John F. Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected president and the first Roman Catholic to serve in the office. “"JFK" represented the ascendancy of youthful idealism in the aftermath of World War II.” The promise of this energetic and telegenic leader was not to be fulfilled, as he was assassinated near the end of his third year in office.

John F Kennedy was born into a rich, pol

No other publication had covered John F Kennedy as eloquently and detailed as did LIFE. “The magazine spotted him early, recorded his meteoric rise, captured his family life with imagination and flair, followed his every step during his run for the presidency and virtually never left his side…” The photographs of the Kennedy’s started from the beginning in 1937 with a family picture of all 11 Kennedy’s smiling and posing for their portrait.

itically connected Boston family of Irish-Catholics. He and his eight siblings enjoyed a privileged childhood of elite private schools, sailboats, servants, and summer homes. Nevertheless, "Jack" Kennedy strove to make his own way, writing a best selling book while still in college at Harvard, and volunteering for hazardous combat duty in the Pacific during World War II. John Kennedy's wartime service made him a hero. When his PT boat was rammed in two during a night action, John rescued his entire crew, including a badly burned man whom John dragged to safety by pulling him by a strap in his teeth through the icy water. The crew hid from the enemy on a tiny island until they were able to summon help. Jack Kennedy's older brother, Joe, who had dreamed of becoming president one day, was killed in action. When he returned from the war, Jack inherited his father's aspirations for his brother Joe.

The most formidable obstacles facing John Kennedy in the election were his religion and his youth. No Catholic had ever been elected to the highest office in the nation, and many feared that somehow John Kennedy would be controlled by the Pope in Rome! He was also only forty-three years old. He was running against Richard Nixon, who had served as vice president for two terms under the popular President Eisenhower.

Kennedy's decision to challenge Nixon to a series of nationally televised debates played a key role in Kennedy's victory. On TV, Nixon wore a light colored suit, refused make-up, and looked tired and tense, due to a fever. Kennedy, who had been campaigning in an open convertible in California, looked relaxed, confident, and handsome. Those who listened to the debate on the radio thought that Nixon had won. But the vast majority saw the election on TV, and declared Kennedy the winner. Among the first to master the dominant medium of the era, Kennedy won the election by the narrowest of margins.

The Kennedy years stand out as an era bracketed by television milestones. John Kennedy’s campaign in 1960 was a way “to get the country moving again” after the Eisenhower years. Television, itself making technological strides, was the perfect medium to chronicle movement. It kept pace in a way that newspapers and magazines could not, and in turn, the force of the medium shaped the social landscape.

John Kennedy was known for his eloquent speeches, when he lost the vice –presidential nominations in 1956, he was still determined afterwards. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for Profile in Courage, but he began to be a regular guest on most national television shows, such as “Jack Paar Show”. These programs were a perfect forum

Some topics in this essay:
John Kennedy, Kennedy TV, John Jr, Jacqueline Bouvier, Henry Fairlie, TV Nixon, John Kennedy's, Paar Show”, White House, , john kennedy, john jr, family life, white house, john jr playing, helped character, pulitzer prize, john kennedy’s, won pulitzer, debate helped, children white house, won pulitzer prize, john kennedy president, american families,