John Fitzgerald
Kennedy, also known as JFK or Jack, was the United States of
America's 35th as well as youngest elected president. Kennedy
was born in Massachusetts on May 29th, 1917 and at the age of
10 moved with his family to the Bronx in New York. At one point
during his schooling, Kennedy was hospitalized for appendicitis,
and had an appendectomy. Kennedy struggled with various health
problems for much of his life and nearly died several times.
Kennedy received the Roman Catholic Church's last rites four
times over the course of his life time.
Kennedy was named after his grandfather on his mother's side,
who was also involved in politics as the mayor of Boston and
as a member of Congress for three terms. Kennedy was enrolled
in Princeton University for about six weeks, until he had to
be hospitalized for two months, as he was thought to have leukemia.
While he was recovering he worked at a cattle ranch outside Benson,
Arizona. He adored sports and would often get involved in activities
such as sailboat racing. The next year, Kennedy attended Harvard
University and was very involved in sports and social activities.
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JFK was rejected by the U.S. Army because he had a bad back but
was later accepted into the Navy because of his father's connections.
While in the Navy, his boat PT109, was rammed by the Japanese destroyer
Amagiri. That night, Kennedy sprang into action to save his crew
and was later awarded the Navy and Marines Corps Medal. This military
experience helped create the image of Kennedy as an American hero,
even after his death.
When World War II ended, Kennedy was considering journalism as
a career, but instead turned to running for political office. He
had not been previously considering this as his parents had hoped
that his oldest brother, Joseph, would become a politician. However,
Joseph was killed in the war, and so John Kennedy being the eldest
son became involved in politics. Kennedy became politically experienced
as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as the
Senator of Massachusetts.
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John F. Kennedy decided
to run for President of the United States of America in 1960. He
ran against republican Richard Nixon, who was the Vice President
at the time. Nixon came off as tense and unsure of himself, while
Kennedy was very cool and collected and presented himself very
well. His handsome, young appearance appealed to many of the younger
voters in the country and his military experience was closely noted
during his election. The election was extremely close as Kennedy
won by only two tenths of a percent. Kennedy was sworn in on January
20, 1961. His main point was that it was very important for Americans
to be active citizens and to support their beloved country. One
of John F. Kennedy's most famous quotes is "Ask not what your
country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Kennedy
was assassinated during his presidency in 1963 while riding in
his motorcade.
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