"HERO FOR OUR TIME, A"   Term Paper ID:18330 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: By Ralph Martin. Reviews work on John Kennedy's life & presidency, family, politics, place in history.... More...

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Paper Abstract: By Ralph Martin. Reviews work on John Kennedy's life & presidency, family, politics, place in history. Paper Introduction: Ralph G. Martin's A Hero For Our Time is subtitled "An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years," yet it goes beyond the period of John F. Kennedy's (JFK) Congressional and Presidential years. This paper is a report on four different eras in Kennedy's life: His formative years, his inter-family relationships, his ascendance to power, and his great moments of both success and crisis while he was President. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, and he graduated from Harvard in 1940. As the son of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, JFK was groomed for achievement from an early age. The elder Joseph saw in his sons a way in which he might exert great political influence. He himself had been ambassador to England and a millionaire, but he had higher goals: the Presidency of the United States. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. When one looks at what followed his assassination--LBJ, the VietnamWar, Nixon, Watergate, etc.-- there is a certain sadness that America wasrobbed of some great years when Kennedy died. One ofthe reasons for this was that he was so good with the media. Works CitedMartin, Ralph G. Bothfather Joe and son Jack knew that it would take some behind-the-scenesstring pulling if JFK were to become the first Catholic President. Monroe even threatened to hold a pressconference to reveal her relationship with the attorney general . This shows the intense pressure that defined what being ayoung male Kennedy meant. . JFK had a fierce adversary in Nikita Khrushchev, and the image of theRussian ruler hammering his shoe on the podium of the United Nations is asymbol for how aggressive the Russians were during the JFK years. When the suspect, LeeHarvey Oswald, was killed several days later by Jack Ruby, the entire worldwas deprived of the true story in the JFK tragedy. While JFK could play the nice guy, RFK could get things done with thetenacity of a pit bull. Despite the rivalry, the Kennedys remained loyal to one another. When JFK was killed, Daniel Moynihan said: "We'll laugh again. It is striking to contrast this to the climate in today's America,where a good percentage of the population is cynical about the motives ofour top leaders, and the memory of both Watergate and Iran-contra is fresh. When JFK's older brother Joe was killed in World War II, thespotlight fell on him. Senate in 1953. And so he suggested that JFK write a book onAmerica's great tradition of heroes. In contrast, Ethel has neverremarried, as a symbol of her solidarity with the Kennedy family and herlove for RFK. There is little doubt that the "Camelot" years of JFK were highlyinspiring to America, and that JFK, even if he was not a great President,gave the country reason to believe that a new beginning was upon us in the196 s. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts,and he graduated from Harvard in 194 . This is one reason the entire family was shocked when Jackieremarried, to Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis. Robert was wellknown for both his adoration of his older brother and (like Joe) his deep-seated rivalry and competitiveness. As the Kennedys married and their wives attempted to work themselvesinto the family clan, it was inevitable that certain frictions would arise. Once JFK had ascended to power in the Presidency, he was able todemonstrate that he had a great deal of charisma as a leader. JFK's formative political career began right after the war, in 1946,when he was elected to the House of Representatives. The United States was just coming out of the Cold War 195 swith President Eisenhower, and that WWII General embodied victory in theGreat War and a genuine father figure in his security. Castro had overtaken Cuba, but JFK had jumped thegun in trying to depose that Communist-backed ruler. Martin's A Hero For Our Time is subtitled "An Intimate Storyof the Kennedy Years," yet it goes beyond the period of John F. Robert and Ethel were quite comforting to Jackie in themonths that followed Dallas, and it became very apparent that once theKennedys brought in a new member through marriage, that person was part ofthe inter-family dynamic. 1 9. politics. He haddistinguished himself in the war as well, and his service with the Navy hasbeen immortalized in the book and the movie, P.T. For example, JFK's wife Jackie and RFK's wife Ethel were two verydifferent women, and they had to work hard to accept one another, as wellas fit into this fiercely inbred unit. This isunfortunately why JFK stepped up the military presence in Vietnam in histerm in office, and it is difficult to tell what he would have done withthose soldiers had he lived to serve a second term. By reading Martin's account of JFK's private life andhow he took many risks for a man who was ascending to such great power, itis possible to see that JFK lived in an era where the press knew of hisaffairs, but they had a tacit agreement not to reveal this to the public. This unspoken agreement shows how powerful JFK actually was. Consequently younger brother Tedsaw how important it was for his career as a Senator to work hard for bothhis brothers in their various campaigns. He himself had been ambassador to England and a millionaire,but he had higher goals: the Presidency of the United States. But it is an important fact that JFK'sbrother Robert Kennedy (RFK) was his campaign manager, and that after JFKtook office he appointed his brother the Attorney General. President would respond to the threat ofCommunism in the world. The inter-family relationships of the Kennedys came into focus as JFKassumed the Presidency, and politicians from both parties realized thatthey would have to deal with both JFK and RFK if they were to be effective. She soon learned how complex hewas: the mixture of shyness and aggressiveness" (19 ). TheCuban missile crisis threatened to send the United States and the USSRinto World War III, but JFK held his ground very firmly and insisted thatthe Russians remove the stockpile of missiles that had been accumulating inCuba. But JFK had such an extraordinarygrasp of the television medium, and his handsome face and relaxed mannerwere so appealing, that America decided they would trust in this youngpolitician over the heir to the dominant Eisenhower throne. In 1956, Kennedy made an unsuccessful bid for the Vice Presidentialnomination. The movie star MarilynMonroe became a joint conquest for the brothers, and this indiscretion intheir private lives was a mistake in that it compromised them with the FBIdirector J. A Hero For Our Time: An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years. JFK used his advantages as a wealthyAmerican well, and the public fell under the spell of the "Camelot" years. Martin shedssome good light on the fact that JFK "won" the 196 election when hedebated Richard Nixon on TV. Martin has a brief explanation for the difference of the twobrothers and the faithfulness within their ranks: RFK's devout religion."When the Robert Kennedys gave each of their children religious pictures tohang on their bedroom walls, Jack and Jacqueline confided that theywouldn't be caught dead with those pictures in their house" (191). In his chapter entitled "Growing Up Kennedy," Martin observes that"so strong was the sibling rivalry that young Joe Kennedy reportedly criedwhen his brother Jack won the first medal in the family for courage incombat" (45). Nixon that fall, and the narrow victory is questioned by somewho point to a voting fraud in Mayor Richard Daley's Chicago precincts.But JFK entered office as the first Roman Catholic and also the secondyoungest man ever to hold the oval office. What Martin isconcerned with in dealing with the family is the way that they alwaysworked for the good of the Kennedy name. JFK ended his formative years when he prevailed overRichard M. . .Shortly before she died she whispered to Peter Lawford, 'Say goodbye to thePresident'" (4 4). A good example of how the Kennedys stayed together was in Joe'sinsistence that JFK should be known as a scholar and an intellectual aswell as a politician. 'Bobby? From what I saw, he wasjust a hard-boiled, nasty little son of a bitch,' recalled a critic" (189). Profiles In Courage was written, butnot by JFK. Clearly the Kennedys showed the strength of their inter-familystructure during the times of both the assassinations: JFK's in 1963 andRFK's in 1968. 'He was tough, God, hewas tough,' noted one of his admirers. He served there forfour terms, at which time he was elected to the U.S. Edgar Hoover, who knew of the affairs and held that informationover them throughouttheir administration. This summed up the fact that JFKembodied the optimism of youthful potential. In October, 1962, JFK had what was possibly his finest hour. But it was time fora change. As the son of Joseph and RoseKennedy, JFK was groomed for achievement from an early age. As Roman Catholics, theKennedys were different from the majority of Protestant America. Many say that if you listen to the two men,Nixon appears to have the upper hand. Kennedy's(JFK) Congressional and Presidential years. Martin builds the tension that was felt during that era to a feverpitch, and then he explains how the Soviet leader responded to JFK's toughline: "Khrushchev then proposed that President Kennedy promise not toinvade Cuba and then there would be no further need to keep Soviet militaryspecialists in Cuba" (469). John Fitzgerald Kennedy went to Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963,and he was struck down by an assassin's bullet. The family fortune of the Kennedys was behind JFK as he built hiscareer, but the young senator knew that if he pushed higher up on thepolitical ladder he might encounter trouble. There was acertain confidence that JFK had as he started the primary race and wonseven key battles. Martin helpsto explain why JFK was so popular and why he seemed destined to becomePresident. "Bobby grew slowly on Jacqueline. This was a momentary setback for him, as soon after thisdefeat he began planning for the 196 Presidential race. "He had a mean streak, could be glacial in hiscoldness and furious if his demands were not met. "I think I've got it, but I can't make a singlemistake" (159). "In her last days . The ascendance of power for JFK came at a time when the whole worldwas watching how the U.S. JFK helped to consolidate his power by makingspeeches in Berlin, and telling the entire globe that those who feltCommunism was the wave of the future should simply come to Berlin, wherethe Wall came to symbolize repression and fear. The election of JFK has already been shown to be a family affair inrelation to JFK's father Joe. There was a very real sense during the JFK administration thatyoung people should get involved with their government, and the youthfulimage that JFK showed was inspiring to the nation. Ralph G. Mew York: Macmillan, 1983.----------------------- 9 The flip side of the coin of the Vietnam War is the fact that JFK wasresponsible for the Peace Corps, and this remains one of his greatestsuccesses. WhenGary Hart was running for the Presidency in 1988 and he was caught withDonna Rice, the press had a feeding frenzy and drove him out of the race.But JFK is portrayed as such a seductive and powerful figure that he wasable to conduct a playboy-like existence and never fear that the mediawould attack him in print or on the airwaves. The elderJoseph saw in his sons a way in which he might exert great politicalinfluence. In the transition from the formative years to the Presidential years,JFK dubbed his administration the New Frontier, calling for increasedfederal involvement in civil rights, education, medicine, urban renewal,and medical insurance. Despite his questionable private life, JFK will be remembered for anumber of successes and crisis points that affected the United States inprofound ways. The author is very good at showing the fruits of power, as both JFKand RFK ascended as executive branch figures. Ted Sorenson, who was to become JFK's top speech writer, wrotethe book, and JFK put his name on it. He became the oldest of the four sons, and it wasapparent that he was destined for great things in U.S. The ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba took placeshortly after JFK's inauguration, and it was lucky for the President thathe had the image-conscious talent to smooth over what was a disastrousforeign policy decision. JFK ascended to enormous power once he was in the Oval Office and, atthe time of his assassination, he was an extremely popular leader. Butwe'll never be young again" (575). This paper is a report on fourdifferent eras in Kennedy's life: His formative years, his inter-familyrelationships, his ascendance to power, and his great moments of bothsuccess and crisis while he was President. . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.