John F Kennedy Childhood

Childhood

John F. Kennedy was born May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was known as Jack Kennedy or JFK. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy was a multimillionaire. He was the second son to nine children. Joseph P. Kennedy was in the Massachusetts Legislature. So naturally John F. Kennedy had lots of money. He was often ill in his childhood.

Education

He went to the Canterbury parochial school for a year and then went to the Choate school for four years. His teachers said that people at school liked him because of his personality. He was ill a lot of his childhood and spent a lot of time reading. He then attended Princeton University but illness forced him to not go. After he recovered he attended Harvard University, He then majored in

Army but he was rejected because of a back injury. After his back healed the U.S. Army accepted him. He was commanded active duty at sea. He commanded a PT boat. On August 2, 1943, he and his crew were out at sea and his boat was sliced in half by a Japanese destroyer. Two people were killed. Even though he was injured badly he towed one of his crew members to shore the next day. They were rescued on August 7, with the help of some natives.

Joining Congress

John F. Kennedy ran for House of Representatives in 1946, lots of people liked that he had served in the army so he won. When he had won reelection in 1948 and 1950, Kennedy decided to run for senate, he won in 1952. In 1953 he married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, he was thirty-six. He was then in the senate for eight years until 1960 when he would run for president. The 1960 election is one of the closest in history.

1960 Election

The 1960 election is one of the closest in history. John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts won for the democrats, and Richard Nixon form Texas won for the Republicans. Richard Nixon was the favorite, but the televised debates gave Kennedy an advantage. John F. Kennedy won by a little more than one hundred thousand

In 1959 there was a revaluation that over through the Cuban government. The Cubans then turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviet Union then put Fidel Castro in charge as a dictator. The CIA then developed a secret plan to help the anti-Castro exiles; this plan would train them to invade Cuba. The CIA asked Kennedy to approve. Kennedy then approved and it became known as the Bay of Pigs. It was given this name because that is where the exiles were. The invasion began April 17, 1961, went terrible. In two days most were killed, wounded or captured. The CIA then tried to convince Kennedy to send in air support or U.S. troops. He said no.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis began October 1962, when U.S. spy planes detected missiles bases under construction in Cuba. Because Cuba is so close to the U.S. the Soviet Union could launch missiles at the U.S. The Soviet Union put these missiles there to prevent farther attack on the island and because the U.S. put missiles in Turkey and Italy. Kennedy then made a deal to take out the missiles in Turkey and Italy if the Soviet Union took out the missiles from Cuba.

The Nuclear Test Ban