennedy did succeed in conveying the bottom line to Khrushchev on the most sensitive issue before them, a proposed treaty between Moscow and East Berlin. He made it clear that any treaty interfering with U.S access rights in West Berlin would be regarded as an act of war. Shortly after the president returned home, the U.S.S.R. announced its plan to sign a treaty with East Berlin, abrogating any third - party occupation rights in either sector of the city. Depressed and angry, Kennedy assumed that his only option was to prepare the country for nuclear war, which he personally thought had a one - in - five chance of occurring. Kennedy with Kwame Nkrumah, the first head of an independent Ghana, March 1961 Kennedy with the Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani, at the White House, in 1963 In the weeks immediately following the Vienna summit, more than 20,000 people fled from East Berlin to the western sector, reacting to statements from the USSR. Kennedy began intensive meetings on the Berlin issue, where Dean Acheson took the lead in recommending a military buildup alongside NATO allies. In a July 1961 speech, Kennedy announced his decision to add $3.25 billion ( equivalent to $26.62 billion in 2017 ) to the defense budget, along with over 200,000 additional troops, stating that an attack on West Berlin would be taken as an attack on the U.S. The speech received an 85 % approval rating. A month later, both the Soviet Union and East Berlin began blocking any further passage of East Berliners into West Berlin and erected barbed wire fences across the city, which were quickly upgraded to the Berlin Wall. Kennedy 's initial reaction was to ignore this, as long as free access from West to East Berlin continued. This course was altered when West Berliners had lost confidence in the defense of their position by the United States. Kennedy sent Vice President Johnson, along with a host of military personnel, in convoy through West Germany, including Soviet - armed checkpoints, to demonstrate the continued commitment of the U.S. to West Berlin. Kennedy gave a speech at Saint Anselm College on May 5, 1960, regarding America 's conduct in the emerging Cold War. The address detailed how the American foreign policy should be conducted towards African nations, noting a hint of support for modern African nationalism by saying, `` For we, too, founded a new nation on revolt from colonial rule. '' Cuba and the Bay of Pigs invasion Main article : Bay of Pigs Invasion The Eisenhower administration had created a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro 's regime in Cuba. Led by the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ), with help from the U.S. military, the plan was for an invasion of Cuba by a counter-revolutionary insurgency composed of U.S. - trained, anti-Castro Cuban exiles led by CIA paramilitary officers. The intention was to invade Cuba and instigate an uprising among the Cuban people, hoping to remove Castro from power. Kennedy approved the final invasion plan on April 4, 1961. The President and Vice President take a leisurely stroll on the White House grounds The Bay of Pigs Invasion began on April 17, 1961. Fifteen hundred U.S. - trained Cubans, dubbed Brigade 2506, landed on the island. No U.S. air support was provided. CIA director Allen Dulles later stated that they thought the president would authorize any action that was needed for success once the troops were on the ground. By April 19, 1961, the Cuban government had captured or killed the invading exiles, and Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors. Twenty months later, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for $53 million worth of food and medicine. The incident made Castro feel wary of the U.S. and led him to believe that another invasion would take place. Biographer Richard Reeves said that Kennedy focused primarily on the political repercussions of the plan rather than military considerations. When it proved unsuccessful, he was convinced that the plan was a setup to make him look bad. He took responsibility for the failure, saying, `` We got a big kick in the leg and we deserved it. But maybe we 'll learn something from it. '' In late 1961, the White House formed the Special Group ( Augmented ), headed by Robert Kennedy and including Edward Lansdale, Secretary Robert McNamara, and others. The group 's objective -- to overthrow Castro via espionage, sabotage, and other covert tactics -- was never pursued. Cuban missile Crisis Main article : Cuban Missile Crisis Address on the Buildup of Arms in Cuba Kennedy addressing the nation on October 22, 1962, about the buildup of arms on Cuba Problems playing this file ? See media help. Wikisource has original text related to this article : Cuban Missile Crisis On October 14, 1962, CIA U-2 spy planes took photographs of the Soviets ' construction of intermediate - range ballistic missile sites in Cuba. The photos were shown to Kennedy on October 16 ; a consensus was reached that the missiles were offensive in nature and thus posed an immediate nuclear threat. Kennedy faced a dilemma : if the U.S. attacked the sites, it might lead to nuclear war with the U.S.S.R., but if the U.S. did nothing, it would be faced with the increased threat from close - range nuclear weapons. The U.S. would also appear to the world as less committed to the defense of the hemisphere. On a personal level, Kennedy needed to show resolve in reaction to Khrushchev, especially after the Vienna summit. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Kennedy confer in Vienna, 1961 More than a third of U.S. National Security Council ( NSC ) members favored an unannounced air assault on the missile sites, but for some of them this conjured up an image of `` Pearl Harbor in reverse ''. There was also some concern from the international community ( asked in confidence ), that the assault plan was an overreaction in light of the fact that Eisenhower had placed PGM - 19 Jupiter missiles in Italy and Turkey in 1958. It also could not be assured that the assault would be 100 % effective. In concurrence with a majority - vote of the NSC, Kennedy decided on a naval quarantine. On October 22, he dispatched a message to Khrushchev and announced the decision on TV. The U.S. Navy would stop and inspect all Soviet ships arriving off Cuba, beginning October 24. The Organization of American States gave unanimous support to the removal of the missiles. The president exchanged two sets of letters with Khrushchev, to no avail. United Nations ( UN ) Secretary General U Thant requested both parties to reverse their decisions and enter a cooling - off period. Khrushchev agreed, but Kennedy did n't. One Soviet - flagged ship was stopped and boarded. On October 28, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile sites, subject to UN inspections. The U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and privately agreed to remove its Jupiter missiles from Italy and Turkey, which were by then obsolete and had been supplanted by submarines equipped with UGM - 27 Polaris missiles. This crisis brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or after. In the end, `` the humanity '' of the two men prevailed. The crisis improved the image of American willpower and the president 's credibility. Kennedy 's approval rating increased from 66 % to 77 % immediately thereafter. Latin America and communism Main article : Foreign policy of the John F. Kennedy administration § Latin America Kennedy with Chilean President Jorge Alessandri, on an official visit in December 1962 Believing that `` those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable, '' Kennedy sought to contain the perceived threat of communism in Latin America by establishing the Alliance for Progress, which sent aid to some countries and sought greater human rights standards in the region. He worked closely with Puerto Rican Governor Luis Muñoz Marín for the development of the Alliance of Progress, and began working towards Puerto Rico 's autonomy. The Eisenhower administration, through the CIA, had begun formulating plans to assassinate Castro in Cuba and Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. When President Kennedy took office, he privately instructed the CIA that any plan must include plausible deniability by the U.S. His public position was in opposition. In June 1961, the Dominican Republic 's leader was assassinated ; in the days following, Undersecretary of State Chester Bowles led a cautious reaction by the nation. Robert Kennedy, who saw an opportunity for the U.S., called Bowles `` a gutless bastard '' to his face. Peace Corps Executive Order 10924 Establishment of the Peace Corps John F. Kennedy 's announcement of the establishment of the Peace Corps Problems playing this file ? See media help. In one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy asked Congress to create the Peace Corps. His brother - in - law, Sargent Shriver, was its first director. Through this program, Americans volunteered to help developing nations in fields like education, farming, health care, and construction. The organization grew to 5,000 members by March 1963 and 10,000 the year after. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, representing 139 different countries. Southeast Asia Main articles : Laotian Civil War, 1963 South Vietnamese coup, Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, Reaction to the 1963 South Vietnamese coup, Cable 243, Buddhist crisis, Thích Quảng Đức, Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, Krulak Mendenhall mission, and McNamara Taylor mission When briefing Kennedy, Eisenhower emphasized that the communist threat in Southeast Asia required priority ; Eisenhower considered Laos to be `` the cork in the bottle '' regarding the regional threat. In March 1961, Kennedy voiced a change in policy from supporting a `` free '' Laos to a `` neutral '' Laos, indicating privately that Vietnam, and not Laos, should be deemed America 's tripwire for communism 's spread in the area. In May, he dispatched Lyndon Johnson to meet with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem. Johnson assured Diem more aid to mold a fighting force that could resist the communists. Kennedy announced a change of policy from support to partnership with Diem to defeat of communism in South Vietnam. During his presidency, Kennedy continued policies that provided political, economic, and military support to the South Vietnamese government. In late 1961, the Viet Cong began assuming a predominant presence, initially seizing the provincial capital of Phuoc Vinh. Kennedy increased the number of military advisors and special forces in the area, from 11,000 in 1962 to 16,000 by late 1963, but he was reluctant to order a full - scale deployment of troops. A year and three months later on March 8, 1965, his successor, President Lyndon Johnson, committed the first combat troops to Vietnam and greatly escalated U.S. involvement, with forces reaching 184,000 that year and 536,000 in 1968. In late 1961, President Kennedy sent Roger Hilsman, then director of the State Department 's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, to assess the situation in Vietnam. There, Hilsman met Sir Robert Thompson, head of the British Advisory Mission to South Vietnam, and the Strategic Hamlet Program was formed. It was approved by Kennedy and South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem. It was implemented in early 1962 and involved some forced relocation, village internment, and segregation of rural South Vietnamese into new communities where the peasantry would be isolated from Communist insurgents. It was hoped that these new communities would provide security for the peasants and strengthen the tie between them and the central government. By November 1963, the program waned and officially ended in 1964. In early 1962, Kennedy formally authorized escalated involvement when he signed the National Security Action Memorandum -- `` Subversive Insurgency ( War of Liberation ) ''. `` Operation Ranch Hand '', a large - scale aerial defoliation effort, began on the roadsides of South Vietnam. Depending on which assessment Kennedy accepted ( Department of Defense or State ), there had been zero or modest progress in countering the increase in communist aggression in return for an expanded U.S. involvement. Kennedy with future Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt in the Oval Office in 1963 In April 1963, Kennedy assessed the situation in Vietnam, saying, `` We do n't have a prayer of staying in Vietnam. Those people hate us. They are going to throw our asses out of there at any point. But I ca n't give up that territory to the communists and get the American people to re-elect me. '' On August 21, just as the new U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. arrived, Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu ordered South Vietnam forces, funded and trained by the CIA, to quell Buddhist demonstrations. The crackdowns heightened expectations of a coup d'état to remove Diem with ( or perhaps by ) his brother, Nhu. Lodge was instructed to try getting Diem and Nhu to step down and leave the country. Diem would not listen to Lodge. Cable 243 ( DEPTEL 243 ) followed, dated August 24, declaring that Washington would no longer tolerate Nhu 's actions, and Lodge was ordered to pressure Diem to remove Nhu. Lodge concluded that the only option was to get the South Vietnamese generals to overthrow Diem and Nhu. At week 's end, orders were sent to Saigon and throughout Washington to `` destroy all coup cables ''. At the same time, the first formal anti-Vietnam war sentiment was expressed by U.S. clergy from the Ministers ' Vietnam Committee. A White House meeting in September was indicative of the different ongoing appraisals ; the president was given updated assessments after personal inspections on the ground by the Departments of Defense ( General Victor Krulak ) and State ( Joseph Mendenhall ). Krulak said that the military fight against the communists was progressing and being won, while Mendenhall stated that the country was civilly being lost to any U.S. influence. Kennedy reacted, asking, `` Did you two gentlemen visit the same country ? '' The president was unaware that both men were at such odds that they had not spoken to each other on the return flight. In October 1963, the president appointed Defense Secretary McNamara and General Maxwell D. Taylor to a Vietnamese mission in another effort to synchronize the information and formulation of policy. The objective of the McNamara Taylor mission `` emphasized the importance of getting to the bottom of the differences in reporting from U.S. representatives in Vietnam. '' In meetings with McNamara, Taylor, and Lodge, Diem again refused to agree to governing measures, helping to dispel McNamara 's previous optimism about Diem. Taylor and McNamara were enlightened by Vietnam 's vice president, Nguyen Ngoc Tho ( choice of many to succeed Diem ), who in detailed terms obliterated Taylor 's information that the military was succeeding in the countryside. At Kennedy 's insistence, the mission report contained a recommended schedule for troop withdrawals : 1,000 by year 's end and complete withdrawal in 1965, something the NSC considered to be a `` strategic fantasy ''. In late October, intelligence wires again reported that a coup against the Diem government was afoot. The source, Vietnamese General Duong Van Minh ( also known as `` Big Minh '' ), wanted to know the U.S. position. Kennedy instructed Lodge to offer covert assistance to the coup, excluding assassination. On November 1, 1963, South Vietnamese generals, led by `` Big Minh '', overthrew the Diem government, arresting and then killing Diem and Nhu. Kennedy was shocked by the deaths. News of the coup led to renewed confidence initially -- both in America and in South Vietnam -- that the war might be won. McGeorge Bundy drafted a National Security Action Memo to present to Kennedy upon his return from Dallas. It reiterated the resolve to fight communism in Vietnam, with increasing military and economic aid and expansion of operations into Laos and Cambodia. Before leaving for Dallas, Kennedy told Michael Forrestal that `` after the first of the year... ( he wanted ) an in depth study of every possible option, including how to get out of there... to review this whole thing from the bottom to the top. '' When asked what he thought the president meant, Forrestal said, `` it was devil 's advocate stuff. '' Kennedy delivers the commencement speech at American University, June 10, 1963 Historians disagree on whether Vietnam would have escalated if Kennedy not been assassinated and had won re-election in 1964. Fueling the debate were statements made by Secretary of Defense McNamara in the film `` The Fog of War '' that Kennedy was strongly considering pulling the United States out of Vietnam after the 1964 election. The film also contains a tape recording of Lyndon Johnson stating that Kennedy was planning to withdraw, a position in which Johnson disagreed. Kennedy had signed National Security Action Memorandum ( NSAM ) 263, dated October 11, which ordered the withdrawal of 1,000 military personnel by year 's end, and the bulk of them out by 1965. Such an action would have been a policy reversal, but Kennedy was moving in a less hawkish direction since his speech on world peace at American University on June 10, 1963. At the time of Kennedy 's death, no final policy decision was made to Vietnam. In 2008, Theodore Sorensen wrote, `` I would like to believe that Kennedy would have found a way to withdraw all American instructors and advisors ( from Vietnam ). But... I do not believe he knew in his last weeks what he was going to do. '' Sorensen added that, in his opinion, Vietnam `` was the only foreign policy problem handed off by JFK to his successor in no better, and possibly worse, shape than it was when he inherited it. '' U.S. involvement in the region escalated until his successor Lyndon Johnson directly deployed regular U.S. military forces for fighting the Vietnam War. After Kennedy 's assassination, President Johnson signed NSAM 273 on November 26, 1963. It reversed Kennedy 's decision to withdraw 1,000 troops, and reaffirmed the policy of assistance to the South Vietnamese. American University speech World Peace Speech Speech from American University by John F. Kennedy, June 10, 1963 ( duration 26 : 47 ) Problems playing this file ? See media help. Wikisource has original text related to this article : A Strategy of Peace On June 10, 1963, Kennedy, at the high point of his rhetorical powers, delivered the commencement address at American University in Washington, D.C. Also known as `` A Strategy of Peace '', not only did the President outline a plan to curb nuclear arms, but he also `` laid out a hopeful, yet realistic route for world peace at a time when the U.S. and Soviet Union faced the potential for an escalating nuclear arms race. '' The President wished : to discuss a topic on which too often ignorance abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived -- yet it is the most important topic on earth : world peace... I speak of peace because of the new face of war... in an age when a singular nuclear weapon contains ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied forces in the Second World War... an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and air and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn... I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men... world peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor -- it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance... our problems are man - made -- therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. The president also made two announcements -- 1. ) that the Soviets had expressed a desire to negotiate a nuclear test ban treaty, and 2. ) that the U.S had postponed planned atmospheric tests. West Berlin speech Kennedy delivering his speech in West Berlin Ich bin ein Berliner ( I am a Berliner ) speech Play media Ich bin ein Berliner speech from the Rathaus Schöneberg by John F. Kennedy, June 26, 1963 ( duration 9 : 01 ) Ich bin ein Berliner ( I am a Berliner ) speech ( audio ) Audio - only version ( duration 9 : 22 ) Wikisource has original text related to this article : JFK 's Ich bin ein Berliner speech In 1963, Germany was enduring a time of particular vulnerability due to Soviet aggression to the east as well as the impending retirement of West German Chancellor Adenauer. At the same time, French President Charles de Gaulle was trying to build a Franco - West German counterweight to the American and Soviet spheres of influence. To Kennedy 's eyes, this Franco - German cooperation seemed directed against NATO 's influence in Europe. On June 26, President Kennedy gave a public speech in West Berlin. He reiterated the American commitment to Germany and criticized communism, and was met with an ecstatic response from a massive audience. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an example of the failures of communism : `` Freedom has many difficulties, and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. '' The speech is known for its famous phrase `` Ich bin ein Berliner '' ( `` I am a citizen of Berlin '' ). A million people were on the street for the speech. Kennedy remarked to Ted Sorensen afterwards : `` We 'll never have another day like this one, as long as we live. '' See also : Tear down this wall ! Israel In 1960, Kennedy stated, `` Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom. '' Subsequently, as president, Kennedy initiated the creation of security ties with Israel, and he is credited as the founder of the US - Israeli military alliance ( which would be continued under subsequent presidents ). Kennedy ended the arms embargo that the Eisenhower and Truman administrations had enforced on Israel. Describing the protection of Israel as a moral and national commitment, he was the first to introduce the concept of a `` special relationship '' ( as he described it to Golda Meir ) between the US and Israel. Kennedy with Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir, December 27, 1962 Kennedy extended the first informal security guarantees to Israel in 1962 and, beginning in 1963, was the first US president to allow the sale to Israel of advanced US weaponry ( the MIM - 23 Hawk ) as well as to provide diplomatic support for Israeli policies, which were opposed by Arab neighbors ; those policies included Israel 's water project on the Jordan River. As result of this newly created security alliance, Kennedy also encountered tensions with the Israeli government over the production of nuclear materials in Dimona, which he believed could instigate a nuclear arms - race in the Middle East. After the existence of a nuclear plant was initially denied by the Israeli government, David Ben - Gurion stated in a speech to the Israeli Knesset on December 21, 1960, that the purpose of the nuclear plant at Beersheba was for `` research in problems of arid zones and desert flora and fauna. '' When Ben - Gurion met with Kennedy in New York, he claimed that Dimona was being developed to provide nuclear power for desalinization and other peaceful purposes `` for the time being. '' In a May 1963 letter to Ben - Gurion, Kennedy wrote that he was skeptical and stated that American support to Israel could be in jeopardy if reliable information on the Israeli nuclear program was not forthcoming, Ben - Gurion repeated previous reassurances that Dimona was being developed for peaceful purposes. The Israeli government resisted American pressure to open its nuclear facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) inspections. In 1962, the US and Israeli governments had agreed to an annual inspection regime. A science attaché at the embassy in Tel Aviv concluded that parts of the Dimona facility had been shut down temporarily to mislead American scientists when they visited. According to Seymour Hersh, the Israelis set up false control rooms to show the Americans. Israeli lobbyist Abe Feinberg stated : `` It was part of my job to tip them off that Kennedy was insisting on ( an inspection ). '' Hersh contends that the inspections were conducted in such a way that it `` guaranteed that the whole procedure would be little more than a whitewash, as the president and his senior advisors had to understand : the American inspection team would have to schedule its visits well in advance, and with the full acquiescence of Israel. '' Marc Trachtenberg argued that `` ( a ) lthough ( he was ) well aware of what the Israelis were doing, Kennedy chose to take this as satisfactory evidence of Israeli compliance with America 's non-proliferation policy. '' The American who led the inspection team stated that the essential goal of the inspections was to find `` ways to not reach the point of taking action against Israel 's nuclear weapons program. '' Rodger Davies, the director of the State Department 's Office of Near Eastern Affairs, concluded in March 1965 that Israel was developing nuclear weapons. He reported that Israel 's target date for achieving nuclear capability was 1968 -- 1969. On May 1, 1968, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach told President Johnson that Dimona was producing enough plutonium to produce two bombs a year. The State Department argued that if Israel wanted arms, it should accept international supervision of its nuclear program. Dimona was never placed under IAEA safeguards. Attempts to write Israeli adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT ) into contracts for the supply of U.S. weapons continued throughout 1968. Iraq Main article : Foreign policy of the John F. Kennedy administration § Iraq Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Kennedy, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in the White House Cabinet Room on April 13, 1962 Relations between the United States and Iraq became strained following the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy on July 14, 1958, which resulted in the declaration of a republican government led by Brigadier Abd al - Karim Qasim. On June 25, 1961, Qasim mobilized troops along the border between Iraq and Kuwait, declaring the latter nation `` an indivisible part of Iraq '' and causing a short - lived `` Kuwait Crisis ''. The United Kingdom -- which had just granted Kuwait independence on June 19, and whose economy was heavily dependent on Kuwaiti oil -- responded on July 1 by dispatching 5,000 troops to the country to deter an Iraqi invasion. At the same time, Kennedy dispatched a U.S. Navy task force to Bahrain, and the UK ( at the urging of the Kennedy administration ) brought the dispute to United Nations Security Council, where the proposed resolution was vetoed by the Soviet Union. The situation was resolved in October, when the British troops were withdrawn and replaced by a 4,000 - strong Arab League force. In December 1961, Qasim 's government passed Public Law 80, which restricted the British - and American - owned Iraq Petroleum Company ( IPC ) 's concessionary holding to those areas in which oil was actually being produced, effectively expropriating 99.5 % of the IPC concession. U.S. officials were alarmed by the expropriation as well as the recent Soviet veto of an Egyptian - sponsored UN resolution requesting the admittance of Kuwait as UN member state, which they believed were connected. Senior National Security Council adviser Robert Komer worried that if the IPC ceased production in response, Qasim might `` grab Kuwait '' ( thus achieving a `` stranglehold '' on Middle Eastern oil production ) or `` throw himself into Russian arms. '' Komer also made note of widespread rumors that a nationalist coup against Qasim could be imminent, and had the potential to `` get Iraq back on ( a ) more neutral keel. '' In April 1962, the State Department issued new guidelines on Iraq that were intended to increase American influence there. Meanwhile, Kennedy instructed the CIA -- under the direction of Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt Jr. -- to begin making preparations for a military coup against Qasim. The anti-imperialist and anti-communist Iraqi Ba'ath Party overthrew and executed Qasim in a violent coup on February 8, 1963. While there have been persistent rumors that the CIA orchestrated the coup, declassified documents and the testimony of former CIA officers indicate that there was no direct American involvement, although the CIA was actively seeking a suitable replacement for Qasim within the Iraqi military and had been informed of an earlier Ba'athist coup plot. The Kennedy administration was pleased with the outcome and ultimately approved a $55 - million arms deal for Iraq. Ireland John F. Kennedy visiting the John Barry Memorial at Crescent Quay in Wexford, Ireland President Kennedy in motorcade in Patrick Street, Cork, in Ireland on June 28, 1963 During his four - day visit to his ancestral home of Ireland in June 1963, Kennedy accepted a grant of armorial bearings from the Chief Herald of Ireland and received honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin. He visited the cottage at Dunganstown, near New Ross, County Wexford, where his ancestors had lived before emigrating to America. Kennedy also was the first foreign leader to address the Houses of the Oireachtas ( the Irish parliament ). On December 22, 2006, the Irish Department of Justice released declassified police documents indicating that security was heightened as Kennedy was the subject of three death threats during this visit. Nuclear test ban treaty Main article : Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Troubled by the long - term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to negotiate a nuclear test ban treaty, originally conceived in Adlai Stevenson 's 1956 presidential campaign. In their Vienna summit meeting in June 1961, Khrushchev and Kennedy both reached an informal understanding against nuclear testing, but the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons that September. In response, the United States conducted tests five days later. Shortly afterwards, new U.S. satellites began delivering images which made it clear that the Soviets were substantially behind the U.S. in the arms race. Nevertheless, the greater nuclear strength of the U.S. was of little value as long as the U.S.S.R. perceived itself to be at parity. In July 1963, Kennedy sent W. Averell Harriman to Moscow to negotiate a treaty with the Soviets. The introductory sessions included Khrushchev, who later delegated Soviet representation to Andrei Gromyko. It quickly became clear that a comprehensive test ban would not be implemented, due largely to the reluctance of the Soviets to allow inspections that would verify compliance. Ultimately, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to a limited treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but not underground. The U.S. Senate ratified this and Kennedy signed it into law in October 1963. France was quick to declare that it was free to continue developing and testing its nuclear defenses. Domestic policy President Kennedy in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday morning, November 22, 1963 Kennedy called his domestic program the `` New Frontier ''. It ambitiously promised federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, economic aid to rural regions, and government intervention to halt the recession. He also promised an end to racial discrimination, although his agenda, which included the endorsement of the Voter Education Project ( VEP ) in 1962, produced little progress in areas such as Mississippi, where the `` VEP concluded that discrimination was so entrenched ''. In his 1963 State of the Union address, he proposed substantial tax reform and a reduction in income tax rates from the current range of 20 -- 90 % to a range of 14 -- 65 % as well as a reduction in the corporate tax rates from 52 to 47 %. Kennedy added that the top rate should be set at 70 % if certain deductions were not eliminated for high income earners. Congress did not act until 1964, a year after his death, when the top individual rate was lowered to 70 %, and the top corporate rate was set at 48 %. To the Economic Club of New York, he spoke in 1963 of ``... the paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and revenues too low ; and the soundest way to raise revenue in the long term is to lower rates now. '' Congress passed few of Kennedy 's major programs during his lifetime, but did vote them through in 1964 and 1965 under his successor Johnson. Economy Kennedy ended a period of tight fiscal policies, loosening monetary policy to keep interest rates down and to encourage growth of the economy. He presided over the first government budget to top the $100 billion mark, in 1962, and his first budget in 1961 resulted in the nation 's first non-war, non-recession deficit. The economy, which had been through two recessions in three years and was in one when Kennedy took office, accelerated notably throughout his administration. Despite low inflation and interest rates, the GDP had grown by an average of only 2.2 % per annum during the Eisenhower administration ( scarcely more than population growth at the time ), and it had declined by 1 % during Eisenhower 's last twelve months in office. The economy turned around and prospered during Kennedy 's years as President. The GDP expanded by an average of 5.5 % from early 1961 to late 1963, while inflation remained steady at around 1 % and unemployment eased. Industrial production rose by 15 % and motor vehicle sales increased by 40 %. This rate of growth in GDP and industry continued until 1969, and has yet to be repeated for such a sustained period of time. Attorney General Robert Kennedy took the position that steel executives had illegally colluded to fix prices. He stated, `` We 're going for broke... their expense accounts, where they 've been and what they 've been doing... the FBI is to interview them all... we ca n't lose this. '' The administration 's actions influenced U.S. Steel to rescind the price increase. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the administration had acted `` by naked power, by threats, ( and ) by agents of the state security police. '' Yale law professor Charles Reich opined in The New Republic that the administration had violated civil liberties by calling a grand jury to indict U.S. Steel for collusion so quickly. An editorial in The New York Times praised Kennedy 's actions and said that the steel industry 's price increase `` imperil ( ed ) the economic welfare of the country by inviting a tidal wave of inflation. '' Nevertheless, the administration 's Bureau of Budget reported the price increase would have caused a net gain for the GDP as well as a net budget surplus. The stock market, which had steadily declined since Kennedy 's election in 1960, dropped 10 % shortly after the administration 's action on the steel industry took place. Federal and military death penalty During his administration, Kennedy oversaw the last federal execution prior to Furman v. Georgia, a 1972 case that led to a moratorium on federal executions. Victor Feguer was sentenced to death by an Iowa federal court and was executed on March 15, 1963. Kennedy commuted a death sentence imposed by a military court on seaman Jimmie Henderson on February 12, 1962, changing the penalty to life in prison. On March 22, 1962, Kennedy signed into law HR5143 ( PL87 - 423 ), which abolished the mandatory death penalty for first degree murder suspects in the District of Columbia, the only remaining jurisdiction in the United States with such a penalty. The death penalty has not been applied in the District of Columbia since 1957, and has now been abolished. Civil rights movement Thurgood Marshall, appointed to the federal bench by Kennedy in May 1961 The turbulent end of state - sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most pressing domestic issues of the 1960s. Jim Crow segregation was the established law in the Deep South. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Many schools, especially those in southern states, did not obey the Supreme Court 's decision. The Court also prohibited segregation at other public facilities ( such as buses, restaurants, theaters, courtrooms, bathrooms, and beaches ) but it continued nonetheless. Kennedy verbally supported racial integration and civil rights ; during his 1960 presidential campaign, he telephoned Coretta Scott King, wife of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who had been jailed while trying to integrate a department store lunch counter. Robert Kennedy called Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver and obtained King 's release from prison, which drew additional black support to his brother 's candidacy. Upon taking office in 1961, Kennedy postponed promised civil rights legislation he made while campaigning in 1960, recognizing that conservative Southern Democrats controlled congressional legislation. Historian Carl M. Brauer concluded that passing any civil rights legislation in 1961 would have been futile. During his first year in office, Kennedy appointed many blacks to office including his May appointment of civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall to the federal bench. In his first State of the Union Address in January 1961, President Kennedy 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. '' Kennedy believed the grassroots movement for civil rights would anger many Southern whites and make it more difficult to pass civil rights laws in Congress, including anti-poverty legislation, and he distanced himself from it. Kennedy was concerned with other issues in the early part of his administration, such as the Cold War, Bay of Pigs fiasco, and the situation in Southeast Asia. As articulated by his brother Robert, the administration 's early priority was to `` keep the president out of this civil rights mess. '' Civil rights movement participants, mainly those on the front line in the South, viewed Kennedy as lukewarm, especially concerning the Freedom Riders, who organized an integrated public transportation effort in the south, and who were repeatedly met with white mob violence, including by law enforcement officers, both federal and state. Kennedy assigned federal marshals to protect the Freedom Riders rather than using federal troops or uncooperative FBI agents. Robert Kennedy, speaking for the president, urged the Freedom Riders to `` get off the buses and leave the matter to peaceful settlement in the courts. '' Kennedy feared sending federal troops would stir up `` hated memories of Reconstruction '' after the Civil War among conservative Southern whites. On March 6, 1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, which required government contractors to `` take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin. '' It established the President 's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Displeased with Kennedy 's pace addressing the issue of segregation, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates produced a document in 1962 calling on the president to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and use an Executive Order to deliver a blow for Civil Rights as a kind of Second Emancipation Proclamation. Kennedy did not execute the order. In September 1962, James Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi but was prevented from entering. In response to that, Robert Kennedy, now U.S. Attorney General, sent 400 federal marshals, while President Kennedy reluctantly sent 3,000 troops after the situation on campus turned out violent. The Ole Miss riot of 1962 left two people dead and a dozen others injured, but Meredith did finally enroll for class. Kennedy regretted not sending in troops earlier and he began doubting as to whether the `` evils of Reconstruction '' of the 1860s and 1870s he had been taught or believed in were true. The instigating subculture at the Old Miss riot, and at many other racially ignited events, was the Ku Klux Klan. On November 20, 1962, Kennedy signed Executive Order 11063, which prohibited racial discrimination in federally supported housing or `` related facilities ''. Both the President and the Attorney General were concerned about King 's ties to suspected Communists Jack O'Dell and Stanley Levison. After the President and his civil rights expert Harris Wofford pressed King to ask both men to resign from the SCLC, King agreed to ask only O'Dell to resign from the organization and allowed Levison, whom he regarded as a trusted advisor, to remain. In early 1963, Kennedy related to Martin Luther King, Jr., his thoughts on the prospects for civil rights legislation : `` If we get into a long fight over this in Congress, it will bottleneck everything else, and we will still get no bill. '' Civil rights clashes were on the rise that year. Brother Robert and Ted Sorenson pressed Kennedy to take more initiative on the legislative front. Kennedy 's Report to the American People on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 On June 11, 1963, President Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending. Wallace moved aside only after being confronted by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and the Alabama U.S. National Guard, which had just been federalized by order of the president. That evening Kennedy gave his famous Report to the American People on Civil Rights on national television and radio, launching his initiative for civil rights legislation -- to provide equal access to public schools and other facilities, and greater protection of voting rights. His proposals became part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The day ended with the murder of a NAACP leader, Medgar Evers, in front of his home in Mississippi. As the president had predicted, the day after his TV speech, and in reaction to it, House Majority leader Carl Albert called to advise him that his two - year signature effort in Congress to combat poverty in Appalachia ( Area Redevelopment Administration ) had been defeated, primarily by the votes of Southern Democrats and Republicans. When Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. complemented Kennedy on his remarks, the latter bitterly replied, `` Yes, and look at what happened to area development the very next day in the House. '' He then added, `` But of course, I had to give that speech, and I 'm glad that I did. '' On June 16, The New York Times published an editorial which argued that while the president had initially `` moved too slowly and with little evidence of deep moral commitment '' in regards to civil rights he `` now demonstrate ( d ) a genuine sense of urgency about eradicating racial discrimination from our national life. '' Earlier, Kennedy had signed the executive order creating the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women on December 14, 1961. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt led the commission. The Commission statistics revealed that women were also experiencing discrimination ; its final report, documenting legal and cultural barriers, was issued in October 1963. Further, on June 10, 1963, Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act and abolished wage disparity based on sex. Kennedy meets with leaders of the March on Washington in the Oval Office, August 28, 1963 Over a hundred thousand, predominantly African Americans gathered in Washington for the civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. Kennedy feared the March would have a negative effect on the prospects for the civil rights bills in Congress, and declined an invitation to speak. He turned over some of the details of the government 's involvement to the Dept. of Justice, which channelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to the six sponsors of the March, including the N.A.A.C.P. and Martin Luther King 's Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ). To ensure a peaceful demonstration, the organizers and the president personally edited speeches which were inflammatory and agreed the March would be held on a Wednesday and would be over at 4 : 00 pm. Thousands of troops were placed on standby. Kennedy watched King 's speech on TV and was very impressed. The March was considered a `` triumph of managed protest '', and not one arrest relating to the demonstration occurred. Afterwards, the March leaders accepted an invitation to the White House to meet with Kennedy and photos were taken. Kennedy felt that the March was a victory for him as well and bolstered the chances for his civil rights bill. Nevertheless, the struggle was far from over. Three weeks later, a bomb exploded on Sunday, September 15, at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham ; by the end of the day, four African American children had died in the explosion, and two other children were shot to death in the aftermath. Due to this resurgent violence, the civil rights legislation underwent some drastic amendments that critically endangered any prospects for passage of the bill, to the outrage of the president. Kennedy called the congressional leaders to the White House and by the following day the original bill, without the additions, had enough votes to get it out of the House committee. Gaining Republican support, Senator Everett Dirksen promised the legislation would be brought to a vote preventing a Senate filibuster. The legislation was enacted by Kennedy 's successor President Lyndon B. Johnson, prompted by Kennedy 's memory, after his assassination in November, enforcing voting rights, public accommodations, employment, education, and the administration of justice. Civil liberties In February 1962, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who was suspicious of civil - rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and viewed him as an upstart troublemaker, presented the Kennedy Administration with allegations that some of King 's close confidants and advisers were communists. Concerned by these allegations, the FBI deployed agents to monitor King in the following months. Robert Kennedy and the president also both warned King to discontinue the suspect associations. After the associations continued, Robert Kennedy issued a written directive authorizing the FBI to wiretap King and other leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King 's civil rights organization, in October 1963. Although Kennedy only gave written approval for limited wiretapping of King 's phones `` on a trial basis, for a month or so '', Hoover extended the clearance so his men were `` unshackled '' to look for evidence in any areas of King 's life they deemed worthy. The wiretapping continued through June 1966 and was revealed in 1968. Immigration During the 1960 campaign Kennedy proposed an overhaul of American immigration and naturalization laws to ban discrimination based on national origin. He saw this proposal as an extension of his planned civil rights agenda as president. These reforms later became law through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which dramatically shifted the source of immigration from Northern and Western European countries towards immigration from Latin America and Asia. The policy change also shifted the emphasis in the selection of immigrants in favor of family reunification. The late - president 's brother, Senator Edward Kennedy helped steer the legislation through the Senate. Native American relations Further information : Kinzua Dam § Native Americans, and Seneca nation § Kinzua Dam Construction of the Kinzua Dam flooded 10,000 acres ( 4,047 ha ) of Seneca nation land that they had occupied under the Treaty of 1794, and forced 600 Seneca to relocate to Salamanca, New York. Kennedy was asked by the American Civil Liberties Union to intervene and to halt the project, but he declined, citing a critical need for flood control. He expressed concern about the plight of the Seneca, and directed government agencies to assist in obtaining more land, damages, and assistance to help mitigate their displacement. Space policy Further information : Space Race and Space policy of the United States The Apollo program was conceived early in 1960, during the Eisenhower administration, as a follow - up to Project Mercury, to be used as a shuttle to an Earth - orbital space station, flights around the Moon, or landing on it. While NASA went ahead with planning for Apollo, funding for the program was far from certain, given Eisenhower 's ambivalent attitude to manned spaceflight. As senator, Kennedy had been opposed to the space program and wanted to terminate it. In constructing his Presidential administration, Kennedy elected to retain Eisenhower 's last science advisor Jerome Wiesner as head of the President 's Science Advisory Committee. Wiesner was strongly opposed to manned space exploration, having issued a report highly critical of Project Mercury. Kennedy was turned down by seventeen candidates for NASA administrator before the post was accepted by James E. Webb, an experienced Washington insider who served President Truman as budget director and undersecretary of state. Webb proved to be adept at obtaining the support of Congress, the President, and the American people. Kennedy also persuaded Congress to amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act to allow him to delegate his chairmanship of the National Aeronautics and Space Council to the Vice President, both because of the knowledge of the space program Johnson gained in the Senate working for the creation of NASA, and to help keep the politically savvy Johnson occupied. In Kennedy 's January 1961 State of the Union address, he had suggested international cooperation in space. Khrushchev declined, as the Soviets did not wish to reveal the status of their rocketry and space capabilities. Early in his presidency, Kennedy was poised to dismantle the manned space program, but postponed any decision out of deference to Johnson, who had been a strong supporter of the space program in the Senate. Kennedy 's advisors speculated that a Moon flight would be prohibitively expensive, and he was considering plans to dismantle the Apollo program due to its cost. Kennedy proposing a program to Congress that will land men on the Moon, May 1961. Johnson and Sam Rayburn are seated behind him. However, this quickly changed on April 12, 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly in space, reinforcing American fears about being left behind in a technological competition with the Soviet Union. Kennedy now became eager for the U.S. to take the lead in the Space Race, for reasons of national security and prestige. On April 20, he sent a memo to Johnson, asking him to look into the status of America 's space program, and into programs that could offer NASA the opportunity to catch up. After consulting with Wernher von Braun, Johnson responded approximately one week later, concluding that `` we are neither making maximum effort nor achieving results necessary if this country is to reach a position of leadership. '' His memo concluded that a manned Moon landing was far enough in the future that it was likely the United States would achieve it first. Kennedy 's advisor Ted Sorensen advised him to support the Moon landing, and on May 25, Kennedy announced the goal in a speech titled `` Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs '' :... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long - range exploration of space ; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. Full text Play media Kennedy speaks at Rice University, September 12, 1962 ( duration 17 : 47 ) After Congress authorized the funding, Webb began reorganizing NASA, increasing its staffing level, and building two new centers : a Launch Operations Center for the large Moon rocket northwest of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and a Manned Spacecraft Center on land donated through Rice University in Houston, Texas. Kennedy took the latter occasion as an opportunity to deliver another speech at Rice to promote the space effort on September 12, 1962, in which he said : No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Full text On November 21, 1962, in a cabinet meeting with NASA administrator Webb and other officials, Kennedy explained that the Moon shot was important for reasons of international prestige, and that the expense was justified. Johnson assured him that lessons learned from the space program had military value as well. Costs for the Apollo program were expected to reach $40 billion ( equivalent to $323.61 billion in 2017 ). In a September 1963 speech before the United Nations, Kennedy urged cooperation between the Soviets and Americans in space, specifically recommending that Apollo be switched to `` a joint expedition to the Moon ''. Khrushchev again declined, and the Soviets did not commit to a manned Moon mission until 1964. On July 20, 1969, almost six years after Kennedy 's death, Apollo 11 landed the first manned spacecraft on the Moon. Administration, cabinet, and judicial appointments The Kennedy Cabinet Office Name Term President John F. Kennedy 1961 -- 1963 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of State Dean Rusk 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of Treasury C. Douglas Dillon 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara 1961 -- 1963 Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy 1961 -- 1963 Postmaster General J. Edward Day 1961 -- 1963 John A. Gronouski 1963 Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges 1961 -- 1963 Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg 1961 -- 1962 W. Willard Wirtz 1962 -- 1963 Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Abraham A. Ribicoff 1961 -- 1962 Anthony J. Celebrezze 1962 -- 1963 The official White House portrait of John F. Kennedy, painted by Aaron Shikler Judicial appointments Supreme Court Main article : John F. Kennedy Supreme Court candidates Further information : List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States Kennedy appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States : Byron White -- 1962 Arthur Goldberg -- 1962 Other courts Main article : List of federal judges appointed by John F. Kennedy In addition to his two Supreme Court appointments, Kennedy appointed 21 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 102 judges to the United States district courts. Assassination Main article : Assassination of John F. Kennedy The Kennedys and the Connallys in the presidential limousine moments before the assassination in Dallas President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at 12 : 30 pm Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963. He was in Texas on a political trip to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough ( no relation ) and conservative John Connally. Traveling in a presidential motorcade through downtown Dallas, he was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head. Kennedy was taken to Parkland Hospital for emergency medical treatment, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later. He was 46 years old and had been in office for 1,036 days. Lee Harvey Oswald, an order filler at the Texas School Book Depository from which the shots were suspected to have been fired, was arrested for the murder of police officer J.D. Tippit, and was subsequently charged with Kennedy 's assassination. He denied shooting anyone, claiming he was a patsy, and was killed by Jack Ruby on November 24, before he could be prosecuted. Ruby was arrested and convicted for the murder of Oswald. Ruby successfully appealed his conviction and death sentence but became ill and died of cancer on January 3, 1967, while the date for his new trial was being set. President Johnson quickly issued an executive order to create the Warren Commission -- chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren -- to investigate the assassination. The commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and that Oswald was not part of any conspiracy. The results of this investigation are disputed by many. The assassination proved to be a pivotal moment in U.S. history because of its impact on the nation, and the ensuing political repercussions. A 2004 Fox News poll found that 66 % of Americans thought there had been a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy, while 74 % thought that there had been a cover - up. A Gallup Poll in November 2013 showed 61 % believed in a conspiracy, and only 30 % thought that Oswald did it alone. In 1979, the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that it believed `` that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy. '' In 2002, historian Carl M. Brauer concluded that the public 's `` fascination with the assassination may indicate a psychological denial of Kennedy 's death, a mass wish... to undo it. '' Funeral Main article : State funeral of John F. Kennedy President Kennedy 's family leaving his funeral at the U.S. Capitol Building A Requiem Mass was celebrated for Kennedy at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on November 25, 1963. The funeral was officiated by Father John J. Cavanaugh. Afterwards, Kennedy was interred in a small plot, 20 by 30 ft., in Arlington National Cemetery. Over a period of three years ( 1964 -- 1966 ), an estimated 16 million people visited his grave. On March 14, 1967, Kennedy 's remains were disinterred and moved only a few feet away to a permanent burial plot and memorial. It was from this memorial that the graves of both Robert and Ted Kennedy were modeled. The honor guard at Kennedy 's graveside was the 37th Cadet Class of the Irish Army. Kennedy was greatly impressed by the Irish Cadets on his last official visit to Ireland, so much so that Jackie Kennedy requested the Irish Army to be the honor guard at her husband 's funeral. Kennedy 's wife Jacqueline and their two deceased minor children were later interred in the same plot. JFK 's brother Robert was buried nearby in June 1968. In August 2009, Ted was also buried near his two brothers. John F. Kennedy 's grave is lit with an `` Eternal Flame ''. Kennedy and William Howard Taft are the only two U.S. presidents buried at Arlington. According to the JFK Library, `` I Have a Rendezvous with Death '', by Alan Seeger `` was one of John F. Kennedy 's favorite poems and he often asked his wife to recite it ''. Personal life, family, and reputation Further information : Kennedy family The Kennedy family in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in 1963 The Kennedy family is one of the most established political families in the United States, having produced a president, three senators, three ambassadors, and multiple other representatives, both at the federal and state level. While a Congressman, Kennedy embarked on a seven - week trip to India, Japan, Vietnam, and Israel in 1951, at which point he became close with his then 25 - year - old brother Bobby, as well as his 27 - year - old sister Pat. Because they were several years apart in age, the brothers had previously seen little of each other. This 25,000 - mile ( 40,000 km ) trip was the first extended time they had spent together and resulted in their becoming best friends. Robert would play a major role in his brother 's career, and he served as his brother 's Attorney General and presidential advisor. Robert would later run for president in 1968 before his assassination, while another Kennedy brother, Ted, ran for president in 1980. Kennedy came in third ( behind Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa ) in Gallup 's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th century. Kennedy was a life member of the National Rifle Association. Wife and children The First Family in 1962 Kennedy met his future wife, Jacqueline Lee `` Jackie '' Bouvier ( 1929 -- 1994 ), when he was a congressman. Charles L. Bartlett, a journalist, introduced the pair at a dinner party. They were married a year after he was elected senator, on September 12, 1953. Their second child Caroline was born in 1957 and is the only surviving member of JFK 's immediate family. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., nicknamed `` John - John '' by the press as a child, was born in late November 1960, 17 days after his father was elected. John Jr., a graduate of Brown University, died in 1999 when the small plane he was piloting crashed en route to Martha 's Vineyard. Popular image The Kennedy brothers : Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy, and President John F. Kennedy in 1963 Kennedy and his wife were younger in comparison to the presidents and first ladies who preceded them, and both were popular in the media culture in ways more common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion trends and becoming the subjects of numerous photo spreads in popular magazines. Although Eisenhower had allowed presidential press conferences to be filmed for television, Kennedy was the first president to ask for them to be broadcast live and made good use of the medium. In 1961 the Radio - Television News Directors Association presented Kennedy with its highest honor, the Paul White Award, in recognition of his open relationship with the media. Mrs. Kennedy brought new art and furniture to the White House, and directed its restoration. They invited a range of artists, writers and intellectuals to rounds of White House dinners, raising the profile of the arts in America. On the White House lawn, the Kennedys established a swimming pool and tree house, while Caroline attended a preschool along with 10 other children inside the home. The president was closely tied to popular culture, emphasized by songs such as `` Twisting at the White House ''. Vaughn Meader 's First Family comedy album, which parodied the president, the first lady, their family, and the administration, sold about four million copies. On May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang `` Happy Birthday, Mr. President '' at a large party in Madison Square Garden, celebrating Kennedy 's upcoming forty - fifth birthday. `` Camelot Era '' For other uses, see Camelot and King Arthur. The term `` Camelot '' came to be used retrospectively as iconic of the Kennedy administration, and the charisma of Kennedy and his family. The term was first publicly used by his wife in a post-assassination Life magazine interview with Theodore H. White, in which she revealed his affection for the contemporary Broadway musical of the same name, particularly the closing lines of the title song : Do n't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot. There 'll be great presidents again... but there will never be another Camelot. -- Jacqueline Kennedy Health In 2002 Robert Dallek wrote an extensive history of Kennedy 's health. Dallek was able to consult a collection of Kennedy - associated papers from the years 1955 -- 1963, including X-rays and prescription records from the files of White House physician Dr. Janet Travell. According to Travell 's records, during his presidential years Kennedy suffered from high fevers ; stomach, colon, and prostate issues ; abscesses ; high cholesterol ; and adrenal problems. Travell kept a `` Medicine Administration Record, '' cataloguing Kennedy 's medications : `` injected and ingested corticosteroids for his adrenal insufficiency ; procaine shots and ultrasound treatments and hot packs for his back ; Lomotil, Metamucil, paregoric, phenobarbital, testosterone, and trasentine to control his diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and weight loss ; penicillin and other antibiotics for his urinary - tract infections and an abscess ; and Tuinal to help him sleep. '' Years after Kennedy 's death, it was revealed that in September 1947, while Kennedy was 30 and in his first term in Congress, he was diagnosed by Sir Daniel Davis at The London Clinic with Addison 's disease, a rare endocrine disorder. In 1966 Dr. Travell revealed that Kennedy also had hypothyroidism. The presence of two endocrine diseases raises the possibility that Kennedy had autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2 ( APS 2 ). Kennedy also suffered from chronic and severe back pain, for which he had surgery and was written up in the American Medical Association 's Archives of Surgery. Kennedy 's condition may have had diplomatic repercussions, as he appears to have been taking a combination of drugs to treat severe back pain during the 1961 Vienna Summit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The combination included hormones, animal organ cells, steroids, vitamins, enzymes, and amphetamines, and possible potential side effects included hyperactivity, hypertension, impaired judgment, nervousness, and mood swings. Kennedy at one time was regularly seen by no fewer than three doctors, one of whom, Max Jacobson, was unknown to the other two, as his mode of treatment was controversial and used for the most severe bouts of back pain. Into late 1961, disagreements existed among Kennedy 's doctors concerning his proper balance of medication and exercise. The president preferred the former, because he was short on time and desired immediate relief. During that time, the president 's physician, George Burkley, did set up some gym equipment in the White House basement, where Kennedy did stretching exercises for his back three times a week. Details of these and other medical problems were not publicly disclosed during Kennedy 's lifetime. The President 's primary White House physician, George Burkley, realized that treatments by Jacobson and Travell, including the excessive use of steroids and amphetamines, were medically inappropriate, and took effective action to remove the president from their care. It was later observed that President Kennedy 's leadership ( e.g. the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis and other events during 1963 ) improved greatly once the treatments of Jacobson had been discontinued and been replaced by a medically appropriate regimen under Burkley. Dr. Ghaemi, who studied Kennedy 's medical records, concluded there was a `` correlation ; it is not causation ; but it may not be coincidence either ''. Personal tragedies Main article : Kennedy curse The newlyweds surrounded by Jack 's siblings on their wedding day in Newport, Rhode Island in 1953 Kennedy experienced a number of family tragedies. His older brother Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was killed in action in 1944 at age 29, when his plane exploded over the English Channel during a first attack execution of Operation Aphrodite during World War II. Kennedy 's younger sister Rose Marie `` Rosemary '' Kennedy was born in 1918 with intellectual disabilities and underwent a prefrontal lobotomy at age 23, leaving her permanently incapacitated. His younger sister Kathleen Agnes `` Kick '' Kennedy died in a plane crash in France in 1948. His wife Jacqueline Kennedy suffered a miscarriage in 1955 and a stillbirth in 1956 : a daughter informally named Arabella. A son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, died two days after birth in August 1963. Affairs, extramarital relationships and friendships Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, President Kennedy ( back to camera ) in 1962 Kennedy was single in the 1940s when he had affairs with Danish journalist Inga Arvad and actress Gene Tierney. Before and after he assumed the presidency, Kennedy reportedly had extramarital affairs with a number of women, including Marilyn Monroe, Gunilla von Post, Judith Campbell, Mary Pinchot Meyer, Marlene Dietrich, Mimi Alford, and his wife 's press secretary, Pamela Turnure. The extent of Kennedy 's relationship with Monroe is not fully known, although it has been reported that they spent a weekend together in March 1962 while he was staying at Bing Crosby 's house. Furthermore, people at the White House switchboard noted that Monroe had called Kennedy during 1962. J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director, received reports about Kennedy 's indiscretions. Kennedy inspired affection and loyalty from the members of his team and his supporters. According to Reeves, this included `` the logistics of Kennedy 's liaisons... ( which ) required secrecy and devotion rare in the annals of the energetic service demanded by successful politicians. '' Kennedy believed that his friendly relationship with members of the press would help protect him from public revelations about his sex life. Though there has never been any proof of homosexual activity between them, Kennedy would often, and even when married, share a bedroom with his lifelong and close friend Lem Billings. Historical evaluations and legacy The US Special Forces had a special bond with Kennedy. `` It was President Kennedy who was responsible for the rebuilding of the Special Forces and giving us back our Green Beret, '' said Forrest Lindley, a writer for the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes who served with Special Forces in Vietnam. This bond was shown at Kennedy 's funeral. At the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Kennedy 's death, General Michael D. Healy, the last commander of Special Forces in Vietnam, spoke at Arlington Cemetery. Later, a wreath in the form of the Green Beret would be placed on the grave, continuing a tradition that began the day of his funeral when a sergeant in charge of a detail of Special Forces men guarding the grave placed his beret on the coffin. Kennedy was the first of six presidents to have served in the U.S. Navy, and one of the enduring legacies of his administration was the creation in 1961 of another special forces command, the Navy SEALs, which Kennedy enthusiastically supported. The dedication of a new forever stamp to honor what would be President John F. Kennedy 's 100th birthday Kennedy 's civil rights proposals led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy 's successor, took up the mantle and pushed the landmark Civil Rights Act through a bitterly divided Congress by invoking the slain president 's memory. President Johnson then signed the Act into law on July 2, 1964. This civil rights law ended what was known as the `` Solid South '' and certain provisions were modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1875, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. Kennedy 's continuation of Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower 's policies of giving economic and military aid to South Vietnam left the door open for President Johnson 's escalation of the conflict. At the time of Kennedy 's death, no final policy decision had been made as to Vietnam, leading historians, cabinet members, and writers to continue to disagree on whether the Vietnam conflict would have escalated to the point it did had he survived. His agreement to the NSAM 263 action of withdrawing 1,000 troops by the end of 1963, and his earlier 1963 speech at American University, suggest that he was ready to end the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War contributed greatly to a decade of national difficulties, amid violent disappointment on the political landscape. Kennedy on a U.S. postage stamp, issue of 1967 Many of Kennedy 's speeches ( especially his inaugural address ) are considered iconic ; and despite his relatively short term in office, and the lack of major legislative changes coming to fruition during his term, Americans regularly vote him as one of the best presidents, in the same league as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some excerpts of Kennedy 's inaugural address are engraved on a plaque at his grave at Arlington. In 2018, The Times published an audio recreation of the `` watchmen on the walls of world freedom '' speech he was scheduled to deliver at the Dallas Trade Mart on November 22, 1963. He was posthumously awarded the Pacem in Terris Award ( Latin : Peace on Earth ). It was named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of goodwill to secure peace among all nations. Kennedy is the only president to have predeceased both his mother and father. He is also the only president to have predeceased a grandparent. His maternal grandmother, Mary Josephine `` Josie '' Hannon, died in August 1964, nine months after his assassination. Throughout the English - speaking world, the given name Kennedy has sometimes been used in honor of President Kennedy, as well his brother Robert. Effect of assassination Television became the primary source by which people were kept informed of events surrounding John F. Kennedy 's assassination. In fact, television started to come of age before the assassination. On September 2, 1963, Kennedy helped inaugurate network television 's first half - hour nightly evening newscast according to an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum located in Boston, Massachusetts Newspapers were kept as souvenirs rather than sources of updated information. In this sense his assassination was the first major TV news event of its kind. TV coverage united the nation, interpreting what went on, and creating memories of this space in time. All three major U.S. television networks suspended their regular schedules and switched to all - news coverage from November 22 through November 26, 1963, being on the air for 70 hours, making it the longest uninterrupted news event on American TV until 9 / 11. The assassination had an effect on many people, not only in the U.S. but around the world. Many vividly remember where they were when they first learned the news that Kennedy was assassinated, as with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, before it and the September 11 attacks after it. UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson said of the assassination : `` all of us... will bear the grief of his death until the day of ours. '' Many people have also spoken of the shocking news, compounded by the pall of uncertainty about the identity of the assassin ( s ), the possible instigators, and the causes of the killing, as an end to innocence, and in retrospect it has been coalesced with other changes of the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, especially the Vietnam War. Ultimately, the death of President Kennedy, and the ensuing confusion surrounding the facts of his assassination, are of political and historical importance insofar as they marked a turning point and decline in the faith of the American people in the political establishment -- a point made by commentators from Gore Vidal to Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and implied by Oliver Stone in several of his films, such as his landmark 1991 JFK. Memorials and eponyms Main article : Memorials to John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame memorial John F. Kennedy International Airport, American airport in New York City ; nation 's busiest international gateway John F. Kennedy School of Government, part of Harvard University John F. Kennedy Space Center, U.S. government installation that manages and operates America 's astronaut launch facilities in Merritt Island, Florida USS John F. Kennedy ( CV - 67 ), U.S. Navy aircraft carrier ordered in April 1964, launched May 1967, decommissioned August 2007 ; nicknamed `` Big John '' USS John F. Kennedy ( CVN - 79 ), U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that began construction in 2011, and is scheduled to be placed in commission in 2020 Kennedy half dollar, a fifty - cent coin first minted in 1964 and discontinued in 2002 Media Kennedy comments on the possible prevention of the Cold War President Kennedy comments on the possible prevention of the Cold War Kennedy 's message to Turkey Kennedy 's message to Turkish President Cemal Gursel and The Turkish People on the Anniversary of the Death of Kemal Ataturk, November 10, 1963 ( accompanying text ) Announcement to go to the moon Announcement by John F. Kennedy to go to the moon ( duration 11 : 00 ) Secret Societies speech JFK Secret Societies speech Problems playing these files ? See media help. Play media Newsreel footage of the inauguration ceremony and speeches See also John F. Kennedy portal Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy Timeline of the presidency of John F. Kennedy Jesuit Ivy Kennedy Doctrine Lincoln -- Kennedy coincidences urban legend Orville Nix, photographer of another film of the assassination `` Senator, you 're no Jack Kennedy '' retort by Senator Lloyd Bentsen, 1988 VP debate The John F. Kennedy Memorial Park ( in Ireland ) The Torch of Friendship Abraham Zapruder, photographer of the primary film of assassination, the Zapruder film. John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories General : History of the United States ( 1945 -- 64 ) List of assassinated American politicians List of Presidents of the United States List of Presidents of the United States by previous experience List of Presidents of the United States who died in office List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps Notes Jump up ^ Kennedy reversed the Defense Department rulings that prohibited the Special Forces wearing of the Green Beret. Reeves 1993, p. 116. 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Jump up ^ Gitlin ( 2009 ), The Ku Klux Klan : A Guide to an American Subculture, p. 29 Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 580. Jump up ^ `` Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle ''. Stanford University. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 467. Jump up ^ In the first week of June there were 160 incidents of violence. Reeves 1993, p. 515. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 515. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, pp. 521 -- 523. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. `` Civil Rights Address ''. AmericanRhetoric.com. Retrieved September 20, 2007. Jump up ^ Schlesinger 2002, p. 966. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 524. Jump up ^ Cohen 2016, p. 357. Jump up ^ Goduti Jr. 2012, p. 206. Jump up ^ `` John F. Kennedy : Executive Order 10980 ''. Retrieved January 25, 2011. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 433. Jump up ^ `` The Equal Pay Act Turns 40 ''. Archive.eeoc.gov. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Reeves 1993, pp. 580 -- 584. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, pp. 599 -- 600. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, pp. 628 -- 631. ^ Jump up to : Brauer 2002, p. 492. ^ Jump up to : `` Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) ''. Stanford University. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The FBI 's War on King ''. American Public Radio. Retrieved November 13, 2015. Jump up ^ Herst 2007, p. 372. Jump up ^ Herst 2007, pp. 372 -- 374. Jump up ^ Garrow, David J. ( July 8, 2002 ). `` The FBI and Martin Luther King ''. The Atlantic Monthly. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( August 6, 1960 ). `` From Press Office : Senator John F. Kennedy, Immigration and Naturalization Laws, Hyannis Inn Motel, Hyannis, MA ''. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Retrieved September 20, 2007. Jump up ^ Ludden, Jennifer. `` Q&A : Sen. Kennedy on Immigration, Then & Now ''. NPR. Retrieved September 20, 2007. Jump up ^ Bilharz 2002, p. 55. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( August 11, 1961 ). `` 320 -- Letter to the President of the Seneca Nation of Indians Concerning the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River ''. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved February 25, 2012. Jump up ^ Murray and Cox, Apollo, p. 60. ^ Jump up to : Reeves 1993, p. 138. Jump up ^ Nelson 2009, p. 145. Jump up ^ Levine, Future of the US Space Program, p. 71. Jump up ^ Levine, Anold S. ( 1982 ). Managing NASA in the Apollo Era, chapter 27, `` The Lunar Landing Decision and Its Aftermath ''. NASA SP - 4102. ^ Jump up to : Nelson 2009, p. 146. Jump up ^ Kenney 2000, pp. 115 -- 116. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 502. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 392. Jump up ^ Sidey, Hugh ( 1964 ), John F. Kennedy, pp. 117 -- 118. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 393. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( April 20, 1961 ). `` Memorandum for Vice President ''. The White House ( Memorandum ). Boston, MA : John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved August 1, 2013. Jump up ^ Launius, Roger D. ( July 1994 ). `` President John F. Kennedy Memo for Vice President, 20 April 1961 '' ( PDF ). Apollo : A Retrospective Analysis ( PDF ). Monographs in Aerospace History Number 3. Washington, D.C. : NASA. OCLC 31825096. Retrieved August 1, 2013. Key Apollo Source Documents. ^ Jump up to : Johnson, Lyndon B. ( April 28, 1961 ). `` Memorandum for the President ''. Office of the Vice President ( Memorandum ). Boston, MA : John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved August 1, 2013. Jump up ^ Launius, Roger D. ( July 1994 ). `` Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice President, Memo for the President, ' Evaluation of Space Program, ' 28 April 1961 '' ( PDF ). Apollo : A Retrospective Analysis ( PDF ). Monographs in Aerospace History Number 3. Washington, D.C. : NASA. OCLC 31825096. Retrieved August 1, 2013. Key Apollo Source Documents. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( 1961 ). `` Apollo Expeditions to the Moon : Chapter 2 ''. history.nasa.gov. Retrieved February 26, 2012. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( September 12, 1962 ). `` President John F. Kennedy : The Space Effort ''. Rice University. Archived from the original on July 8, 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2012. Jump up ^ Selverstone, Marc. `` JFK and the Space Race ''. White House Tapes -- Presidential Recordings Program, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 652 -- 653. Jump up ^ Wikisource : John F. Kennedy 's Address Before the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 654. Jump up ^ Russ. `` 26, 2009 # P12844 Life in Legacy ''. Lifeinlegacy.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Doctors attending to Kennedy reported ''. November 1963. Retrieved May 15, 2018. Jump up ^ Lee Oswald claiming innocence ( film ), Youtube.com Jump up ^ Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 20, p. 366, Kantor Exhibit No. 3 -- Handwritten notes made by Seth Kantor concerning events surrounding the assassination ^ Jump up to : Brauer 2002, p. 497. Jump up ^ Gus Russo and Stephen Molton `` Did Castro OK the Kennedy Assassination ?, '' American Heritage, Winter 2009. Jump up ^ Dana Blanton ( June 18, 2004 ). `` Poll : Most Believe ' Cover - Up ' of JFK Assassination Facts ''. Fox News. Jump up ^ `` Majority in U.S. Still Believe JFK Killed in a Conspiracy : Mafia, federal government top list of potential conspirators ''. Gallup, Inc. November 15, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives ''. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 11, 2013. Jump up ^ Bugliosi 2007, p. 211. Jump up ^ Bugliosi 2007, p. 312. Jump up ^ This Day in History 1967 : JFK 's body moved to permanent gravesite, History.com. Retrieved April 8, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Broadcast Yourself ''. YouTube. Retrieved January 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` John F. Kennedy 's Favorite Poems : `` I Have a Rendezvous with Death '' ( Seeger ) ``. jfklibrary.org. Retrieved August 25, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Reeves 1993, p. 29. Jump up ^ The Gallup Poll 1999. Wilmington, Delaware : Scholarly Resources Inc. 1999. pp. 248 -- 249. Jump up ^ `` Greatest of the Century ''. Gallup / CNN / USA Today Poll. December 20 -- 21, 1999. Retrieved January 5, 2007. Jump up ^ Raymond, Emilie ( 2006 ). From my cold, dead hands : Charlton Heston and American politics. University Press of Kentucky. p. 246. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8131 - 2408 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Books for Lawyers ''. American Bar Association Journal : 556. 1975. Jump up ^ Cover story, Time magazine, January 20, 1961 Jump up ^ Specious allegations in 1997 by UK journalist Terry O'Hanlon Golden, Andrew ( July 27, 1997 ). `` JFK The Bigamist... The Truth At Last ; Kennedy was already married when he got wed to Jackie... '' Sunday Mirror. Retrieved October 31, 2010. and by author Seymour Hersh Reingold, Joyce ( March 26, 2008 ). `` JFK ' Secret Marriage ' A Story With Legs ''. Palm Beach Daily News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2010. that Kennedy had married previously have been soundly disproven. Reeves states that Ben Bradlee, then at Newsweek, inspected FBI files on it, and confirmed the falsehood. Reeves 1993, p. 348 ; for further refutation, see O'Brien 2005, p. 706. Jump up ^ `` Kennedy Plane Found to Be Fully Functional ''. The Washington Post. July 31, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2010. Jump up ^ Rouse, Robert ( March 15, 2006 ). `` Happy Anniversary to the first scheduled presidential press conference -- 93 years young ! ''. American Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Jump up ^ `` RTDNA 's Kennedy connections ''. Radio Television Digital News Association, November 26, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2014. Jump up ^ The Personal Papers of Theodore H. White ( 1915 -- 1986 ) : Series 11. Camelot Documents, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum quotation : The 1963 LIFE article represented the first use of the term `` Camelot '' in print and is attributed with having played a major role in establishing and fixing this image of the Kennedy Administration and period in the popular mind. Jump up ^ An Epilogue, in LIFE, Dec 6, 1963, pp. 158 - 9 Jump up ^ Mandel, Lee R. ( 2009 ). `` Endocrine and Autoimmune Aspects of the Health History of John F. Kennedy ''. Annals of Internal Medicine. 151 ( 151 ( 5 ) ) : 350 -- 354. doi : 10.7326 / 0003 - 4819 - 151 - 5 - 200909010 - 00011. PMID 19721023. Jump up ^ Kempe 2011, p. 213. Jump up ^ New York Sun September 20, 2005 : `` Dr. Feelgood '' Retrieved July 11, 2011 Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, pp. 42, 158 - 159. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 244. Jump up ^ Online NewsHour with Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez and physician Jeffrey Kelman, `` Pres. Kennedy 's Health Secrets '', The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer transcript, November 18, 2002 ^ Jump up to : Ghaemi M.D., M.P.H., Nassir ( September 14, 2011 ). `` What Jackie Kennedy Did n't Say -- and Did n't Know ''. Psychology Today. Retrieved August 22, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Operation Aphrodite `` HistoricWings.com : : A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers ''. historicwings.com. Jump up ^ `` The Children of Jacqueline Kennedy ''. www.firstladies.org. Retrieved April 16, 2016. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, pp. 83 - 85. Jump up ^ Osborne 2006, p. 195. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, pp. 315 -- 316. Jump up ^ Bone, James ( February 17, 2010 ), `` How JFK 's Riviera romance led to years of longing '', The Times, London. Retrieved April 2, 2010. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 289. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 475. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 58. Jump up ^ Garrow, David J. ( May 28, 2003 ). `` Substance Over Sex In Kennedy Biography ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2013. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, pp. 475, 476. Jump up ^ Leaming 2006, pp. 379 - 380. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 581. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 376. Jump up ^ Barnes 2007, p. 116. Jump up ^ Reeves 1993, p. 291. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 478. Jump up ^ Barbara A. Perry in Rose Kennedy, the Life and Times of a Political Matriarch ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 06895 - 5 p. 248 Jump up ^ `` JFK 's personal connection to Army 's Green Berets ''. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved August 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Presidents Who Served in the U.S. Navy ''. Frequently Asked Questions. Naval History & Heritage Command. January 11, 2007. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Navy SEALs Were Launched in the JFK ' Man on the Moon ' Speech ''. 11 Facts About Navy SEALs. Time Inc. Retrieved May 12, 2011. Jump up ^ Salinger, Pierre ( 1997 ). John F. Kennedy : Commander in Chief : A Profile in Leadership. New York : Penguin Studio. p. 97. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 86310 - 5. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, pp. 594 - 606, 644. Jump up ^ Dallek 2003, p. 708. Jump up ^ `` 50 years after win, Kennedy 's legacy endures ''. USA Today. September 26, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2013. Jump up ^ Walton Jr. & Smith 2000, p. 205. Jump up ^ Page, Susan ( October 4, 2011 ). `` 50 years after win, Kennedy 's legacy endures ''. USA Today. Retrieved December 25, 2011. Jump up ^ Douthat, Ross ( November 26, 2011 ). `` The Enduring Cult of Kennedy ''. New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2011. Jump up ^ Rogan, Aaron ( March 15, 2018 ). `` JFK video : hear Kennedy 's ' lost ' Dallas speech in his own voice ''. The Times. Retrieved May 10, 2018. Jump up ^ Kennedy, John F. ( November 22, 1963 ). `` Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, TX, November 22, 1963 ( Undelivered ) ''. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved May 10, 2018. Jump up ^ Hanks, Patrick ; Hardcastle, Kate ; Hodges, Flavia ( 2006 ). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference ( 2nd ed. ). Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 861060 - 1. Jump up ^ Cronkite, Walter ( 1996 ). A Reporter 's Life. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978 - 0 - 394 - 57879 - 8. Jump up ^ Carter, Bill ( September 15, 2001 ). `` Viewers Again Return To Traditional Networks ''. The New York Times. p. A14. Works cited Alford, Mimi ; Newman, Judith ( 2011 ). Once Upon A Secret : My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and its Aftermath. London : Hutchinson. ISBN 978 - 0 - 09 - 193175 - 9. Ballard, Robert D. ( 2002 ). Collision With History : The Search for John F. Kennedy 's PT 109. Washington, DC : National Geographic. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7922 - 6876 - 5. Barnes, John ( 2007 ). John F. Kennedy on Leadership. AMACOM. ISBN 978 - 0814474556. Bilharz, Joy Ann ( 2002 ) ( 1998 ). The Allegany Senecas and Kinzua Dam : Forced Relocation Through Two Generations. Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8032 - 1282 - 4. Blight, James G. ; Lang, Janet M. ( 2005 ). The Fog of War : Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7425 - 4221 - 1. Brauer, Carl M. ( 2002 ). `` John F. Kennedy ''. In Graff, Henry. The Presidents : A Reference History ( 7th ed. ). pp. 481 -- 498. ISBN 978 - 0 - 684 - 80551 - 1. Brinkley, Alan ( 2012 ). John F. Kennedy. Times Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8050 - 8349 - 1. Bryant, Nick ( Autumn 2006 ). `` Black Man Who Was Crazy Enough to Apply to Ole Miss ''. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education ( 53 ). Bugliosi, Vincent ( 2007 ). Reclaiming History : The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. New York : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04525 - 3. Cohen, Andrew ( 2016 ) ( 2014 ). Two Days in June : John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Changed History ( illustrated, reprint ed. ). McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 9780771023897. Dallek, Robert ( 2003 ). An Unfinished Life : John F. Kennedy, 1917 -- 1963. Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 978 - 0 - 316 - 17238 - 7. Donovan, Robert J. ( 2001 ) ( 1961 ). PT - 109 : John F. Kennedy in WW II ( 40th Anniversary ed. ). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 137643 - 3. Doyle, William ( 2015 ). PT - 109 : An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy. New York City : Harper - Collins. ISBN 978 - 0 - 06 - 234658 - 2. Dudley, Robert L. ; Shiraev, Eric ( 2008 ). Counting Every Vote : The Most Contentious Elections in American History. Dulles, Virginia : Potomac Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59797 - 224 - 6. Dunnigan, James ; Nofi, Albert ( 1999 ). Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War. St. Martin 's. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 19857 - 2. Frum, David ( 2000 ). How We Got Here : The ' 70s. Basic Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 465 - 04196 - 1. Gibson, Bryan R. ( 2015 ). Sold Out ? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978 - 1 - 137 - 48711 - 7. Gleijeses, Piero ( February 1995 ). `` Ships in the Night : The CIA, the White House and the Bay of Pigs ''. Journal of Latin American Studies. 27 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 42. ISSN 0022 - 216X -- via JSTOR. Goduti Jr., Philip A. ( 2012 ). Robert F. Kennedy and the Shaping of Civil Rights, 1960 - 1964. McFarland. ISBN 9781476600871. Herst, Burton ( 2007 ). Bobby and J. Edgar : The Historic Face - Off Between the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover That Transformed America. Basic Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7867 - 1982 - 2. Jewell, Elizabeth ( 2005 ). U.S. Presidents Factbook. New York : Random House. ISBN 978 - 0 - 375 - 72073 - 4. Karnow, Stanley ( 1991 ). Vietnam, A History. Penguin. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 74604 - 0. Kempe, Frederick ( 2011 ). Berlin 1961. New York : G.P. Putnam 's Sons. ISBN 978 - 0 - 399 - 15729 - 5. Kenney, Charles ( 2000 ). John F. Kennedy : The Presidential Portfolio. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978 - 1 - 891620 - 36 - 2. Leaming, Barbara ( 2006 ). Jack Kennedy : The Education of a Statesman. W.W. Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393051 - 61 - 2. Maier, Thomas ( 2004 ). The Kennedys : America 's Emerald Kings. Matthews, Chris ( 2011 ). Jack Kennedy : Elusive Hero. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4516 - 3508 - 9. McNamara, Robert S. ( 2000 ). Argument Without End : In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy. Nelson, Craig ( 2009 ). Rocket Men : The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon. New York, New York : John Murray. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 02103 - 1. O'Brien, Michael ( 2005 ). John F. Kennedy : A Biography. Thomas Dunne. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 28129 - 8. Osborne, Robert ( 2006 ). Leading Ladies : The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978 - 0811852487. Reeves, Richard ( 1993 ). President Kennedy : Profile of Power. New York : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978 - 0 - 671 - 64879 - 4. Salt, Jeremey ( 2008 ). The Unmaking of the Middle East : A History of Western Disorder in Arab lands. Berkeley, CA : University of California Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 25551 - 7. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr ( 2002 ) ( 1965 ). A Thousand Days : John F. Kennedy in the White House. Boston : Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978 - 0 - 618 - 21927 - 8. Sorensen, Theodore ( 1966 ) ( 1965 ). Kennedy ( paperback ). New York : Bantam. OCLC 2746832. Tucker, Spencer ( 2011 ) ( 1998 ). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 978 - 1851099603. Walton Jr., Hanes ; Smith, Robert C. ( 2000 ). American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom. Addison, Wesley, Longman. ISBN 978 - 0 - 321 - 07038 - 8. Further reading Main article : Bibliography of John F. Kennedy Brauer, Carl. J ( 1977 ). John F. Kennedy and the Second Reconstruction. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231083676. Burner, David ( 1988 ). John F. Kennedy and a New Generation. Pearson Longman. ISBN 9780205603459. Casey, Shaun. The Making of a Catholic President : Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960 ( 2009, ISBN 978 - 0195374483 ) Collier, Peter & Horowitz, David. The Kennedys ( 1984, ISBN 978 - 0671447939 ) Cottrell, John. Assassination ! The World Stood Still ( 1964, OCLC 605055832 ) Douglass, James W. ( 2008 ). JFK and the Unspeakable : Why He Died and Why It Matters. Maryknoll, N.Y : Orbis Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57075 - 755 - 6. Fay, Paul B., Jr. The Pleasure of His Company ( 1966, OCLC 60678238 ) Freedman, Lawrence. Kennedy 's Wars : Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam ( 2000, ISBN 978 - 0195134537 ) Fursenko, Aleksandr and Timothy Naftali. One Hell of a Gamble : Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy, 1958 -- 1964 ( 1997, ISBN 978 - 0393040708 ) Giglio, James. The Presidency of John F. Kennedy ( 1991, ISBN 978 - 0700614363 ) Hamilton, Nigel. JFK : Reckless Youth ( 1992, ISBN 978 - 0679412168 ) Harper, Paul, and Krieg, Joann P. eds. John F. Kennedy : The Promise Revisited ( 1988, ISBN 978 - 0313262012 ) Harris, Seymour E. The Economics of the Political Parties, with Special Attention to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy ( 1962, OCLC 614522002 ) Heath, Jim F. Decade of Disillusionment : The Kennedy -- Johnson Years ( 1976, ISBN 978 - 0253316707 ) Hersh, Seymour. The Dark Side of Camelot ( 1997, ISBN 978 - 0316359559 ) Kunz, Diane B. The Diplomacy of the Crucial Decade : American Foreign Relations during the 1960s ( 1994, ISBN 978 - 0231081764 ) Lynch, Grayston L. Decision for Disaster : Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs ( 2000, ISBN 978 - 1574881486 ) Manchester, William. Portrait of a President : John F. Kennedy in Profile ( 1967, ISBN 978 - 0316544948 ) Manchester, William ( 1967 ). The Death of a President : November 20 -- 25, 1963. New York : Harper & Row. LCCN 67010496. Newman, John M. JFK and Vietnam : Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power ( 1992, ISBN 978 - 1530477937 ) Parmet, Herbert. Jack : The Struggles of John F. Kennedy ( 1980, ISBN 978 - 0803744523 ) Parmet, Herbert. JFK : The Presidency of John F. Kennedy ( 1983, ISBN 978 - 0385274197 ) Parmet, Herbert. `` The Kennedy Myth ''. In Myth America : A Historical Anthology, Volume II. Gerster, Patrick, and Cords, Nicholas. ( editors. ) ( 1997, ISBN 978 - 1933385136 ) Piper, Michael Collins. Final Judgment ( 2004 : sixth edition, ISBN 978 - 0935036497 ). American Free Press Reeves, Thomas. A Question of Character : A Life of John F. Kennedy ( 1991, ISBN 978 - 0029259658 ) ; hostile biography Sabato, Larry J. The Kennedy Half - Century : The Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy ( 2013, ISBN 978 - 1620402801 ) Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times ( 2018, ISBN 978 - 1328567567 ) ( 1978 ) Whalen, Thomas J. JFK and His Enemies : A Portrait of Power ( 2014, ISBN 978 - 1442213746 ) Primary sources Goldzwig, Steven R. and Dionisopoulos, George N., eds. In a Perilous Hour : The Public Address of John F. Kennedy ( 1995, ISBN 978 - 0313277702 ) Kennedy, Jacqueline. Jacqueline Kennedy : Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy ( 2011, ISBN 1401324258 ). Hyperion Books. Historiography and memory Abramson, Jill. `` Kennedy, the Elusive President '', The New York Times Book Review October 22, 2013, notes that 40,000 books have been published about JFK Hellmann, John. The Kennedy Obsession : The American Myth of JFK ( 1997, ISBN 978 - 0231107983 ) Kazin, Michael ( December 2017 ). `` An Idol and Once a President : John F. Kennedy at 100 ''. Journal of American History. 104 ( 3 ) : 707 -- 726. doi : 10.1093 / jahist / jax315. ISSN 0021 - 8723. Santa Cruz, Paul H. Making JFK Matter : Popular Memory and the 35th President ( Denton : University of North Texas Press, 2015 ) xxiv, 363 pp. Selverstone, Marc J., ed. A Companion to John F. Kennedy ( Wiley - Blackwell, 2014, ISBN 978 - 1444350364 ), Topical essays by scholars focusing on the historiography External links Find more aboutJohn F. Kennedyat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Wikimedia Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Official John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site White House biography Media coverage `` John F. Kennedy collected news and commentary ''. The New York Times. Appearances on C - SPAN `` Life Portrait of John F. Kennedy '', from C - SPAN 's American Presidents : Life Portraits, November 5, 1999 Radio coverage of the assassination of President Kennedy as broadcast on WCCO - AM Radio ( Minneapolis ) and CBS Radio Other United States Congress. `` John F. Kennedy ( id : K000107 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. John F. Kennedy : A Resource Guide - the Library of Congress Extensive Essays on JFK with shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady - Miller Center of Public Affairs Kennedy Administration from Office of the Historian, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Works by or about John F. Kennedy at Internet Archive Works by John F. Kennedy at LibriVox ( public domain audiobooks ) John F. Kennedy discography at Discogs John F. Kennedy at Curlie John F. Kennedy on IMDb John F. Kennedy 35th President of the United States ( 1961 -- 1963 ) U.S. Senator from Massachusetts ( 1953 -- 1960 ) U.S. Representative for MA - 11 ( 1947 -- 1953 ) Presidency ( timeline ) Presidential Office : Inauguration Cabinet Judicial appointments Supreme Court Presidential pardons Domestic policy : Clean Air Act Communications Satellite Act Community Mental Health Act Equal Pay Act Federal affirmative action Federal housing segregation ban Fifty - mile hikes Food for Peace New Frontier Pilot Food Stamp Program Space policy Status of Women ( Presidential Commission ) University of Alabama integration Voter Education Project Foreign policy : Alliance for Progress Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Flexible response Kennedy Doctrine Peace Corps Trade Expansion Act USAID Vietnam War Cuba : Bay of Pigs Invasion Cuban Project Cuban Missile Crisis ExComm Soviet Union : Berlin Crisis Moscow -- Washington hotline Vienna summit White House : Presidential limousine Presidential yacht Resolute desk Situation Room Presidential speeches Inaugural address American University speech `` We choose to go to the Moon '' Report to the American People on Civil Rights `` Ich bin ein Berliner '' `` A rising tide lifts all boats '' Elections U.S. States House of Representatives elections, 1946 1948 1950 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, 1952 1958 1960 Presidential primaries 1960 Presidential campaign Democratic National Convention 1956 1960 U.S. presidential election, 1960 debates Personal life Birthplace and childhood home Kennedy Compound US Navy service PT - 109 Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana Arthur Evans PT - 59 Castle Hot Springs Hammersmith Farm Coretta Scott King phone call Rocking chair `` Happy Birthday, Mr. President '' Books Why England Slept ( 1940 ) Profiles in Courage ( 1956 ) A Nation of Immigrants ( 1958 ) Death Assassination timeline reactions in popular culture State funeral Riderless horse attending dignitaries Gravesite and Eternal Flame Legacy John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum ( Boston ) 1964 Civil Rights Act Apollo 11 Moon landing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Kennedy Space Center ( Florida ) Kennedy Round U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development VISTA Cultural depictions films Kennedy half dollar U.S. postage stamps U.S. five cent stamp Lincoln -- Kennedy coincidences Operation Sail Memorials, namesakes Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ( Washington, D.C. ) John F. Kennedy International Airport ( New York ) John F. Kennedy Memorial ( London ) John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial ( Dallas ) John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial ( Portland, Oregon ) John F. Kennedy Memorial ( Runnymede, Britain ) John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge ( Kentucky -- Indiana ) John F. Kennedy School of Government ( Harvard Univ. ) John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School ( Fort Bragg, North Carolina ) John F. Kennedy University ( California ) John Kennedy College ( Mauritius ) Kennedy Expressway ( Chicago ) MV John F. Kennedy USS John F. Kennedy ( CV - 67 ) USS John F. Kennedy ( CVN - 79 ) Yad Kennedy ( Jerusalem ) Family Jacqueline Bouvier ( wife ) Caroline Kennedy ( daughter ) John F. Kennedy Jr. ( son ) Patrick Bouvier Kennedy ( son ) Jack Schlossberg ( grandson ) Rose Schlossberg ( granddaughter ) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ( father ) Rose Fitzgerald ( mother ) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. ( brother ) Rosemary Kennedy ( sister ) Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington ( sister ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver ( sister ) Patricia Kennedy Lawford ( sister ) Robert F. Kennedy ( brother ) Jean Kennedy Smith ( sister ) Ted Kennedy ( brother ) P.J. Kennedy ( grandfather ) John F. Fitzgerald ( grandfather ) ← Dwight D. Eisenhower Lyndon B. Johnson → Category Offices and distinctions U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by James Michael Curley Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts 's 11th congressional district 1947 -- 1953 Succeeded by Tip O'Neill Party political offices Preceded by David I. Walsh Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts ( Class 1 ) 1952, 1958 Succeeded by Ted Kennedy Preceded by Adlai Stevenson II Democratic nominee for President of the United States 1960 Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. Senate Preceded by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. United States Senator ( Class 1 ) from Massachusetts 1953 -- 1960 Served alongside : Leverett Saltonstall Succeeded by Benjamin A. Smith II Political offices Preceded by Dwight D. Eisenhower President of the United States 1961 -- 1963 Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson Honorary titles Preceded by Unknown Soldiers of World War II and the Korean War Persons who have lain in state or honor in the United States Capitol rotunda 1963 Succeeded by Douglas MacArthur Articles related to John F. Kennedy Presidents of the United States George Washington ( 1789 -- 1797 ) John Adams ( 1797 -- 1801 ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1801 -- 1809 ) James Madison ( 1809 -- 1817 ) James Monroe ( 1817 -- 1825 ) John Quincy Adams ( 1825 -- 1829 ) Andrew Jackson ( 1829 -- 1837 ) Martin Van Buren ( 1837 -- 1841 ) William Henry Harrison ( 1841 ) John Tyler ( 1841 -- 1845 ) James K. Polk ( 1845 -- 1849 ) Zachary Taylor ( 1849 -- 1850 ) Millard Fillmore ( 1850 -- 1853 ) Franklin Pierce ( 1853 -- 1857 ) James Buchanan ( 1857 -- 1861 ) Abraham Lincoln ( 1861 -- 1865 ) Andrew Johnson ( 1865 -- 1869 ) Ulysses S. Grant ( 1869 -- 1877 ) Rutherford B. Hayes ( 1877 -- 1881 ) James A. Garfield ( 1881 ) Chester A. 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Kennedy Smith E. Kennedy Kirk Brown Warren Class 2 Strong Sedgwick Dexter Foster Pickering Varnum Otis Lloyd Silsbee Davis Bates Davis Everett Rockwell Wilson Boutwell Hoar Crane J. Weeks Walsh Gillett Coolidge Lodge S. Weeks Saltonstall Brooke Tsongas Kerry Cowan Markey Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts 1st district F. Ames Dexter Goodhue Holten Sedgwick Skinner Sedgwick J. Bacon Eustis Quincy Ward Jr. Mason Gorham Webster Gorham N. Appleton Gorham A. Lawrence Fletcher A. Lawrence Winthrop N. Appleton Winthrop S. Eliot W. Appleton Scudder T.D. Eliot Hall T.D. Eliot Buffington Crapo R. Davis Randall Wright G. Lawrence Treadway Heselton Conte Olver Neal 2nd district Goodhue Foster W. Lyman Sedgwick Ward Sr. W. Lyman Shepard J. Crowninshield Story Pickman W. Reed Pickering Silsbee Barstow B. Crowninshield Choate Phillips Saltonstall D. King Rantoul Fay Crocker Buffington O. Ames Harris Long E. Morse Gillett Churchill Bowles Kaynor Granfield Clason Furcolo Boland Neal McGovern 3rd district Gerry Bourne Coffin Lyman Mattoon Cutler Nelson Livermore White Pickering Nelson Varnum Nelson Osgood Cushing A. Abbott Duncan Edmands Damrell C. Adams Thomas A. Rice Twichell Whiting I Pierce Field B. Dean Field Ranney L. Morse J. Andrew Walker J.R. Thayer R. Hoar C. Washburn J.A. Thayer Wilder Paige F. Foss Casey Philbin Drinan Donohue Early Blute McGovern N. Tsongas 4th district Sedgwick Dearborn G. Thatcher Wadsworth Foster L. Lincoln Sr. Hastings Varnum W. Richardson Dana Stearns Fuller E. Everett Sa. Hoar Parmenter Thompson Palfrey Thompson Sabine Walley Comins A. Rice Hooper Frost J. Abbott L. Morse Collins O'Neil Apsley Weymouth Tirrell Mitchell Wilder Winslow Stobbs P. Holmes Donohue Drinan Frank Kennedy III 5th district Partridge Bourne Freeman L. Williams T. Dwight Ely Mills Lathrop Sibley J. Davis L. Lincoln Jr. Hudson C. Allen W. Appleton Burlingame W. Appleton Hooper Alley Butler Gooch Banks Bowman L. Morse Hayden Banks Sh. Hoar Stevens Knox B. Ames J. Rogers E. Rogers B. Morse Cronin P. Tsongas Shannon Atkins Meehan N. Tsongas Markey Clark 6th district G. Thatcher Leonard J. Reed Sr. J. Smith Taggart S. Allen Locke Kendall Grennell Alvord Baker Ashmun G. Davis Upham T. Davis Alley Gooch Banks Butler Thompson Loring Stone Lovering Lodge Cogswell Moody Gardner Lufkin A.P. Andrew G. Bates W. Bates Harrington Mavroules Torkildsen Tierney Moulton 7th district Leonard Ward Sr. Leonard Bullock Bishop Mitchell Barker Baylies Turner Baylies Hulbert Shaw H. Dwight S. Allen Grennell Briggs J. Rockwell Goodrich Banks Gooch Boutwell Brooks Esty E. Hoar Tarbox Butler W. Russell Stone Cogswell W. Everett Barrett Roberts Phelan Maloney W. Connery L. Connery Lane Macdonald Markey Capuano 8th district Grout G. Thatcher F. Ames Otis Eustis L. Williams Green Gardner Green J. Reed Jr. Baylies Sampson Hobart Lathrop Bates Calhoun J. Adams Mann Wentworth Knapp Train Baldwin G. Hoar J.M.S. Williams Warren Claflin Candler W Russell C.H. Allen Greenhalge Stevens McCall Deitrick Dallinger H. Thayer Dallinger Healey Goodwin Macdonald O'Neill Kennedy II Capuano Lynch 9th district Varnum Bishop J. Dean Wheaton J. Reed Jr. Folger J. Reed Jr. H. Dwight Briggs Jackson Hastings H. Williams Hale Fowler Little De Witt E. Thayer Bailey A. Walker W. Washburn Crocker G. Hoar W. Rice T. Lyman Ely Burnett Candler G. Williams O'Neil Fitzgerald Conry Keliher Murray Roberts Fuller Underhill Luce R. Russell Luce T.H. Eliot Gifford Nicholson Keith McCormack Hicks Moakley Lynch Keating 10th district Goodhue Sewall Read Hastings Upham J. Allen Brigham Wheaton Morton F Baylies Bailey H.A.S. Dearborn W. Baylies Borden H. Williams Borden Burnell Grinnell Scudder Dickinson Chaffee Delano Dawes Crocker Stevens Seelye Norcross W. Rice J.E. Russell J. Walker McEttrick Atwood Barrows Naphen McNary O'Connell Curley Murray Tague Fitzgerald Tague Douglass Tinkham Herter Curtis Martin Heckler Studds Delahunt Keating 11th district Bradbury Bartlett Cutler Stedman A. Bigelow Brigham B. Adams J. Russell Hobart J. Richardson J. Adams J. Reed Jr. Burnell Goodrich Trafton Dawes Chapin Robinson Whiting II Wallace Coolidge Draper Sprague Powers Sullivan Peters Tinkham Douglass Higgins Flaherty Curley Kennedy O'Neill Burke Donnelly 12th district H. Dearborn I. Parker Lee S. Thatcher Skinner Larned Bidwell Bacon Dewey Hulbert Strong Kendall L. Bigelow Baylies Hodges J. Adams Robinson F. Rockwell Crosby E. Morse Lovering Powers Weeks Curley Gallivan McCormack Keith Studds 13th district Wadsworth Seaver Ruggles Dowse Eustis J. Reed Jr. Randall Simpkins Greene Weeks Mitchell Carter Luce Wigglesworth Burke 14th district G. Thatcher Cutts C. King J. Holmes Lovering E. Foss Harris Gilmore Olney Frothingham Wigglesworth Martin 15th district Wadsworth Ilsley Whitman Widgery Bradbury Whitman Greene Leach Martin Gifford 16th district S. Thatcher Cook Tallman S. Davis Brown Orr Hill Thacher Walsh Gifford 17th district Bruce Chandler Gannett F. Carr Wood J. Carr Wilson Kinsley 18th district Wilson T. Rice J. Parker 19th district J. Parker Conner Gage Cushman 20th district Hubbard Parris E. Lincoln At - large Cobb Cold War USA USSR ANZUS NATO Non-Aligned Movement SEATO Warsaw Pact Cold War II 1940s Morgenthau Plan Hukbalahap Rebellion Jamaican conflict Dekemvriana Percentages agreement Yalta Conference Guerrilla war in the Baltic states Forest Brothers Operation Priboi Operation Jungle Occupation of the Baltic states Cursed soldiers Operation Unthinkable Operation Downfall Potsdam Conference Gouzenko Affair Division of Korea Operation Masterdom Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Baruch Plan Corfu Channel incident Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference May 1947 Crises Marshall Plan Comecon 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Tito -- Stalin Split Berlin Blockade Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Chinese Civil War ( Second round ) Malayan Emergency Albanian Subversion 1950s Papua conflict Bamboo Curtain Korean War McCarthyism Algerian War Egyptian Revolution of 1952 1953 Iranian coup d'état Uprising of 1953 in East Germany Dirty War ( Mexico ) Bricker Amendment 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Partition of Vietnam Vietnam War First Taiwan Strait Crisis Geneva Summit ( 1955 ) Bandung Conference Poznań 1956 protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Yemeni -- Adenese clan violence Suez Crisis `` We will bury you '' Ifni War Operation Gladio Arab Cold War Syrian Crisis of 1957 1958 Lebanon crisis Iraqi 14 July Revolution Sputnik crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis 1959 Tibetan uprising Cuban Revolution Kitchen Debate Sino - Soviet split 1960s Congo Crisis Simba rebellion 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Soviet -- Albanian split Berlin Crisis of 1961 Berlin Wall Portuguese Colonial War Angolan War of Independence Guinea - Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence Cuban Missile Crisis El Porteñazo Sino - Indian War Communist insurgency in Sarawak Iraqi Ramadan Revolution Eritrean War of Independence Sand War North Yemen Civil War Aden Emergency 1963 Syrian coup d'état Vietnam War Shifta War Guatemalan Civil War Colombian conflict Nicaraguan Revolution 1964 Brazilian coup d'état Dominican Civil War South African Border War Transition to the New Order ( Indonesia ) Domino theory ASEAN Declaration Laotian Civil War 1966 Syrian coup d'état Argentine Revolution Korean DMZ Conflict Greek military junta of 1967 -- 74 Years of Lead ( Italy ) USS Pueblo incident Six - Day War War of Attrition Dhofar Rebellion Al - Wadiah War Nigerian Civil War Protests of 1968 French May Tlatelolco massacre Cultural Revolution Prague Spring 1968 Polish political crisis Communist insurgency in Malaysia Invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraqi Ba'athist Revolution 1969 Libyan coup d'état Goulash Communism Sino - Soviet border conflict CPP -- NPA -- NDF rebellion Corrective Move 1970s Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September in Jordan Corrective Movement ( Syria ) Cambodian Civil War Koza riot Realpolitik Ping - pong diplomacy Uganda -- Tanzania War 1971 Turkish military memorandum Corrective Revolution ( Egypt ) Four Power Agreement on Berlin Bangladesh Liberation War 1972 Nixon visit to China North Yemen - South Yemen Border conflict of 1972 Yemenite War of 1972 Communist insurgency in Bangladesh NDF Rebellion Eritrean Civil Wars 1973 Uruguayan coup d'état 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War 1973 oil crisis Carnation Revolution Spanish transition Metapolitefsi Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Rhodesian Bush War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Oromo conflict Ogaden War Western Sahara War Ethiopian Civil War Lebanese Civil War Sino - Albanian split Cambodian -- Vietnamese War Operation Condor Dirty War ( Argentina ) 1976 Argentine coup d'état German Autumn Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Yemenite War of 1979 Grand Mosque seizure Iranian Revolution Saur Revolution Sino - Vietnamese War New Jewel Movement 1979 Herat uprising Seven Days to the River Rhine Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union 1980s Soviet -- Afghan War 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts 1980 Turkish coup d'état Peruvian conflict Gulf of Sidra incident Casamance conflict Ugandan Bush War Lord 's Resistance Army insurgency Eritrean Civil Wars 1982 Ethiopian -- Somali Border War Ndogboyosoi War United States invasion of Grenada Able Archer 83 Star Wars Iran -- Iraq War Somali Rebellion 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident South Yemen Civil War Bougainville Civil War 8888 Uprising Solidarity Soviet reaction Contras Central American crisis RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 People Power Revolution Glasnost Perestroika Nagorno - Karabakh War Afghan Civil War United States invasion of Panama 1988 Polish strikes Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Revolutions of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Velvet Revolution Romanian Revolution Peaceful Revolution Die Wende 1990s Mongolian Revolution of 1990 German reunification Yemeni unification Fall of communism in Albania Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia Frozen conflicts Abkhazia China - Taiwan Korea Nagorno - Karabakh South Ossetia Transnistria Sino - Indian border dispute North Borneo dispute Foreign policy Truman Doctrine Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Johnson Doctrine Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Rollback Sovereignty of Puerto Rico during the Cold War Ideologies Capitalism Chicago school Keynesianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply - side economics Thatcherism Communism Marxism -- Leninism Castroism Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Maoism Trotskyism Naxalism Stalinism Titoism Other Fascism Islamism Liberal democracy Social democracy Third - Worldism White supremacy Apartheid Organizations ASEAN CIA Comecon EEC KGB MI6 Non-Aligned Movement SAARC Safari Club Stasi Propaganda Active measures Crusade for Freedom Izvestia Pravda Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Red Scare TASS Voice of America Voice of Russia Races Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race See also Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Soviet espionage in the United States Soviet Union -- United States relations USSR -- USA summits Russian espionage in the United States American espionage in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation Russia -- NATO relations Brinkmanship CIA and the Cultural Cold War Cold War II Category Commons Portal Timeline List of conflicts Buddhist crisis Events Huế Phật Đản ( Vesak ) shootings Hue chemical attacks Self - immolation of Thích Quảng Đức Double Seven Day scuffle Xá Lợi Pagoda raids 1963 South Vietnamese coup ( reaction ) Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem Policy Joint Communiqué Cable 243 Krulak -- Mendenhall mission McNamara -- Taylor mission Political or religious figures Bui Van Luong Bửu Hội Thích Quảng Đức Michael Forrestal W. Averell Harriman Roger Hilsman Thich Thien Hoa John F. Kennedy Thich Tinh Khiet Victor H. Krulak Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Robert McNamara Joseph Mendenhall Ngô Đình Cẩn Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Nhu Ngô Đình Thục Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ Nguyễn Đình Thuận Madame Nhu Frederick Nolting Thích Trí Quang Maxwell D. Taylor Trần Văn Chương William Trueheart Vũ Văn Mẫu Military figures Lucien Conein Đỗ Cao Trí Đỗ Mậu Dương Văn Minh Huỳnh Văn Cao Lê Quang Tung Lê Văn Kim Nguyễn Hữu Có Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Văn Nhung Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Phạm Ngọc Thảo Tôn Thất Đính Trần Kim Tuyến Trần Thiện Khiêm Trần Văn Đôn Journalists Peter Arnett Malcolm Browne David Halberstam Marguerite Higgins Neil Sheehan PT - 109 Craft PT boat PT - 109 PT - 59 Japanese destroyer Amagiri People John F. Kennedy Biuku Gasa Eroni Kumana Arthur Evans Media 1962 Song 1963 Film Comic book PT - 109 ( model ) kit Video game The Search for Kennedy 's PT 109 ( 2002 film ) Related Kasolo Island ( Kennedy Island ) Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Family John F. Kennedy ( first husband, presidency ) Caroline Kennedy ( daughter ) John F. Kennedy Jr. ( son ) Patrick Bouvier Kennedy ( son ) Jack Schlossberg ( grandson ) Rose Schlossberg ( granddaughter ) Tatiana Schlossberg ( granddaughter ) Aristotle Onassis ( second husband ) John Vernou Bouvier III ( father ) Janet Lee Bouvier ( mother ) Lee Radziwill ( sister ) Hugh D. Auchincloss ( stepfather ) Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd ( half - sister ) Edith Ewing Bouvier ( aunt ) Life events Hammersmith Farm Kennedy Compound First Lady of the United States White House restoration Televised White House tour White House Historical Association White House Curator Committee for the Preservation of the White House Assassination of John F. Kennedy State funeral of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Eternal Flame and burial site Fashion Wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier The bouffant hairstyle Pillbox hat Pink Chanel suit Honors and memorials Jacqueline Kennedy Garden Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School for International Careers Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School ballet Other Cultural depictions Jackie O ( 1997 opera ) Jackie ( 2016 film ) Robert F. Kennedy November 20, 1925 -- June 6, 1968 United States Senator from New York, 1965 -- 1968 64th United States Attorney General, 1961 -- 1964 Life 1948 Palestine visit Senate Committee investigation of Labor and Management Cuban Missile Crisis ExComm Civil rights Freedom Riders Voter Education Project Baldwin -- Kennedy meeting 1964 Democratic National Convention Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation Mississippi Delta tour Kennedy Compound Hickory Hill home Electoral 1964 U.S. Senate election 1968 presidential campaign primaries Boiler Room Girls Speeches Law Day Address ( 1961 ) Day of Affirmation Address ( 1966 ) Conflict in Vietnam and at Home ( 1968 ) University of Kansas ( 1968 ) Ball State ( 1968 ) On the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. ( 1968 ) `` On the Mindless Menace of Violence '' ( 1968 ) Books The Enemy Within ( 1960 ) The Pursuit of Justice ( 1964 ) To Seek a Newer World ( 1967 ) Thirteen Days : A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis ( 1969 ) Assassination Sirhan Sirhan Ambassador Hotel Conspiracy theories Gravesite Legacy and memorials Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Human Rights Award Journalism Award Book Award Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Landmark for Peace Memorial Kennedy -- King College Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Robert F. Kennedy Bridge Popular culture Crisis : Behind a Presidential Commitment ( 1963 documentary ) Robert Kennedy Remembered ( 1968 documentary ) `` Abraham, Martin and John '' ( 1968 song ) The Missiles of October ( 1974 docudrama ) Kennedy ( 1983 miniseries ) Blood Feud ( 1983 film ) Prince Jack ( 1985 film ) Robert Kennedy and His Times ( 1985 miniseries ) Hoover vs. The Kennedys ( 1987 miniseries ) Thirteen Days ( 2000 film ) RFK ( 2002 film ) Bobby ( 2006 film ) RFK Must Die ( 2007 documentary ) The Kennedys ( 2011 miniseries ) Ethel ( 2012 documentary ) Jackie ( 2016 film ) Bobby Kennedy for President ( 2018 miniseries ) Family, family tree Ethel Skakel ( wife ) Kathleen Kennedy ( daughter ) Joseph P. Kennedy ( son ) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ( son ) David Kennedy ( son ) Courtney Kennedy ( daughter ) Michael Kennedy ( son ) Kerry Kennedy ( daughter ) Chris Kennedy ( son ) Max Kennedy ( son ) Doug Kennedy ( son ) Rory Kennedy ( daughter ) Joseph P. Kennedy III ( grandson ) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ( father ) Rose Kennedy ( mother ) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. ( brother ) John F. Kennedy ( brother presidency ) Rosemary Kennedy ( sister ) Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish ( sister ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver ( sister ) Patricia Kennedy Lawford ( sister ) Jean Kennedy Smith ( sister ) Ted Kennedy ( brother ) Patrick J. Kennedy ( grandfather ) John F. Fitzgerald ( grandfather ) Ted Kennedy February 22, 1932 -- August 25, 2009 United States Senator from Massachusetts, 1962 -- 2009 Electoral history United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962 United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1964 1970 1976 1982 2000 2006 United States presidential election, 1980 ( Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1980 ) Books My Senator and Me : A Dog 's - Eye View of Washington, D.C. ( 2006 ) True Compass ( 2009 ) Family, family tree Joan Bennett Kennedy ( first wife ) Victoria Reggie Kennedy ( second wife, widow ) Kara Kennedy ( daughter ) Edward M. Kennedy Jr. ( son ) Patrick J. Kennedy II ( son ) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ( father ) Rose Kennedy ( mother ) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. ( brother ) John F. Kennedy ( brother presidency ) Rosemary Kennedy ( sister ) Kathleen Kennedy ( sister ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver ( sister ) Patricia Kennedy Lawford ( sister ) Robert F. Kennedy ( brother ) Jean Kennedy Smith ( sister ) Patrick J. Kennedy I ( grandfather ) John F. Fitzgerald ( grandfather ) Related Awards and honors Political positions Kennedy Compound Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act Chappaquiddick incident The Dream Shall Never Die Mary Jo Kopechne Friends of Ireland Chappaquiddick ( 2018 film ) Commons Wikiquote Wikisource texts Kennedy family I. P.J. Kennedy ( 1858 -- 1929 ) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ( m. ) Rose Fitzgerald II. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ( 1888 -- 1969 ) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. John F. Kennedy ( m. ) Jacqueline Bouvier Rosemary Kennedy Kathleen Kennedy ( m. ) William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington Eunice Kennedy ( m. ) Sargent Shriver Patricia Kennedy ( m. / div. ) Peter Lawford Robert F. Kennedy ( m. ) Ethel Skakel Jean Kennedy ( m. ) Stephen Edward Smith Edward M. `` Ted '' Kennedy ( m. / div. 1st ) Joan Bennett ; ( m. 2nd ) Victoria Reggie III. John Fitzgerald Kennedy ( 1917 -- 1963 ) Caroline Kennedy ( m. ) Edwin Schlossberg John F. Kennedy Jr. ( m. ) Carolyn Bessette Patrick Bouvier Kennedy Eunice Kennedy Shriver ( 1921 -- 2009 ) Bobby Shriver Maria Shriver ( m. / div. ) Arnold Schwarzenegger Timothy Shriver Mark Shriver Anthony Shriver Patricia Kennedy Lawford ( 1924 -- 2006 ) Christopher Lawford Robert F. Kennedy ( 1925 -- 1968 ) Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Joseph P. Kennedy II Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ( m. ) Cheryl Hines David A. Kennedy Courtney Kennedy Hill Michael LeMoyne Kennedy Kerry Kennedy ( m. / div. ) Andrew Cuomo Christopher G. Kennedy Max Kennedy Douglas Harriman Kennedy Rory Kennedy Jean Kennedy Smith ( born 1928 ) William Kennedy Smith Ted Kennedy ( 1932 -- 2009 ) Kara Kennedy Edward M. Kennedy Jr. Patrick J. Kennedy V. Rose Schlossberg Tatiana Schlossberg Jack Schlossberg Katherine Schwarzenegger Patrick Schwarzenegger Joseph P. Kennedy III Related Hickory Hill Kennedy Compound Kennedy curse Merchandise Mart The Kennedys ( museum ) The Kennedys ( miniseries ) Category Kennedy family m. = married ; div. = divorced ; sep. = separated. ( 1952 ← ) United States presidential election, 1956 ( → 1960 ) Republican Party Convention Primaries Nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower VP nominee Richard Nixon Democratic Party Convention Primaries Nominee Adlai Stevenson VP nominee Estes Kefauver Candidates John S. Battle Happy Chandler James C. Davis W. Averell Harriman Lyndon B. Johnson Frank Lausche George Bell Timmerman Jr. Third party and independent candidates American Vegetarian Party Nominee Herbert M. Shelton VP nominee Symon Gould Prohibition Party Nominee Enoch A. Holtwick VP nominee Herbert C. Holdridge Socialist Labor Party Nominee Eric Hass VP nominee Georgia Cozzini Socialist Party Nominee Darlington Hoopes VP nominee Samuel H. Friedman Socialist Workers Party Nominee Farrell Dobbs VP nominee Myra Tanner Weiss Independents and other candidates T. Coleman Andrews Gerald L.K. Smith Other 1956 elections : House Senate ( 1956 ← ) United States presidential election, 1960 ( → 1964 ) Democratic Party Convention Primaries Nominee John F. Kennedy ( campaign ) VP nominee Lyndon B. Johnson Candidates Ross Barnett Pat Brown Michael DiSalle Paul C. Fisher Hubert Humphrey Lyndon B. Johnson George H. McLain Robert B. Meyner Wayne Morse Albert S. Porter Adlai Stevenson George Smathers Stuart Symington Republican Party Convention Primaries Nominee Richard Nixon VP nominee Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Candidates Barry Goldwater Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. James M. Lloyd Nelson Rockefeller Third party and independent candidates American Vegetarian Party Nominee Symon Gould National States ' Rights Party Nominee Orval Faubus VP nominee J.B. Stoner Prohibition Party Nominee Rutherford Decker VP nominee E. Harold Munn Socialist Labor Party Nominee Eric Hass VP nominee Georgia Cozzini Socialist Workers Party Nominee Farrell Dobbs VP nominee Myra Tanner Weiss Independents and other candidates Harry F. Byrd Merritt B. Curtis Lar Daly George Lincoln Rockwell Charles L. Sullivan Other 1960 elections : House Senate Cabinet of President John F. Kennedy ( 1961 -- 63 ) Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ( 1961 -- 63 ) Secretary of State Dean Rusk ( 1961 -- 63 ) Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon ( 1961 -- 63 ) Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ( 1961 -- 63 ) Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ( 1961 -- 63 ) Postmaster General J. Edward Day ( 1961 -- 63 ) John A. Gronouski ( 1963 ) Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall ( 1961 -- 1963 ) Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman ( 1961 -- 63 ) Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges ( 1961 -- 63 ) Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg ( 1961 -- 62 ) W. Willard Wirtz ( 1962 -- 63 ) Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Abraham A. Ribicoff ( 1961 -- 62 ) Anthony J. Celebrezze ( 1962 -- 63 ) Time Persons of the Year 1927 -- 1950 Charles Lindbergh ( 1927 ) Walter Chrysler ( 1928 ) Owen D. Young ( 1929 ) Mohandas Gandhi ( 1930 ) Pierre Laval ( 1931 ) Franklin D. Roosevelt ( 1932 ) Hugh S. Johnson ( 1933 ) Franklin D. Roosevelt ( 1934 ) Haile Selassie ( 1935 ) Wallis Simpson ( 1936 ) Chiang Kai - shek / Soong Mei - ling ( 1937 ) Adolf Hitler ( 1938 ) Joseph Stalin ( 1939 ) Winston Churchill ( 1940 ) Franklin D. Roosevelt ( 1941 ) Joseph Stalin ( 1942 ) George Marshall ( 1943 ) Dwight D. Eisenhower ( 1944 ) Harry S. Truman ( 1945 ) James F. Byrnes ( 1946 ) George Marshall ( 1947 ) Harry S. Truman ( 1948 ) Winston Churchill ( 1949 ) The American Fighting - Man ( 1950 ) 1951 -- 1975 Mohammed Mosaddeq ( 1951 ) Elizabeth II ( 1952 ) Konrad Adenauer ( 1953 ) John Foster Dulles ( 1954 ) Harlow Curtice ( 1955 ) Hungarian Freedom Fighters ( 1956 ) Nikita Khrushchev ( 1957 ) Charles de Gaulle ( 1958 ) Dwight D. Eisenhower ( 1959 ) U.S. Scientists : George Beadle / Charles Draper / John Enders / Donald A. Glaser / Joshua Lederberg / Willard Libby / Linus Pauling / Edward Purcell / Isidor Rabi / Emilio Segrè / William Shockley / Edward Teller / Charles Townes / James Van Allen / Robert Woodward ( 1960 ) John F. Kennedy ( 1961 ) Pope John XXIII ( 1962 ) Martin Luther King Jr. ( 1963 ) Lyndon B. Johnson ( 1964 ) William Westmoreland ( 1965 ) The Generation Twenty - Five and Under ( 1966 ) Lyndon B. Johnson ( 1967 ) The Apollo 8 Astronauts : William Anders / Frank Borman / Jim Lovell ( 1968 ) The Middle Americans ( 1969 ) Willy Brandt ( 1970 ) Richard Nixon ( 1971 ) Henry Kissinger / Richard Nixon ( 1972 ) John Sirica ( 1973 ) King Faisal ( 1974 ) American Women : Susan Brownmiller / Kathleen Byerly / Alison Cheek / Jill Conway / Betty Ford / Ella Grasso / Carla Hills / Barbara Jordan / Billie Jean King / Susie Sharp / Carol Sutton / Addie Wyatt ( 1975 ) 1976 -- 2000 Jimmy Carter ( 1976 ) Anwar Sadat ( 1977 ) Deng Xiaoping ( 1978 ) Ayatollah Khomeini ( 1979 ) Ronald Reagan ( 1980 ) Lech Wałęsa ( 1981 ) The Computer ( 1982 ) Ronald Reagan / Yuri Andropov ( 1983 ) Peter Ueberroth ( 1984 ) Deng Xiaoping ( 1985 ) Corazon Aquino ( 1986 ) Mikhail Gorbachev ( 1987 ) The Endangered Earth ( 1988 ) Mikhail Gorbachev ( 1989 ) George H.W. Bush ( 1990 ) Ted Turner ( 1991 ) Bill Clinton ( 1992 ) The Peacemakers : Yasser Arafat / F.W. de Klerk / Nelson Mandela / Yitzhak Rabin ( 1993 ) Pope John Paul II ( 1994 ) Newt Gingrich ( 1995 ) David Ho ( 1996 ) Andrew Grove ( 1997 ) Bill Clinton / Ken Starr ( 1998 ) Jeffrey P. Bezos ( 1999 ) George W. Bush ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Rudolph Giuliani ( 2001 ) The Whistleblowers : Cynthia Cooper / Coleen Rowley / Sherron Watkins ( 2002 ) The American Soldier ( 2003 ) George W. Bush ( 2004 ) The Good Samaritans : Bono / Bill Gates / Melinda Gates ( 2005 ) You ( 2006 ) Vladimir Putin ( 2007 ) Barack Obama ( 2008 ) Ben Bernanke ( 2009 ) Mark Zuckerberg ( 2010 ) The Protester ( 2011 ) Barack Obama ( 2012 ) Pope Francis ( 2013 ) Ebola Fighters : Dr. Jerry Brown / Dr. Kent Brantly / Ella Watson - Stryker / Foday Gollah / Salome Karwah ( 2014 ) Angela Merkel ( 2015 ) Donald Trump ( 2016 ) The Silence Breakers ( 2017 ) Book Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography ( 1951 -- 1975 ) Margaret Louise Coit ( 1951 ) Merlo J. Pusey ( 1952 ) David J. Mays ( 1953 ) Charles A. Lindbergh ( 1954 ) William S. White ( 1955 ) Talbot Faulkner Hamlin ( 1956 ) John F. Kennedy ( 1957 ) Douglas Southall Freeman, John Alexander Carroll and Mary Wells Ashworth ( 1958 ) Arthur Walworth ( 1959 ) Samuel Eliot Morison ( 1960 ) David Donald ( 1961 ) Leon Edel ( 1963 ) Walter Jackson Bate ( 1964 ) Ernest Samuels ( 1965 ) Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. ( 1966 ) Justin Kaplan ( 1967 ) George Frost Kennan ( 1968 ) Benjamin Lawrence Reid ( 1969 ) Thomas Harry Williams ( 1970 ) Lawrence Thompson ( 1971 ) Joseph P. Lash ( 1972 ) W.A. Swanberg ( 1973 ) Louis Sheaffer ( 1974 ) Robert Caro ( 1975 ) Complete list ( 1917 -- 1925 ) ( 1926 -- 1950 ) ( 1951 -- 1975 ) ( 1976 -- 2000 ) ( 2001 -- 2025 ) National Football Foundation Gold Medal winners 1958 : Dwight D. Eisenhower 1959 : Douglas MacArthur 1960 : Herbert Hoover & Amos Alonzo Stagg 1961 : John F. Kennedy 1962 : Byron `` Whizzer '' White 1963 : Roger Q. Blough 1964 : Donold B. Lourie 1965 : Juan T. Trippe 1966 : Earl H. `` Red '' Blaik 1967 : Frederick L. Hovde 1968 : Chester J. LaRoche 1969 : Richard Nixon 1970 : Thomas J. Hamilton 1971 : Ronald Reagan 1972 : Gerald Ford 1973 : John Wayne 1974 : Gerald B. Zornow 1975 : David Packard 1976 : Edgar B. Speer 1977 : Louis H. Wilson 1978 : Vincent dePaul Draddy 1979 : William P. Lawrence 1980 : Walter J. Zable 1981 : Justin W. Dart 1982 : Silver Anniversary Awards ( NCAA ) - All Honored Jim Brown, Willie Davis, Jack Kemp, Ron Kramer, Jim Swink 1983 : Jack Kemp 1984 : John F. McGillicuddy 1985 : William I. Spencer 1986 : William H. Morton 1987 : Charles R. Meyer 1988 : Clinton E. Frank 1989 : Paul Brown 1990 : Thomas H. Moorer 1991 : George H.W. Bush 1992 : Donald R. Keough 1993 : Norman Schwarzkopf 1994 : Thomas S. Murphy 1995 : Harold Alfond 1996 : Gene Corrigan 1997 : Jackie Robinson 1998 : John H. McConnell 1999 : Keith Jackson 2000 : Fred M. Kirby II 2001 : Billy Joe `` Red '' McCombs 2002 : George Steinbrenner 2003 : Tommy Franks 2004 : William V. Campbell 2005 : Jon F. Hanson 2006 : Joe Paterno & Bobby Bowden 2007 : Pete Dawkins & Roger Staubach 2008 : John Glenn 2009 : Phil Knight & Bill Bowerman 2010 : Bill Cosby 2011 : Robert Gates 2012 : Roscoe Brown 2013 : National Football League & Roger Goodell 2014 : Tom Catena & George Weiss 2015 : Condoleezza Rice 2016 : Archie Manning Assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Lee Harvey Oswald Assassination Assassination rifle Timeline J.D. Tippit John Connally Nellie Connally Jacqueline Kennedy Pink Chanel suit James Tague William Greer Roy Kellerman Clint Hill Zapruder film Abraham Zapruder Dealey Plaza Texas School Book Depository Sixth Floor Museum Presidential limousine Parkland Hospital Witnesses Aftermath Autopsy Reactions Johnson inauguration Jack Ruby Ruby v. Texas Dictabelt recording Conspiracy theories CIA Single - bullet theory 1992 Assassination Records Act In popular culture State funeral Foreign dignitaries Burial site and Eternal Flame Investigations Warren Commission Jim Garrison investigation House Select Committee on Assassinations Researchers Category Portal Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award laureates 1960s 1964 John Howard Griffin / John F. Kennedy 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. 1966 R. Sargent Shriver 1967 A. Philip Randolph 1968 James Groppi 1969 Saul Alinsky 1970s 1971 Dorothy Day 1974 Harold Hughes 1975 Hélder Câmara 1976 Mother Teresa 1979 Thomas Gumbleton 1980s 1980 Crystal Lee Sutton / Ernest Leo Unterkoefler 1982 George F. Kennan 1983 Helen Caldicott 1985 Joseph Bernardin 1986 Maurice John Dingman 1987 Desmond Tutu 1989 Eileen Egan 1990s 1990 Mairead Maguire 1991 María Julia Hernández 1992 César Chávez 1993 Daniel Berrigan 1995 Jim Wallis 1996 Samuel Ruiz 1997 Jim and Shelley Douglass 2000s 2000 George G. Higgins 2001 Lech Wałęsa 2002 Gwen Hennessey / Dorothy Hennessey 2004 Arthur Simon 2005 Donald Mosley 2007 Salim Ghazal 2008 Marvin Mottet 2009 Hildegard Goss - Mayr 2010s 2010 John Dear 2011 Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri 2012 Kim Bobo 2013 Jean Vanier 2014 Simone Campbell 2015 Thích Nhất Hạnh 2016 Gustavo Gutiérrez 2017 Widad Akreyi Catholicism portal Lain in state ( United States ) Lain in state US Capitol rotunda Clay ( 1852 ) Lincoln ( 1865 ) ( Funeral ) Stevens ( 1868 ) Sumner ( 1874 ) Wilson ( 1875 ) Garfield ( 1881 ) Logan ( 1886 ) McKinley ( 1901 ) L'Enfant ( 1909 ) Dewey ( 1917 ) The Unknown Soldier for World War I ( 1921 ) Harding ( 1923 ) W.H. Taft ( 1930 ) Pershing ( 1948 ) R.A. Taft ( 1953 ) The Unknown Soldiers for World War II and the Korean War ( 1958 ) Kennedy ( 1963 ) ( Funeral ) MacArthur ( 1964 ) H. Hoover ( 1964 ) Eisenhower ( 1969 ) Dirksen ( 1969 ) J.E. Hoover ( 1972 ) Johnson ( 1973 ) Humphrey ( 1978 ) The Unknown Soldier for the Vietnam War ( 1984 ) Pepper ( 1989 ) Reagan ( 2004 ) ( Funeral ) Ford ( 2006 - 07 ) ( Funeral ) Inouye ( 2012 ) McCain ( 2018 ) Lain in honor US Capitol rotunda Chestnut ( 1998 ) and Gibson ( 1998 ) Parks ( 2005 ) Graham ( 2018 ) Lain in repose Great Hall of the US Supreme Court Warren ( 1974 ) Marshall ( 1993 ) Burger ( 1995 ) Brennan ( 1997 ) Blackmun ( 1999 ) Rehnquist ( 2005 ) Scalia ( 2016 ) Bold - In `` Lain in State '', indicates a President. In `` Lain in Repose '', indicates a Chief Justice died in 1825, his remains were disinterred, he was honored by lying in state before reinterment later identified as 1st. Lt. Michael Blassie Biography portal 1960s portal Catholicism portal Cold War portal Government of the United States portal Massachusetts portal Politics portal United States Navy portal World War II portal United States portal WorldCat Identities BIBSYS : 90052924 BNE : XX986535 BNF : cb121853903 ( data ) GND : 118561383 ISNI : 0000 0001 0911 7086 LCCN : n79055297 MusicBrainz : 2966f67a - ed7a - 43e7 - 9a6a - a14aa592b246 NARA : 10581898 NDL : 00445469 NKC : jn20000603341 NLA : 35266141 RKD : 297126 SELIBR : 66727 SNAC : w6862fst SUDOC : 027317390 ULAN : 500262206 US Congress : K000107 VIAF : 68910251 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_F._Kennedy&oldid=866400245 '' Categories : John F. 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Question: how old was john f. kennedy when he became president
Answer: age 43